(Opinion) FSJ Eats with Ed: Cultural celebrations offer eclectic and unique choices

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — With the summer sun in full swing, celebrations showcasing cultures  from each nook and cranny around the globe are abundant throughout Fort St. John and the area.

From National Indigenous Peoples Day festivities to recognizing Filipino Heritage Month and honouring the LGBTQ+ community, each offers a different insights into the unique residents and characters who call the North Peace home.

On this edition of FSJ Eats with Ed, I took a stroll through Africa and Asia (although spending less money than it would cost to globetrot) and discovered the contrasting dishes of the countries of Nigeria and the Philippines by attending celebrations honouring both nations.

NIGERIAN CUISINE:

The first Igbo Day honouring the Igbo community in the North Peace took place on Saturday, June 7th.

While there were historical artefacts and garments honouring the Igbo people on display, this is FSJ Eats with Ed – so we’re only writing about the food.

Having been born myself into an immigrant family of Jamaican origin, I was surprised to learn  from Oluchi Eguzozie, a caterer of the event, that the texture and taste of the West African country’s foods are similar.

“Nigerian cuisine has flavour,” said Eguzozie. “It’s also colourful. It’s very appealing to the eyes.”

Offering soups, meat and snacks, here are the top three favourite dishes for this reporter from Igbo Day.

Nigerian meat pie:

As is the case with all countries offering a variation of meat pie, Nigeria has its own spin on the classic dish.

The Nigerian meat pie can be easily eaten with your hands, and its origins lay in pasty, a British pastry – similar to Jamaican beef patties.

“Some people might call it pierogies,” said Eguzozie. “It was a little bigger than pierogies are, like double [or] three times the size of pierogies.” 

Eguzozie described it as fluffy. Although made from white flour, the stuffing inside was of ground meat and carrots. It was extremely robust for my taste buds and had me clamouring for those late nights of eating patties in my youth. Ed-o-metre score: 4.2 stars out of five.

Moin moin:

Also known as ‘moi moi’ or ‘olele’, this pudding dish features black-eyed peas (no not the rap group)  as the main ingredient, according to Eguzozie.

“We try to take out the skin of the black-eyed peas, so that black eye isn’t there at all,” said Eguzozie. “We soak them for a couple of hours, wash the skin off, and then we blend them with red bell peppers and then eggs.”

No kidding. This was a favourite among attendees at Igbo Day and for good reason: the blending of the unique ingredients makes for an extremely solid dish that is out of this world. Ed-o-metre score: 4.45 stars.

Nkwobi with goat legs

A staple among the Igbo people, this tasty goat dish is made from tender animal feet and prepared with palm oil.

Ingredients needed also include kaun (also known as potash), calabash nutmegs, utazi leaves, pepper and onion.

Not as intense in flavour as the Jamaican curry goat dish, it was nonetheless definitely a treat to devour. The goat meat was tender, the spices not too intense. Ed-o-metre score: 4.5 stars.

FILIPINO CUISINE:

Not to be outdone, Philippines Independence Day festivities took place on Sunday, June 8th at Festival Plaza.

Organizer Ovvian Castrillo-Hill offered a potluck option for lunch, which attendees were eager to take part in. 

“Our culture is quite unique,” said Castrillo-Hill. “[Like Canada] it’s also a melting pot of amalgamated culture. Because we’re Malay stock, we’ve traded with the Chinese and we were colonized by the Spanish and the Americans. So our cuisine is informed by this.”

Philippines Independence Day featured several stews, noodles, chicken and fish dishes that I was all too keen on eating right up. Here are the top three favourites:

Daing 

Served as a Filipino comfort food, daing is a fish item which can be served fried, grilled wrapped in foil and baked in an oven.

A caterer with the event, Elvin Iglesias, explained it can be served as a breakfast food or as a tasty dish later in the day.

“We dry it under the sun [in the Philippines],” said Iglesias. “You can fry it for a crispy version. You can serve it with a typical dipping sauce, like vinegar.”

The version at the independence day celebrations had eggplants along with vegetables.  Definitely great light seafood I enjoyed.  4.1 stars.

 Pancit canton (Filipino chow mein)

This sweet-savory dish was served with two regional choices: pancit canton and palabok, which are either shrimp or pork.

“We call it the same as the Chinese chow mein,” explained Iglesias. “But we have different names accordingly.”

Taking on the seafood version, it was savoury and made me full. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and wish I could make a version for myself at home. 4.3 stars.

Adobo

A staple of Filipino cuisine, this stew is made by first browning the meat in oil, then marinating it in vinegar, salt soy sauce and garlic.

“It’s an all-meat dish,” said Iglesias. “We sometimes add eggs or vegetables like potatoes, carrots and peppers.”

This version was chicken and it had eggs. A lot of eggs. But it was definitely worth the trip down to Festival Plaza. Very thick and creamy and the egg was a nice kick on top of it all. As close to a five stars as I could give. 4.8 stars.

Read more from FSJ Eats with Ed here.