While out running some errands this morning I stopped to get some lunch to bring back for Sarah and I. We tend not to eat at the ’street’ vendors, mainly because the majority of them don’t come out until night time, well past normal dinner hours. I think this may because during the day the local restaurants are open but at night when people come out to party and enjoy music, the street vendors replace them. Still, today I managed to find one woman who had a stand making some weird concoction of…stuff.
On the left, we have spaghetti. Center stage, cabbage. On the right, we have chips (fries). In the back, obscured by the pink and purple lids, we have beef stew. Now, I know what you might be thinking. This will make an interesting plate. But no, mien friend, this meal doesn’t come on a plate. It ALL goes into the bag the woman is holding…including the beef stew!
First she places the chips in, then the spaghetti on top, then cabbage, then a healthy dose of beef stew. Here’s what the meal looks like when it comes out of the bag.
Oh, and here’s the bag it all came out of. The bag is pretty innovative in itself, it’s just a regular 8×10 sheet of paper, folded and glued to make it a lunch sack. It’s either someone’s homework or that last page of the Ugandan constitution. They line them with plastic, so they can pour large amounts of stew on top of your chip/spaghetti thing.
I asked the woman what the meal was called, and what the stew actually was but she didn’t seem to understand. She told me the stew was fish, but Sarah quickly pointed out later that it was beef when she took a bite. When I asked what it was called, she said something that sounded like ‘jingi’. But that could have also been her name. After going over the conversation in my head, I realized that she probably thought I was asking if ‘Beef’ was her name.
Perhaps next time I’ll opt for the bucket of grasshoppers.
Written by Jon in Life, Photos, Uganda ~
Plate of Meat With Bread
Ingredients
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Nali Peri-Peri Hot Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Seasoning Salt
3/4 Tbsp Regular Salt
1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Smashed clove of garlic
1/4 Red Onion
1/2kg (3/4lbs or 4200UGX worth) of stir fry beef
1 Tbps cooking oil
Instructions
This only takes about five to ten minutes. The idea is to do it all very quickly so the meat doesn’t cook to long. The stir fry meat strips cook very fast because they are thin and I like them best medium or medium-rare. Heat up a frying pan with the cooking oil in it. Toss in the onions and garlic clove and let them simmer. Add the meat and season it before it really begins to cook. I added the seasoning in this order (tossing the meat as I did it) - Salt, Pepper, Soy Sauce, Nali Sauce, Lime, Seasoning Salt. Done.
Add a slice of bread.
Written by Jon in recipes ~
Orange Sherbet Chicken
We first made this dish when Jon’s barber and his wife came to dinner. They didn’t eat much of it, and Jon later said he liked it, and that it tasted like orange sherbet. Not exactly what I was going for, but it turned out okay.
Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts (it’s meant to be one per person, but it’s really hard to figure out how many pieces are in a package)
1/2 can unsweetened orange juice concentrate
Chili powder to taste
Mchomo Masala powder to taste (if you don’t have mchomo masala, curry powder would be a suitable substitute, as they appear to be nearly the same thing)
Instructions
Preheat oven to what you guess is about 350 degrees F (I guessed 6 on my oven and it seemed to work fine). Arrange chicken on a Pyrex dish. If you open the package of chicken and realize that it’s not four breasts but rather two breasts and a bunch of chicken strips, cut the rest of the chicken into similarly-sized pieces. Add orange juice concentrate to the dish. Sprinkle chili and mchomo masala on top of chicken. Place in oven and bake until chicken is cooked, 20-40 minutes depending if you’re using chicken strips or pieces and how accurately you guessed your oven temperature. When chicken is about half-cooked, remove from oven and stir. When cooked, remove from oven. If your guests are an hour late and you don’t feel like getting on the floor to relight the oven, place chicken and sauce in a pan and heat on high for 3-4 minutes. This serves to both reheat the chicken and makes a more syrupy sauce.
Serving Suggestion
I served this chicken for the first time with bread. I think it would be better served over rice. Brown rice would be better, but you won’t get that in Kampala, and so use whatever rice you have.
Written by Sarah in Food, Life, recipes ~
Brown Onion Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
1 bag yellow lentils
1 pack brown onion soup mix
water
Place lentils and soup mix in a pot. Fill pot with about 3-4 times as much water as lentils. Boils until lentils are soft, adding water as necessary.
Eat and enjoy!
Written by Sarah in Food, Uncategorized, recipes ~
