Food Matters in Papua New Guinea

  

Port Moresby has only a few large markets where fresh produce is sold daily and large supermarkets which sell local and imported goods. Every street corner you look, there is a little stall selling betel nuts and cigarettes!! Like all chefs the world over Chef Arnitha and I visited a couple of markets of Papua New Guinea. We went to the Gordon’s market and another market whose name just escaped my mind at this moment. I loved the markets I went – the tiny stalls are basically low tables with the vegetables and fruits displayed; some had the food stuff spread out on the floor. Everyone had a smile and was ever ready to be photographed! There seemed to be many jobless people sitting around chewing their betel nuts doing nothing except gossiping or following the philosophy of “life is but to sit and stare”. 

I found out that all markets in Papua New Guinea will definitely have stalls selling tobacco, betel nuts and sago flour.

PNG has its own native vegetables, fruits and nuts. “Sugar fruit” also known as passion fruit in other parts of the world is a common fruit. It is available throughout the year. You can go bananas over the types of bananas that are available in this island. Bananas are also one of the staple foods of the people of Papua New Guinea. Apparently there are more than 30 varieties of bananas from the dwarf types to the giant types used as a staple as well as cooked in the form of simple desserts.

Yam, Kaukau, sweet potato, sweet potato and rice is the staple food of the Papua New Guineans. The root vegetables are more often cooked with chicken or pork and coconut milk into a stew like dish. I guess ingredients and cooking methods will also vary from area to area in Papua New Guinea. Coconuts are used widely in coastal areas and therefore I think it may not be used in abundance in the Highlands. Spices are hardly used in their cuisine. I heard from some of the natives of PNG that one of the home favorites is sardines in cans and corned beef with rice. As for green vegetables, the most commonly used leaves are called the Ibeka – this is a kind of spinach. I also came across many types of dwarf tomatoes and chillies. But the chillies though small and pretty, are deadlier than the chilli padies.

I also came across another interesting food item called the curry nuts. They were longish, brown on the outside and white inside and definitely did not smell of curry!! I tried it raw and taste of an in between of coconut and almond. Apparently, the PNG people eat it roasted.

Most people cook over open fire and a lot of times it seems food is just wrapped in banana leaves and placed directly on the fire. If they have a function like a wedding, a large pit called the mumu is dug with rocks layed in and then the fire is lit it seems. I never got an opportunity to see this but from the description I get from the different people I spoke to, it sounds like a great way of cooking. Some leaves are placed on it and then the meat and root vegetables along with leafy vegetables like the choko (also known as chow chow in Asia) leaves are placed over it and thick coconut milk is poured over the food and more leaves are used to cover it and then the food is left to cook in the hot rock. It sounds so good and yet I never got an opportunity to try it! Pork and chicken is the favored meat here. Mud crabs are huge and meaty. They are literally covered with mud.

For the beer drinkers, Papua New Guinea has 2 beers - SP Lager and SP Export Lager!

Until I went to Papua New Guinea, I have had no idea that PNG produces one of the best coffee beans in the world!! Yes, the Arabica and the Robusta beans and the ever popular, expensive Blue Mountain coffee is also from Papua New Guinea. Most of the coffee grown in Papua New Guinea is organic. Coffee drinking is such a delight in PNG and of course I had to buy several packets of freshly ground good coffee. Each night I cannot wait for the morning, to sit and enjoy another cup of coffee at breakfast time….mmmmmmmm.