I come from a beautiful tropical country, Nicaragua, located in the middle of Central America, a perfect destination for beach lovers, volcanoes, hikers, or anyone who loves to stroll through colonial towns admiring the slow pace life of the locals or the colorful colonial houses. And one aspect you can not overlook is authentic Nicaraguan food.
Being far from home, many of us expats don’t only miss family and friends, but also the meals that you grew up with or those special dishes save for special occasions. For me, arriving in China and seeing the exotic local cuisine with all the interesting ingredients and wide array of presentations felt like food paradise, but that feeling of missing the flavors from home was still there. It came as a pleasant surprise, therefore, to have found a few dishes here in Beijing that are very similar to some Nicaraguan dishes. Although not similar in taste, the bases for their cooking are.
Nicaraguan nacatamales vs. zongzi
Nacatamales is a traditional food made with corn dough stuffed with pork meat, potatoes, rice, onions, garlic, mint and seasoned with salt and sour orange ( and not just any orange: a particular type of orange used to bring out flavors in certain meat dishes). The one striking similarity to local zongzi is the fact that nacatamales are also wrapped in leaves for their cooking process. In Nicaragua we use the leaves of a plantain tree. People use two to three leaves to create a thick layer to place the raw ingredients on it to then wrap it tightly and tie-up with a string to be cooked in water for 3 to 5 hours. Here in China, zongzi is rice-based and stuffed with pork belly meat, mushrooms, chestnuts, shallots, and soy sauce. Zongzi are usually wrapped in bamboo leaves and tied up with a string as well. Different from nacatamales, zongzi can also come in a sweet form. Nacatamales are a very popular meal on weekends to enjoy for dinner or for your Sunday breakfast.
Churros vs. Youtiao
Nicaraguan churros or fried dough can come in plain, salty, sweet, or spicy flavors. Some churros are made with corn dough and others with flour. This popular snack can be eaten along with the main hot dishes or served as dessert. The one Chinese snack that reminds me of churros is this type of fried sticks you find in every store, youtiaou. It’s always fun to find familiar foods that can bring you a little taste from home.
Rice and Chicken vs. Fried Rice
Another popular Nicaraguan meal is rice and chicken mixed with vegetables. The chicken is shredded and the veggies are cut in small pieces. People usually add carrots, celery, onions, green pepper, and peas. The chicken is cooked separately as well as the rice, once the veggies are stir-fried and seasoned with salt and pepper you add the chicken and the rice to the mix and then add mustard sauce and ketchup. This meal is very similar to the popular Chinese fried rice. The flavors are of course different, the Nicaraguan rice tends to have a sweet and sour taste whereas Chinese fried rice is more on the salty side. In my opinion, both dishes are delicious!
Chop Suey vs. Lo Mien Noodles
Ok, ok, I hear what you’re saying: chop suey isn’t Nicaraguan! But this dish is extremely popular in Nicaragua and has been popular for so long that it’s developed in a uniquely Nicaraguan way. Nicaragua has a small population of Chinese descendants, and we can gather that the introduction of this form of stir-fried vegetable mixture came from them. Chop suey or ‘Chopsui’ as it is called in my country, is prepared with finely chopped cabbage, carrots, chayote squash, celery, onions, and seasoned with English Sauce, a type of Worcestershire sauce, Ketchup (yes! Ketchup!), salt and pepper. Whenever there are big family gatherings, Nicaraguans will prepare a delicious chop suey dish to offer their guests as it is considered a healthy choice as well as a cheap one, and the most important thing, your guests will come out satisfied with such a succulent meal. The great part of eating this dish is that it’s topped with churritos or a small plain crunchy fried dough that makes a bite of chop suey so good even if you don’t like some of the veggies in it!
Lo Mein noodles certainly reminded me of chop suey. They are similarly prepared with chopped carrots, celery, onions, or any other vegetables you wish to add to the mix. Lo Mein noodles are seasoned with soy sauce and stir-fried together with the vegetables to blend in the flavors together. No doubt a great dish!
Food is one of the best ways to connect different cultures. It’s something that we can all relate to regardless of our background and when we’re able to find similarities between two very difficult cultures through food, it’s a reminder that we’re not so different after all. No matter where you are or what’s available to you, experimenting with new flavors, and creating new memories can make these special connections with your home to your new environment. This is my second time residing in China and the flavors, tastes, and smells are already becoming part of me. Whenever the time comes for me to depart, I will be missing the food of the place that once was home.
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Photos: Ash Chuan (via Flickr), courtesy of Eloisa Duarte, Unsplash, Dianping
