Local Cuisine

This weekend a couple of the high school girls called the house asking if we wanted to buy peroskies they had made to raise money for a trip they were taking.  I'm not sure if it was courage or stupidity that inspired me to say yes to a food I knew nothing about and couldn't even spell or pronounce, but I said sure with a good deal of enthusiasm.  Peroskies are a type of pie that the crust is filled, folded over, and sealed along the edge before baking.  While my sweet tooth was hoping for some sugary, fruity concoction, I found the filling of rice and salmon to be quite tasty, especially after the addition of a little soy sauce.  This made me realize I've only discussed a few of the local food items so here's a short list of some I've seen or heard about (and a few I've heard enough about to know they should be avoided).

Salmon, salmon, and more salmon - Being in every fisherman's heavenly dream location for fishing, they eat lots of fish and prepare it in a variety of ways.  It's salted, smoked, dried, dried and smoked, canned, boiled, and I'm sure a dozen other things I've yet to hear of.

Other fish - They also have a huge amount of halibut off the shores.  Trout are all over the lakes and first hole and cods (which are pretty darned close to catfish in flavor) in the lagoon.

Fish Pie - Like any other pie with a crust on top and bottom, but has a layered filling of tightly packed rice, salmon smothered in mayonnaise with onions, and then more packed down rice.  I've eaten this a couple times and it's pretty good.  I think if I made it my recipe would include some soy sauce, lemon juice, or cheese.

Fish Rice - A type of rice salad with smoked, dried salmon, fish eggs, seaweed, and some seasonings.  I think I would have enjoyed it more had the salmon not been smoked as that flavor was a bit strong for my tastes.

Bidarki

Bidarki - An icky looking creature who lives its life suctioned to rocks in the ocean.  Some eat them raw, pickled, or in casseroles.  I summoned the courage to try some pickled.  I figured if I like to drink pickle juice from the jar, surely it'll be decent.  It wasn't terrible, but it also isn't something I'll be craving for later.

Caviar

Caviar - Salmon eggs still tight in the sacks and cut from the fish's body.  I took my turn at making this and I'm pretty sure if they made a fish extract for flavoring foods, it would have the same flavor - very strong.

Salted fish eggs - When the eggs loosen in the body right before the salmon spawn, they can be squeezed from the body (after a minor sexual assault on the fish).  These are rinsed and salted and become much firmer than the caviar.  The taste isn't as strong as the caviar, but the rubbery texture and popping is a little strange.  These are eaten in this state, included as an ingredient in many recipes, or pickled.  The pickled eggs are pretty tasty, but I have a hard time getting beyond the popping.  One of the members of the village took a jar with her when flying out so that she and her family could eat them with cream cheese on bagels in the hotel breakfast so I'm thinking they're pretty popular.

Stink eggs - Fish eggs that have been fermented.  I have not tried these or seen these.  I'm judging by the name, I also do not want to smell them.  I think the most common way to prepare them is to simply put them in a container and stick them somewhere forgotten for a little while.  Many in the village love the, but I've heard more than one who does not care for them so I'm a bit nervous about experimenting.

Stink fish - Fermented fish.  I'm assuming the preparation is about the same as with the eggs.  It also seems to have the same level of popularity and thus result in the same level of trepidation about trying them.

Agudaq - This is a revised version of Akutaq or "Eskimo ice cream" (a food with several entries in Anita's cookbook.  I'm hoping she's looking forward to trying it when she visits).  While I'm interested in trying the ice cream version, I'm very uncertain about the local version.  This is made with mashed potatoes, seal oil, and stink eggs.  I've met far more people in the community who dislike this dish than enjoy it.

Seal - We've eaten this a couple times - both in a stew with rice.  It has a very strong flavor that is what I would imagine the child of a monster buck on serious steroids and a monster fish who's lived well beyond his life expectancy would taste like.  The smell of seal oil is quite unpleasant and I've not tried it, but I hear it's supposed to be very healthy for the blood.

Mussels on French Bread

Mussels and snails - I've tried the mussels and they are yummy!  I've not gotten the courage up to try the snails.

Octopus - I've heard it's very tasty, but haven't seen or tasted it.

Porcupine - This prickly little woodland creature is a favorite among the elders.

Birds - Ducks, Grouse, Geese, Swans, Loons, and I'm sure a few others.

I'm sure I've left many out, but these are the main foods that stand out in my mind.  Obviously they eat bear and moose and make a lot of berry jams and jellies when they have a good year, but I figured most everyone would be interested in the foods they are less familiar with.