This week’s protagonist: French Polynesia!
Our journey took us to investigate cuisine in French Polynesia. When the country popped up from the random generator, we didn’t know anything, we never heard of this country and so we didn’t know where in the world we were taken. Then we realized that from Taiwan we ended up in the middle of the southern Pacific ocean shifting from such strong and spicy flavors to sweet, simpler and tropical cuisine.
As a matter of fact, it was not so easy to find a specific recipe that would fit any person’s taste. The most typical recipe that we found was the Poisson cru from the Tahitian island which was a simple mixture of tropical flavors with raw fish. We didn’t find this idea so appealing so we kept searching.
Tahitian hidden treasure: Vanilla!
We discovered that the other recipes had one ingredient in common: Vanilla. Most of the cooked fish and other dishes that are dressed with sauce commonly have a vanilla-based sauce. So we came to learn that the best vanilla in the world comes from this hidden place French Polynesia. Therefore, no more questions, we cooked for the first time in our lives with real vanilla.
We ended up composing our own dish taking the different parts we found on our search. We prepared fried shrimps dressed in a reduction made of coconut cream with vanilla and onion, based on this recipe. The sauce turned out to be quite easy to prepare while delivering such a tasteful and aromatized vanilla flavor. It was super pleasant in our kitchen while preparing it. It was our first time cooking with an actual vanilla bean pod, so that was kind of exciting! To keep it simple, we just kept these shrimps accompanied by simple rice.
The tropical rice
To complement our Polynesian experience, we found a tropical rice which to our surprise felt like what we would call a Polynesian Risotto. This rice recipe consisted in cooking the rice in orange and water until tender. Then we prepared the dressing with onion, garlic, bell pepper and ginger. We then tossed the rice in the pan to attempt a fried rice style cooking everything with soy sauce. The recipe ended with an scrambled egg added at the end and cooking for a few minutes. This touch gave the rice a creamy risotto texture. Finally, pineapple pieces were added to compose more the tropical taste.
Our Polynesian composition was served also with an extra touch. We took the bottom of the pineapple to serve the fried rice and a small piece of plantain leaf to serve the vanilla-sauced shrimps. What a flavorful and delicate experience in our mouths!
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