A culinary exploration presented by SOFIFRAN

National Francophone Immigration Week is made up of many activities, some playful, some educational, often both at once. The virtual culinary gathering organized by SOFIFRAN clearly belonged in that last category.

The organization took up the subject of multiculturalism through the pleasures of the table. The star of the show: tshiluabenyi chicken, named after the spice used to prepare it, which is in fact what makes the dish so interesting.

“The recipe comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a dish served on every special occasion, at the important moments of life,” begins Fété Kimpiobi. The executive director of SOFIFRAN explains that tshiluabenyi chicken has several variations, depending on how it is prepared and on the meaning of the occasion, which can range from baptisms to engagements to the working out of marital difficulties.

The cooking itself, however, was left not to Ms. Kimpiobi but to Régine Tshibangu. A video of about ten minutes was shown in which Ms. Tshibangu prepared a standard, simplified version of the recipe, since in Africa the whole chicken goes into the dish.

A base of tomato, onion, parsley, chives, garlic and vegetable oil is prepared, and the chicken, scored here and there beforehand so it takes in the flavour of the sauce, cooks in it for a while. The tshiluabenyi, which comes in the form of small dark leaves, is simply scattered over everything as it cooks.

“The idea is to eat the tshiluabenyi, not the chicken!” says Régine Tshibangu. It is an exaggeration, of course, but one that captures how much the Congolese love this spice.

After the video, the cook answered questions from the audience. Substitutes for typically African ingredients also came up, since they are often hard to track down in grocery stores here.

As was pointed out, ingredients that look very much alike can taste quite different depending on where they come from.

A few years ago, SOFIFRAN had in fact tried growing authentically African fruits and vegetables in the Niagara region, a well received initiative that gave direct access to produce that is otherwise hard to find in this part of the world.

Which goes to show that the culinary arts have never been foreign to SOFIFRAN.

PHOTO. Régine Tshibangu walked through the main steps of the recipe.