Praying For Love In A Laplap Dance And Paying In Naivety

NATIONAL DISH OF VANUATU - Laplap

We jump aboard our sailing boats today (or cruise liner if you're lucky) and make our way across the Pacific Ocean to Vanuatu. Vanuatu has been known to Westerners since the 1600's and colonised by the French and British in the 1800's. But the Ni-Vanuatu cast off the colonial shackles in the 1980's, making Vanuatu a relatively young country enclosed in an ancient island.

Laplap is a staple of the Ni-Vanuatu, and can be found at the local markets. It is a combination of taro, cassava, bananas and coconut milk, but can contain other ingredients. Wrapped in banana leaves, it is then baked in the coals of a large outdoor fire. The end result being like an island vegetable cake, if you will. And of course you don't eat the banana leaves. Unless you need the roughage.

Enjoy, or as they say in Vanuatu, Enjoem! (they have their own version of English)



For an Ni-Vanuatu island experience: http://www.vanuatuatoz.com/l.html

Difficulty:         4

Appearance:   2

Taste:              2 

TOTAL:            8

There wasn't a great deal of difficulty in assembling the Laplap, but it was a bit tricky wrapping the parcels. The older and drier the banana leaves, the easier they will split. So try to get fresh banana leaves if you can. I fully understand that we all don't have a banana plantation in the backyard.

There wasn't a lot of colour inside the banana leaves, more a sea of white mush wrapped in a green blanket. The coconut milk gave off a nice fragrance whilst cooking, but when unwrapped, I must admit Laplap didn't look the most appealing.

The tasting was an interesting adventure. My step sister took one bite and declared it a fail, but I was eager not to be so dismissive. I plunged my fork to get to all the layers, and after that first bite I didn't mind the taste. The chicken worked surprisingly well with the mushed banana, and of course was complimented by the coconut milk. However, once I finished the chicken it all went pear shaped. Firstly, I understand that I couldn't cook it in a traditional outdoor oven, and that I probably assembled the Laplap wrongly in the first place. With the chicken now gone, the mush of the taro and cassava had a strong chalky, alkaline taste. This was too strong to eat, and the poor Laplap had to end there. I'm sure that if I was sampling Laplap at a Ni-Vanuatu market, that it would taste remarkably different. And if I ever get that chance, that is exactly what I will do.