Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Hand Culture – Eating Sticky Food

At Tante Marie (specialists in West African Cuisine), an interracial couple rendezvous with its Ghanaian friends. The Missus looks of Germanic stock; the Mister is a dusted-with-coal Rastafarian. They’re both clothed all in white. It’s a celebration! Among them huddles a little granddad in a giant’s ancient suit and a failing backbone that makes his head hang below his bony shoulders, as his dirty, white beard almost brushes the tabletop. He’s stuffing Banku and Tilapia into his pinched mouth with a fork. But, to really clean the flesh off the fish bones, he finds that he has to use his good old hands.

18 comments:

  1. hahaha...certain things you can't ignore the hands. For me baku and fufu are supposed to be eaten with the hands. These overdoing of the Western culture. We feel shy our friends would spot us, that they would say something against us. I have always maintained, it's always not about what others say against you but what you feel within you that matters.

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  2. Me, i'm all for eating with the hands. Even jollof rice and chicken, i eat with the hands. And at work too. Me nfere hwee. (i'm not shy). It may seem strange to some people at first but after a while, everyone accepts that u will eat anything with your hands. Not a big deal. I write about the pleasures of eating with the hands, pot expertly balanced between thighs, Ghana style here:http://maameous.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-being-ghanaian-i-invitation-to-meals.html

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  3. Lol... yes ooo...what does five fingers spell?
    S-P-O-O-N.

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  4. *Poor grand-dad* Just to think that he felt shy being himself. It really does happen. I like the character descriptions..."Missus looks of Germanic stock; the Mister is a dusted-with-coal Rastafarian." Fascinating...Was at Tante Marie on Friday evening but I'm sure my friend and I would be absolutely uninteresting characters!

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  5. ive missed ur blog! ahhhh im so angry i am not going to have enough chances to keep up.
    Any de-stress advice?
    And whats up with 'Tante Marie' that's Norwegian/Swedish...aunty Marie.

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  6. hmmm...I think eating with the hands adds a certain kind of enjoyable feel!...hehe...love Tante Marie...they have this garden eggs stew and some pepper that I keep craving from miles away!

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  7. But there are situations when you cant actually eat with your fingers. Just imagine taking a woman out on a date, to a place like...... let me see.... yes..a place like Granada and eating with your rice with your finger. There nooooor DISQUALIFIED!

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  8. Very deep, N F-A. I simply say there are natural ways of doing certain things. Certain kinds of food must be eaten with the hands or they will taste different.

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  9. Yes lucci, but it does not spell fork, does it? lol.

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  10. Very kind compliments, Abena. And I'm sure your little team at Tante Marie was remarkable one way or another.

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  11. Awww, Adaeze, it's really all right to come and read when you can. To de-stress, I play chess, read world history, blog or swim. Does any work for you? And Tante Marie is (also) French, imagine that!

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  12. Lol, Mazy, Garden egg stew paaa. Gosh, I love it so much,myself. When are you next in Ghana? :)

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  13. I believe, Edward, that it is more about the kind of food than about the place it is eaten. Learn from Esi. The food you eat at Imperial Peking will likely be eaten with chopsticks or a fork and knife, no? So if she disqualifies you for a faux pas, tough! But if you disqualify me for eating Gari Fortor with my fingers, I will refuse to be fired. I will quit!

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  14. Chicken Jollof Rice with the fingers for Esi. I like! I will read the post you referred. Thanks.

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  15. Food really does taste better with the hands. I can't imagine eating banku and tilapia w/ a fork though!

    Btw, love your style of writing. Very expressive w/ a refreshing lack of verbosity.

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  16. Thanks, Sankofa. Brevity is the soul of wit.

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  17. "Brevity is the soul of wit." can I quote you on that one?

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  18. Um, Matekwor, those words aren't mine, lol. So feel free to use them without my permission.

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