Worldwide delectability: Africa

There are far too many tasty dishes around the world to be listed here in a single article. But, I was curious to find out what the most palatable cuisines are based on the continent. As it turns out, even breaking the world up into continents doesn’t cover the variety of the most delicious cuisines around the world. So, the only way to avoid an endless list of deliciousness and delectability from every corner of the world is to pick one from each continent that could properly represent that continent in particular. In this article, I will discover the most delicious dish in Africa!

The Continent of Africa

This continent is considered the second largest in the world. There are more than 1.2 billion people living on the continent and they are spread out over 54 countries. The continent of Africa also includes a great deal of wilderness that is far less inhabited by human beings. Some of the countries in Africa that are the most inhabited include Johannesburg, Giza, and Cairo. Cairo is home to more than 4,400 restaurants, many of which likely serve a popular African dish known as Pap En Vleis.

Pap En Vleis

Pap En Vleis is a tasty and very common African dish. Most of the time, the dish can be eaten with your hands due to how thick the pap can be. Pap is a member of the carbohydrate family. This part of the South African dish can be paralleled to that of polenta.

Pap En Vleis is a relatively simple dish to make but, involves an extensive ingredient list. I was able to find a recipe for this dish on the internet. It is written by Siba Mtongana. This recipe is as follows:

The ingredients list

• 750 ml water
• A pinch of salt
• 350 g of maize meal
• 2 T butter
• 5 T soya sauce
• 5 T teriyaki sauce
• 200 g thick beef strips
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 x 10 I’m piece ginger, peeled and grated
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 125 ml sweet chili sauce
• 2 spring onions, sliced

The instructions to make the dish are briefly laid out as follows:

1. Boil water and salt
2. Add half of the maize meal and reduce to medium heat
3. Cover and cook for 8 minutes
4. Stir and slowly add the other half of the maize meal
5. Stir and beat with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes
6. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 10 – 15 minutes
7. Add the butter and mix
8. Remove from heat
9. Use muffin tray and press two spoonfuls of pap into each cup on the tray
10. Set aside and marinate the beef strips in half of the soya and teriyaki sauce for 10 minutes
11. Heat oil in large frying pan
12. Saute onion, garlic, and ginger for one minute
13. Add beef
14. Season with pepper and stir-fry for three minutes until cooked through
15. Add remaining sauces, sweet chili sauce, and spring onion
16. Cook for 2 minutes
17. Fill each of the pap cups and serve

*total cooking time is an estimated 40 minutes after about 15 minutes of prep time. Plan accordingly.

The recipe is easy to make, even a beginner could take a crack at it! The end result should be about four to six servings. If you are cooking for a larger crowd then you may want to double the recipe. Do so carefully. The recipe author was kind enough to include a wine pairing option and she suggests Hidden Valley Pinotage. This, of course, is likely not available throughout African villages, but may be something you can find locally.