Samoan food

 

A couple of times recently, I have highlighted Kiwi food on my blog; commonly eaten foods, and those particularly pleasing to Kiwi palates.  

Today, I'd like to show you some foods that Samoan immigrants have brought with them to New Zealand.  I have found many of them to be delicious. I love walking into Samoan takeaway places.  I get the same sort of feeling that I used to get when I walked into Krienta's candy store as a kid with a dime in my pocket.   

One of the greatest joys of traveling in my opinion, is the opportunity to try new foods. If you travel, but refuse to try new foods, in my opinion, you might just as well have stayed home. 

I've said it before; my mother is the person I credit with instilling in us kids the pleasure of trying something new when we traveled. Even if we were only traveling around our area of Michigan, she would tell my dad to pull over here, or there, and she'd come back with a couple of pounds of some home-made bologna or other treat, that she'd dole out to the pack of ravenous wolf cubs in the back seat.   

I think that new foods are doubly exciting when you have to ask what the food is when you're trying to decide.  The Samoan ladies and girls who work at the Taste of Samoa have proven to be very kind and patient with me. Each time I come in, I have to ask; what is this, and how about that?  Then, I make a selection and go away pleased.  One more new treat to try.  

I don't always love the new food, but the adventure is in the trying.  And most of the time I do like it.   

Taste of Samoa, it's just a little place, but it has lots of selections.  Let's go in and I'll show you.  We'll start with the main courses. Starting at the top left and going to the right, we have potatoes, kumera, (like a sweet potato) green beans and rice noodles.  At the bottom left we have a large piece, about 1/2 of a tarakihi, (fish) which is smothered in onions,  then turkey tails, lamb ribs and corned beef.  Sorry about the reflections. 

On the top we have bananas and taro cooked in coconut milk/cream.  On the bottom left are two large pieces of baked fish and the stew-like dish is kingfish cooked in coconut milk, I think.  I may have misheard the server on that last one.  

Here are some turkey tails and lamb ribs I brought home, along with a dessert. It reminds me of the gingerbread that my mom used to make and cover with lemon sauce, although I don't think this cake has ginger in it and it's a vanilla sauce.  

these are turkey tails

The dessert on the left and lamb ribs, also called lamb flaps on the right. 

I don't know what's in the foil, but the other two  in the warming case are baked taro and breadfruit.  

There are lots of desserts. 

As you might expect, coconut milk figures in a lot of the desserts.  This one is also made with Samoan koko (chocolate), rice and tapioca.  

A cool thing about Koko is that it is not perfectly smooth like processed chocolate bars are, instead, there are little crunchy bits of the roasted cocoa bean in there.  

The pudding on the left and the Koko Samoa is on the right.  If you watch the video later in the post you'll see why it is the shape it is.  

This is pawpaw and tapioca pudding. I could eat that every day.  

I'm not sure if this is taro or cassava caramel delight. (my name for it)  If I had tasted this as a kid, I would have thought I was in Heaven.  

Bananas and tapioca in coconut milk. This one is okay, but not spectacular. 

I haven't tried that lower center one yet.  It looks like buns in coconut milk, doesn't it?  

Also, notice the top left item. Those are the bags of koko.  

A very dense coconut bread. Not anywhere near as sweet as I thought it might be.  This is great with raspberry jam on it and a pot of strong tea.  

These are also great. They're called panikeke, or Samoan pancakes.  They are like big 'donut holes,' but are more substantial, since they generally have banana in them.  Very inexpensive. Talk about a comfort food.  Sometimes they are topped with powered sugar or chocolate syrup, or almost anything.  

Made fresh during the day, every day, they are a pleasure to eat still warm out of the fryer.    

Finally, here are a couple more items I haven't tried yet.  I'll have to get back to you about these two. I should have at least bought a bottle of the Otai.  I'm very curious about it. 

I have included a video for you. It shows how to make hot chocolate from the raw beans grown in Samoa.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07nc_dIL2ow

And just in case you're in the mood for a stronger drink at the end of a long hot, stressful day, may I suggest one that I like. Try a shot of gin with plenty of ice-cold coconut water in a tall glass. Unique, but tasty.  

Wherever you are, during the next week, make it a point to try something new. The next time you visit the supermarket, look for something you've never tried before. Especially if you have kids or grandkids that you can influence.  They may thank you some day. 

And it doesn't have to be something exotic. Believe it or not, I remember the first time we had French-cut green beans as a kid. I never knew they came that way and it was a big hit with us. They seemed much more elegant than the regular cut kind.  We all finished the beans on our plates that night without the usual pressure from the parents.    

Later,    djf