One of the interesting things about the culture in Cape Town is how influenced by outside cultures it is. While there are the distinct South African restaurants lining the city streets, just as popular are the Indian restaurants, Mediterranean restaurants, restaurants from many European countries and the occasional Mexican restaurant. Unlike our experiences in China and Morocco, where the majority of the food we ate had origins in that country (except Mike’s Pizza in Chengdu – we still miss it), we ate fairly similarly to how we do back in the states.
Game Meat
While we didn’t choose to eat any of these selections, many of the South African restaurants (usually geared to tourists) had a large range of game meats to try – anything from warthog, to springbok, ostrich, kudu, and wildebeest.
Sauces: Peri-Peri, Sweet Chili, and Mrs. H.S. Ball’s Chutney
Two of our favorite sauces from our time in Cape Town were present in just about everyone’s pantries and added quite a bit of flavor to any dish. The first is peri-peri, a spicy red colored sauce that was used to spice up many proteins, from shrimp to chicken, and sautéed vegetables, and was a unique flavor to Cape Town. The second was a sweet chili sauce, which isn’t necessarily only found in South Africa (we first has it on our trip to Australia/New Zealand 2 years ago), but was served with everything from french fries to breaded chicken. And the last, Mrs. Ball’s Chutney, was such a popular flavor with South African’s that it is also used to flavor potato chips. Yum.
Recipes borrowed from Sarah Graham at afoodieliveshere.co.za, photos linked to their original websites.
Butter Chicken Bunny Chow
A favorite dish of Taylor’s (and many other visitors of Cape Town) was the butter chicken. But butter chicken by itself is Indian. So South Africans made it their own by calling it bunny chow and stuffing a piece of hollowed out bread with the curried chicken. Spiced with turmeric and curry, this chicken makes a hearty dinner that is full of flavor.
1 lb chicken thighs, roughly chopped ½ cup plain yoghurt 2 tsp each of turmeric, medium hot curry powder, ground coriander, cumin and dried chilli flakes 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tsp grated fresh ginger 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 x 14.5 oz can chopped peeled tomatoes 2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce 3 Tbsp ground almonds (the vital secret ingredient!) 12 ready made mini pita breads or individual loaves of bread, hollowed out ½ cup low-fat coconut milk a handful of chopped fresh coriander |
If possible, the morning before:
Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and coat with the yoghurt, and 1 tsp each of the turmeric, curry powder, coriander, cumin and chili. Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge to rest.
To cook:
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium-sized pot over a medium–high heat. Add the garlic, grated ginger, black pepper and remaining spices, and let them ‘marry’ with the oil until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken mix in a couple of batches so that the pot isn’t overwhelmed. Stir and let it come to a simmer, 3–5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sweet chili sauce and ground almonds.
3. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes. You will know you’re close when the color starts to change to a delicious rich burnt orange and the meat is really tender. Try not to stir too often, as this can break up the chicken too much.
4. About 5 minutes before serving, add the coconut milk to the butter chicken and stir gently and add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle over the fresh coriander.
5. To serve, arrange the pitas or bread on a platter with the dish of butter chicken and a few teaspoons on the side for serving. Your can then spoon the chicken directly into the pitas, making individual ‘bunny chows’.
Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and coat with the yoghurt, and 1 tsp each of the turmeric, curry powder, coriander, cumin and chili. Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge to rest.
To cook:
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium-sized pot over a medium–high heat. Add the garlic, grated ginger, black pepper and remaining spices, and let them ‘marry’ with the oil until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken mix in a couple of batches so that the pot isn’t overwhelmed. Stir and let it come to a simmer, 3–5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sweet chili sauce and ground almonds.
3. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes. You will know you’re close when the color starts to change to a delicious rich burnt orange and the meat is really tender. Try not to stir too often, as this can break up the chicken too much.
4. About 5 minutes before serving, add the coconut milk to the butter chicken and stir gently and add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle over the fresh coriander.
5. To serve, arrange the pitas or bread on a platter with the dish of butter chicken and a few teaspoons on the side for serving. Your can then spoon the chicken directly into the pitas, making individual ‘bunny chows’.
Malva Pudding
One of the most South African of desserts is malva pudding. It’s a type of bread pudding served at many of Cape Town’s restaurants, and a dessert that was ordered nearly every time it was seen on a menu – mostly to see if they all tasted good.
To bake:
1. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
2. Beat the egg and sugar well in mixer.
3. Melt the butter and along with the vinegar and apricot jam add to the egg mixture.
4. Add the liquids alternately with flour to egg mixture and beat well.
5. Bake in a covered dish at 350 °F for 45 – 60 minutes until lightly golden in color.
Sauce:
Melt all the ingredients together in a saucepan and pour over the pudding as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla custard (or both!)
1. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
2. Beat the egg and sugar well in mixer.
3. Melt the butter and along with the vinegar and apricot jam add to the egg mixture.
4. Add the liquids alternately with flour to egg mixture and beat well.
5. Bake in a covered dish at 350 °F for 45 – 60 minutes until lightly golden in color.
Sauce:
Melt all the ingredients together in a saucepan and pour over the pudding as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla custard (or both!)