Next Stop… Fiji!

My father always wanted to go to Fiji.  It was one of the things on his bucket list that he never got to do.  I have wanted to go ever since I watched “The Blue Lagoon” and found out that it was filmed there, seeing that beautiful scenery and beaches makes it seem like a paradise.  Now I want to go not only for the beaches but for the cultural diversity. With this recipe today I will travel to Fiji with my tasebuds.

The Republic of the Fiji Islands is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country occupies an archipelago of about 322 islands, of which 106 are permanently inhabited, and 522 islets. Fiji’s main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name “Fiji” is derived, through the pronunciation of their island neighbours in Tonga.

Interesting Facts:
- The population of Fiji is mostly made up of native Fijians, who are Melanesians (54.3%), although a few also have Polynesian ancestry, and Indo-Fijians (38.1%), descendants of Indian contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the nineteenth century.

- Fiji’s culture is a mix of indigenous, Indian, Chinese and European traditions, language, food (based mainly from the sea, casava, dalo & other vegetables), costume, belief systems, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance and sports.

Recipe:  Spiced Prawns with Almonds

3 tbsp Vegetable Oil or Ghee (lucky you if you can find Ghee… I used olive oil)
2 Bay Leaves
1 Cinnamon Stick
The seeds from 5 Cardamom Pods, crushed (use the green cardamom pods, you can coarsely grind the seeds in a coffee grinder or a magic bullet)

1-½ lb large Raw Prawns (shrimp), shelled and deveined (remember to do the ice water trick for the fullest flavour)
1-inch Fresh Ginger Root, grated (I cheatd and used the jarred grated fresh ginger)
1 Onion, chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 tbsp Plain Flour
3 tbsp Ground Almonds (you can get away with 4 tbsps)
½  tsp ground Turmeric
600ml/20fl.oz. Coconut Cream or Milk

2 Green Chilies, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tsp Sugar
Salt
1 tbsp Lime Juice

Directions:

Heat the ghee or oil in a frying pan, add the bay leaves, cinnamon and cardamom and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the prawns using tongs or a slitted spoon and set aside.
Reheat the oil then add the ginger, onion, and garlic, and fry for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the flour, almonds, and turmeric, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the coconut milk, chilies and sugar, mix well and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.
Return the prawns to the pan, season with salt and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Stir in the lime juice then remove from the heat and serve immediately.

VERDICT:
It may seem like there are a lot of ingredients but it was actually pretty easy to follow. I was afraid to screw it up so I did use a timer to have the exact minute count but even that didn’t make this recipe difficult.  My biggest challenge really was finding green chilies, I went to 3 different supermarkets and found lots of jalapeños, serrano and ancho chilies but no green ones. Thank goodness a friend of mine grows a small garden and, for some reason, he had green chilies to spare (I say “For some reason” because he doesn’t use them himself). So I want to thank my friend Paul for contributing to an important part of this recipe.
The recipe called for salt at the end to season and I only used about a teaspoon, in my opinion salt was really not needed thanks to the symphony of flavours that mingled together to make this creamy delight! I served it over, of course, whole grain rice on its own and we all really enjoyed it. It was delicious! Then again, I am very fond of coconut milk in sauces so I may not be the best judge on this one. All I can say is that it was so good I almost regretted having to share! Almost…