handtomouth

Bouchon. Nems. Rougail. Cari. La Dodo le la.

These all new to my food and drink vocabulary thanks to a visit to the island of Reunion for the last two weeks. True to its medley of peoples, the food scene is wildly Creole, although the French influence is strong on menus. They’re typically divided into the classic French and the Creole, and the above beauties are joined by dishes like salty pork, duck in vanilla, goat in massala, streaky bacon with jack fruit, stag meat in red wine, red wine octopus stew, chicken with palm cabbage, eel in curry and the island’s favourite vegetable “chou-chou”.

Chou-chou is a curious green veg that’s grown on trellises. It has a slightly prickly skin that needs peeling and the flesh is light green, watery. Steamed, it has a texture something like cucumber or a light squash; it can also be grated into salads. This vegetable is found in the high mountain villages, in fact it lies around on the roadside, so common it is. But your local supermarket also sells it for a few cents. Back home, a relative who grew up on the KZN north coast remembers the same under another name, and in fact I read that the beast apparently hails from Brazil. Another popular vegetable is the spinach-like “brède”, steamed or stir-fried.

Bouchon are pork dumplings much the same as a form of dim sum, they’re on every street corner and bar in their little steamers and flag the Chinese settlers (as do the many Chinese restaurants). Nems, aka spring rolls too. Samoussas (spelt so) are tell-tale markers of the many Indians who live here.

La Dodo is the local beer, officially known as Bourbon on the label but with a picture of the extinct fowl accompanying. Now the code for beer on the island is “dodo”, which must make the marketers very happy, and the poor bird does live on as coppery piss.

Cari is a rather phonetic spelling of curry, the Malay influence showing. But here the cari is often beefed up with healthy slices of various chillies as opposed to the garam masala that the Cape is more used to. Rougail is also a spicy tomato-based sauce and often accompanies the many local sausages with some island-grown lentils, whole or in dhal form.