Tools of the Trade

Yesterday, our neighbors brought us some really nice fish, fresh from the coast (2 1/2 hours away). I don't know what kind it was, but it was a nice light one, not too fishy. Perhaps a kind of snapper.

Anyway, I've been meaning to post with photos of some of the tools I use in my kitchen and thought this would be a good time. I made coconut fish yesterday, with a recipe given to me by a Mozambican lady in Beira (further south).

First, you start with the rice. Here, we eat only "machamba rice". A machamba is a garden, but in people's gardens they grow everything. It is much bigger than an American garden, generally. Manioc, peanuts, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, you name it. And quite a few people have rice machambas. We buy this "fresh" rice, which is dried but is much fresher than the stuff you buy in plastic packaging at the store. And ooooohhh is it good!

Anyway, to prepare it, first you put it out in a flat basket (pictured) to sort out any rocks, bugs, hulls, or anything else that you don't want to eat. I have two of these baskets in my kitchen and they are useful for anything you want to spread out and shake around (like beans, vegetables, etc.). They are sold all over town, as are all the things pictured. Probably cost less than 50 cents each. So, you sort the rice, while you put the water to boil. We don't measure a certain amount of water for a certain amount of rice. When the water comes to a boil, you pour your clean rice into a bowl and cover it with cool water, and stir it around with your hand to clean it some more, then pour out that water and handful by handful scoop your rice into the boiling water. Once it comes to a boil again, set the timer for five minutes and stir it occasionally. Throw some salt in. After five minutes, you tip the extra water out of the pot into the sink. You can save this water to give to someone with diarrhea (a frequent problem here), or just dump it down the drain. The trick is to leave just the right amount of water in the pot. Then turn the heat low, cover the pot, and let it simmer about 10 minutes. Stir it occasionally and look to make sure it is not burning. That's it.



Next is the fish dish. Usually, a fish arrives in my kitchen completely intact. Which means I have to cut off the head, scale it, and filet it. This is why we rarely eat fish, since I hate that job and unless I have someone helping me that day I don't want it! This fish arrived already cut up, though the scales were still on. Cut your fish into pieces and marinate it overnight in lemon and garlic. Leave the skin on. Next day, cut up 1/2 cup green peppers, 1/2 cup tomatoes (these are from our garden), 1/2 cup onion and throw it all into a pot with 1/4 cup oil. Meanwhile, flour and fry your fish.

Fry your vegetables for 10 minutes. Throw in 2 teaspoons of red pepper, salt and black pepper.

Now it is time for the coconut milk. To make coconut milk is a fair amount of work. First, you have to crack it open with a hammer. Toby is always eager to do this, but so far has not been successful and I have to finish it up. I'm just waiting for him to smash his finger! The water that drains out is not coconut milk. It is refreshing, but useless for cooking this dish.

Now, to grate the coconut. Here, we use a little stool. You sit on it sideways, and holding half of the coconut in your hand, you scrape it over the sharp, scalloped, rounded scraper attached to the end of the stool. Every household has one of these. Grate your coconut meat into the bowl strategically positioned below the scraper. This takes a fair amount of muscle! Every visitor I've given this job to has given up, and it has taken me some time to be able to do it without my arm being sore. It takes me about 10 minutes, but my guard can do it in five. Lately, he gets the job. By the way, I feel compelled to say that this photo makes me look like I've gained about 100 pounds, but I haven't. :-)

Once you have your coconut meat, add water to it and squeeze it in your hand so that the milk comes out of the meat. Do this until the water looks milky.

Then, it is time to pour the milk and meat out of the bowl into the strainer, which is a little wooden box with netting and chicken wire across one side. Every household also has one of these. If you don't have enough milk for your recipe (this receipe calls for 3-4 cups), add more water to the meat and squeeze it some more, then strain it into the bowl of milk.


Pour your milk into the pot with the vegetables and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Then, let it boil 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn in down slightly, put the fish in the pot and let all cook together for 10 minutes. Serve over the rice. Enjoy! -C