Until one time, I saw a photo of office Xiao Ye and her boyfriend traveling to Africa in a circle of friends, and was suddenly shocked by the original wild beauty of Africa, so I moved my mind to go to Africa. After several discussions with African friends, I finally finalized my itinerary.
I didn't know it was different from what I expected until I arrived in Africa. Although some cities are really dirty and messy, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are relatively developed. This is a dynamic developing continent, with more than 50 countries, each with its own characteristics, and many beautiful scenery and delicious food.
In Africa, my friend left my business to accompany me, and invited me to taste six exotic local cuisines along the way, including a strange soup that I will never forget.
As a world famous dish, French snails are very delicate. Compared with African snails, they are very small. African snails are larger, with a body length of 7 10 cm and a maximum length of 20 cm, and their weight ranges from tens to hundreds of grams. African snails are considered as "golden meat" by local people because of their full and thick meat and high nutritional value. It is said that they eat 1.5 tons every year.
The practice of African snails can be described as a hundred flowers, which can be fried, fried, roasted, steamed and boiled. Generally speaking, it is rough and informal, and most of the time it can be eaten with salt and Chili powder. My friend specially ordered a sweet snail for me. Wash the snail meat, slice it, fry it quickly with high fire, and then add pepper, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, wine and other seasonings. Finally, squeeze it into lemon juice to make it fishy and fragrant. After serving this dish, it is full of color and flavor, and I can accept it from the appearance. It tastes good and the meat is smooth.
There are a lot of wild animals living in the vast tropical rain forest in Africa. Bats are one of them. I don't know when they became the delicacies of the African population. They call it "jungle meat". Bats are the only mammals that can really fly. The high temperature in Africa is very suitable for bats to survive, so there are a large number of giant bats. Braised bats and bat soup are local specialties. Take bat soup as an example. I can't eat a whole bat when I see it soaked in soup.
Roasted bats seem to look better than bat soup. The bat is peeled and cut into pieces, the meat is cut into several pieces, marinated with salt, pepper and onion, then inserted with bamboo sticks and roasted on the grill. Some people say it smells like chicken, but it still has a pungent smell. Eating with hot sauce can mask the taste. When my friend pushed the roasted bat in front of me, I couldn't refuse it in person. I tore off a piece of meat and dared not savor it. I swallowed it directly and quickly, and finally I didn't eat anything.
Maybe it's because Africa is too hot. It seems that all animals and insects are bigger than those in China, even stick insects are no exception. Bamboo insects are milky white, a bit like Cordyceps sinensis, but they are round in shape and feed on the sweet bamboo fiber in the middle, so they are pests in bamboo forests. Bamboo worm is rich in 10 amino acids needed by protein and human body. Not only has high nutritional value, but also has a unique taste. It is a rare delicacy.
In China, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and other places, people also have the habit of eating bamboo worms. They eat like silkworm chrysalis. They are all fried until the appearance is slightly burnt, and the bite is crisp and tender, and the mouth is full of delicious collagen. Africans often eat fried bamboo worms as snacks. I am not afraid of this dish at all, and it tastes good, because I have eaten it in China.
Kubo is a traditional African snack. At first glance, I was startled and thought it was a sawed stump. I can't help wondering if it can be eaten. The middle cut is brown and black, like caramel. In fact, this is a kind of pastry made of glutinous rice flour, covered with a layer of palm leaves, which are sold in the streets and alleys of Africa. When foreigners see this huge thing wrapped tightly, it is difficult to associate it with food.
Kubo's practice is quite similar to that of beggar chicken in China. First, grind glutinous rice into powder, then spread the edges of palm leaves on the table one by one, then wrap glutinous rice flour tightly on palm leaves, and finally bake it in the fire until it is burnt, and cut it into pieces with a knife, which is particularly flat, just like glutinous rice cakes. It tastes similar to fried zongzi. Kubo is easy to eat, but it is not easy to digest if you eat too much.
Millionaire salad is a special food in mauritius island, Africa, which is world-famous. This delicious food is made from the heart of a palm tree. Palm trees take five years to grow, and only the heart can eat them. There are only eight people in the heart of a palm tree. Because the growth period is long and the quantity of raw materials is limited, it is expensive. In the past, things were rare and expensive, and only millionaires could afford them, so it was named. Nowadays, a large number of artificial plants are planted, which ordinary tourists can afford.
I ate this delicious food in an online celebrity restaurant in Mauritius, and made a salad with local deep-sea fish slices. Originally, it was said that the taste was as crisp and tender as bamboo shoots, but after tasting it, I felt that the heart of the tree was nothing special except the faint sweetness, which was far from what I expected.
Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain range in Africa, with an altitude of 5895 meters, which is rich in high-quality coffee. When you come to Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, you will not only drink local coffee, but also taste a special food called Kibulu soup.
This soup originally came from the Chage tribe at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, and it was composed of bananas, beans and ingredients. Incredibly, there are also some leaves and branches that have fallen to the ground and slightly salty soil. Therefore, some people call it "mud soup". Cook for a while and you can eat it. Honestly, it's not good at all. I can't feel anything but the earthy smell. The entrance is like pouring mud, which has made me what I am. Why should I add soil to a good soup? It is said that it has the effect of strengthening the body and makes people experience a taste of the world.
Yaqian has something to say.
Africa's "exotic" cuisine does not stop there. As we all know, there are also "alternative" foods such as mosquito cakes, mouse meat and earth cakes, which make people's scalp numb. No matter how delicious it is, I really can't eat it. In fact, there are many delicious dishes in Africa, such as Taji pot, five-color rice, Ingra and so on. You must remember to taste them when you go to Africa.