This archipelago´s cuisine blends various aspects of French, Chinese, Indian and African influences, and not surprisingly, seafood – fish, octopus (above) and shellfish – plays a major role. Spices that abound here include coriander, ginger, and lemongrass, and other common elements include coconut milk and fruit like tamarind and papaya. Seafood is prepared baked, curried, grilled, salted, smoked, steamed, and wrapped in banana leaves, and invariably served with rice. One particularly common dish is ladob, salted fish boiled with plantains, cassava, and breadfruit (there´s a dessert version of this too, adding coconut milk and subtracting the fish). And another that´s particularly quirky is shark chutney, shark meat which is boiled, finely mashed, and cooked with the juice of a local fruit called bilenbi, then mixed with fried onion and spices.
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