Weekly Blog #10

New Zealand is a melting pot of different cuisine. There is heavy Asian influence on a lot of the restaurants, and there are hundreds of sushi and Thai places. There are many Irish and English pubs and burger places. It is hard to pinpoint one "local" food that I have seen the people of New Zealand enjoy. 

However, I attended a Maori traditional night in Rotorua when I was visiting in mid-September. The people of Rotorua take the people in attendance around a rebuilt historic Maori village as well as perform an assortment of cultural songs and dances for them. They also explain their traditional method of cooking, known as Hangi.

Hangi cooking involves the cooking of meat, fish, potatoes, and other foods in the ground. The food was originally wrapped in flax leaves, but now more common materials such as aluminum foil are used. The food is placed in baskets which are then lowered onto hot stones at the bottom of a wide hole dug into the ground. 

Depending on the amount being cooked, the food is left in the ground for about three to four hours. The smell of the cooking food reaches your nose almost immediately when you get out of your car, the sweet smoke drifting to greet you. 

Traditionally, fish, chicken, root vegetables such as kumara, or sweet potato were cooked. Now, meat such as pork, lamb, potatoes, cabbage, and stuffing are also cooked. The food is filled with smoky, earthy fragrances and tastes. 

Many people talk about the tenderness of the meat. Lamb is a big industry here in New Zealand. Personally, I am a vegetarian, so I do not eat meat or seafood. However, the other people in my group told me of its amazing, strong flavor and how it simply melted in their mouths. Just by looking at it, I could tell that it was cooked to perfection, the meat was brown and slightly pink in the center, the fish fell off the bone in an instant. 

The other things I could eat, like the roasted vegetables and the stuffing, were amazing. It was not stuffing like we are used to on Thanksgiving day, but much smokier. You could taste the flavors of the earth in each bite. 

They also made classic New Zealand desserts that they put out at the end. A classic one is known as Pavlova. It is a light, almost puddling- like cake. It has a lot of fresh fruit that is displayed beautifully on the top, arranged in pretty patterns. There is light, vanilla cake in the center of it. It is definitely a must-try before leaving New Zealand. 

I loved going to a traditional Maori cultural performance and dinner, it was interesting to learn about how they originally cooked their food and great to see they still do it the same way today. The food itself was amazing, although I do not eat meat the food they made was so tasty infused with flavors I never had tasted before.