Gastronomic festivals have already become a familiar event in modern society, but nothing can compare in authenticity with festivals where locals from different countries help foreigners to plunge into their unusual culture. One of these festivals — Taste of Marianas (“Taste of the Mariana Islands”) — is held annually on the island of Saipan and opens for a European person the mystery of such mysterious names as Finandeni, Kelogvin, chalakiles, kaddun, bonelus aga and others.
The Northern Mariana Islands are an amazing place, located not only on the border of the Mariana Trench, but also at the junction of Spanish, Asian, American and many other cultures and customs of local peoples, which has affected the formation of local cuisine. This fusion of cultures has benefited Saipan cuisine, and various culinary traditions of the West have been transformed under the strong influence of the island life of the indigenous local people — the Chamorro people. Let the poor resources of the islands used in cooking be limited to breadfruit, bananas and, of course, coconuts in all their manifestations, but add to all this a variety of marine life and sauces that are not similar to anything, and you will get an original cuisine of the Northern Mariana Islands.
To give an opportunity to try all these and other Saipan dishes, every year every Saturday in May, the Taste of Marianas festival is held in Saipan, where you can taste all the variety of dishes of Chamorran cuisine and traditional cuisine of Oceania. These days, master classes, culinary competitions, and tastings are held on the Marianas. In May, everyone has the opportunity to go to the island of Saipan to get a taste of Saipan cuisine and get acquainted with the culture of the locals during the concerts that end each day of the festival. The gastronomic festival “Taste of the Mariana Islands” is a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with an unusual culture, look at the amazing nature and discover new horizons.
However, it is possible to transfer a piece of Marian to your kitchen by cooking one of the most popular dishes of local cuisine — escabeche. This is fish with vegetables, which is most often served with the most popular side dish on the Marianas — rice.
The dish came to Saipan during the Spanish rule — the islands were discovered for Europeans by the Portuguese navigator Fernand Magellan, who declared them the property of the Spanish crown. Despite its Spanish roots, the dish has undergone a noticeable adaptation, taking into account the products available in the Marianas and traditional tastes, so the Saipan escabeche is quite an authentic dish of local cuisine.
Cooking escabeche will not take much time and effort, but it will give your family a sense of presence on a paradise island.
Escabeche
Ingredients: Chinese cabbage-1 large head, white cabbage-1 medium head, eggplant-1 large fruit, coconut milk-3-4 cups, yellow ginger-6-8 tsp., salt-0.5 tsp., garlic-1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic, white fish-1.5 kg, garlic powder-1 tbsp., salt and pepper to taste. You can also add onions and herbs (optional).
Preparation:
1.Pour 1 cup of coconut milk into a large frying pan. Bring to a boil. Add 0.5 tsp of salt.
2. Put the Chinese cabbage in the pan. Pour 2 tsp of yellow ginger.
3. Mix and evenly distribute everything over the surface of the pan until the ginger dissolves in coconut milk.
4. Cook the Chinese cabbage until it becomes soft (or according to your taste).
5. Remove the Chinese cabbage in a separate container, so that the ginger sauce remains in the pan. If you don’t have much liquid left, add a little more coconut milk, 0.5 tsp salt and 2 tsp yellow ginger. Now add the leaves of white cabbage.
6. Mix it up. Make sure that each leaf of white cabbage is soaked in the sauce. We cook before the leaves become soft.
7. Pull out the leaves of white cabbage and put them in a container with Chinese cabbage. We leave the sauce in the pan. Just like last time, if you don’t have much liquid left, add more coconut milk and yellow ginger.
8. Then bring the sauce to a boil and put the chopped eggplant.
9. Lower the temperature to medium. Cook for 4 minutes, then turn the eggplant and cook for another 4 minutes.
10. We remove the finished eggplants to the rest of the vegetables. If you don’t have enough sauce left, add more coconut milk and ginger, as last time. Add garlic to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes on moderate heat. Then we pour the ready-made vegetables with garlic-ginger sauce (not everyone will need it for fish).
11. Let’s start with the fish. Preheat the oven to 200°C. We put the fish on a baking sheet.
12. Sprinkle the fish on both sides with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and yellow ginger. We put it in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until ready.
13. When the fish is ready, take a wide cup and fold the vegetables in layers: first eggplant, then white cabbage, then Chinese cabbage.
14. Then we put the fish on top.
15. Put some more vegetables on top of the fish and pour the sauce over everything. This dish is usually served with rice.
Bon Appetit!
And if such a dinner in the walls of your apartment is not enough for you, take the opportunity to visit the Taste of the Mariana Islands festival, taste authentic island cuisine prepared by the locals themselves, and enjoy a vacation on the amazing islands in the Pacific Ocean.
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