WIN: Taste of Thursday with No.9 Barronstrand St.

Thursday, 1st November – Moroccan Cottage Pie with Sweet Potato Mash

This week No.9 are returning to the topic of clocks going back for winter time.

Last Thursday No.9 chose a Portuguese Chorizo Stew to mark the Clocks going back on Sunday and we mentioned the possibility this will be the last time the clocks go back.

But the very next Day, only two days before the clocks were due to go back, Morocco decided to immediately scrap Winter Time and not bother putting their clocks back.

Morocco was in the same Time Zone as Ireland and will be again when we move back to Summer time in the Spring.

To mark this dramatic move No.9 are cooking a delicious winter dish of Moroccan Cottage Pie with cumin and raisins & topped with Sweet Potato Mash.

Thursday, 25th of October – Portuguese Sweet Potato & Chorizo Soup

This week No.9 are serving Portuguese Sweet Potato & Chorizo Soup to mark the clocks going back, possibly for the last time!

They have chosen Portugal as it is the only country on mainland Europe to have the same time zone as us. Most countries in West Africa also share the same time Zone.

Chorizo is a cured Iberian sausage with smoked red peppers and garlic, which gives it its flavour.

This might be the last winter we have where the clocks go back, so enjoy the novelty of the darker evenings this winter and take care walking or cycling on the roads.

Thursday, 18th of October – Homemade Cornish Pasties

This week No.9 are again featuring England. A couple of weeks ago they did Brexit for the first time with a Chicken Coronation wrap and said they were doing it before Brexit stopped being funny. Well so far it gets less funny everyday while at the same time getting more comical.

RTE Jr have a kids news programme for children and they recently did a feature on called ‘Brexit for kids’ to help explain it to Irish Children who are learning about it in school. The sad irony is that this video had become hugely popular in England as its one of the first things they have seen which actually manages to explain what Brexit is to all the people who voted for it.

Thursday, 4th of October – Pork and rice (bai sach chrouk)

For Taste of Thursday this week No.9 are returning to a news story they have already featured twice this year; the Syrian Man who has been stuck in Kuala Lumpur Airport since March.
On Monday Malaysian police took him from the airport and have said they will arrange for him to be deported back to Syrian.
To quickly remind you of the story; he is from Syria, but moved to the United Arab Emirates to avoid military service, he was working in the UAE when his passport ran out, but because of the war he couldn’t return to Syria to renew his passport, so he tried to go to Cambodia but got stuck in Kuala Lumpur!
He has since been trying to get a visa to travel to join his family in Canada but it’s a two year process.
So No.9 have already made a Malaysian dish and a Syrian dish, so this time they are going to make a Cambodian dish of a Sticky Glazed Pork Loin with pickled Vegetables & Cambodian Pineapple Rice.
The pork glaze is made with Soy & Lime Juice, the Vegetables are pickled with Rice Vinegar and Coconut Milk and the Pineapple Rice, which is also popular in Thailand is a fried rice made with pineapple juice and chilli.

Thursday, 27th of September – Chicken Tagine with Cous Cous

For Taste of Thursday this week No.9 have been inspired by the ever reliable unpredictable Donald Trump. It was reported last week that he told Spain to build a wall across the Sahara desert to help control mass immigration to Europe. While that story is funny but not very interesting it led us to discover something new and interesting; a place called Western Sahara.
If you look at a map of Morocco you will see a dotted line across the middle of the country, roughly in line with the Canary Islands. North of this line is the Morocco we know from holidays, movies and travel shows, south of this line is a disputed territory mostly controlled by Morocco known as Western Sahara.
It is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world roughly the size of the UK with the population of Cork with most people in one city. Despite its barren nature and lack of population or resources, it has one thing of particular value, its fishing grounds stretch for almost a 1,000Km south from the Canary Islands.
To mark this interesting new discovery No.9 are cooking the regional speciality a Chicken Tagine with Cous Cous rather than the well-known slow cooked Tagine of the north, this one is cooked on the pan and then transferred to the Tagine for serving, this makes it lighter and more textured with brighter colours and retains the individual flavour of the ingredients and spices.

Thursday, 20th of September – Pan fried Scallops with Black Pudding & Pea Puree

This week No.9 are featuring the ongoing Scallop War off the coast of Normandy between Britain & France, where last week a truce was called to allow peace talks to take place.

Britain & France have different rules about fishing for scallops which means that off coast of Normandy French boats can’t fish for scallops during the summer breeding season, but British boats can fish all year round. This has led to open conflict at sea as the Norman fishermen sail out to protect their fishing grounds from plunder.

It used to be said you should only eat shellfish if the month had an “R” in it, thereby avoiding the summer months from May to August. With this being the perfect time of year to enjoy scallops No.9 couldn’t resist using this news story to serve a modern classic.

Thursday, 13th of September – Styrian Chicken Salad with pumpkin seed oil

This week No.9 are featuring Austria, because Luke; one of their longest serving members of staff, is moving to Austria this week for a college placement.
Styrian Chicken is a Vinaigrette marinated chicken fried in a light bread crumb, the pumpkin seed oil for the salad is a staple of Austrian Cuisine as Pumpkin growing is very popular given the Austrian climate.
The best story in Austrian news at the moment is sightings of a Kangaroo in the countryside around a northern Austrian town. Police have checked with Zoos far and wide but none are missing a Kangaroo. Even more surprising is this is the second time a Kangaroo has been found in Austria. Back in 2015 a Kangaroo escaped from a Zoo in Germany and made it across the border into Austria before being spotted!

Thursday, 6th of September – Chicken Coronation Wrap with Chips & Beer Batter Scraps

For over two years No.9 have resisted the relentless news coverage of Brexit and have actively avoided choosing the UK for taste of Thursday.  Now with disaster looming, they have finally decided to shine the light on Brexit for fear it might soon have no comedy value.

Coronation Chicken, a Curried Chicken Mayonnaise, is a perfect Brexit metaphor; having been first made for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth to symbolise the British Empire. Chips and Scraps are a Northern England delicacy, Scraps are the little bits of batter that come off when frying with batter. Chip shops lift out the scraps when they are golden and sprinkle them on chips as a crunchy topping. It is something never seen down south in remain voting London. No.9  are making their scraps using fresh Beer Batter. So No.9 invite you to join them for this, uniquely English, Brexit lunch while we can still see the humour in it all.

Thursday, 30th of August – Pasta La Genovese

This week No.9 are featuring Genoa, the Italian city which recently suffered a horrifying Autostrad bridge collapse. No.9’s taste of Thursday choices often highlight how small a place the world is and this is no different.

Irene from No.9 used to live in Genoa and now has a sister who live there. Only a week before the bridge collapsed she and Bill were driving across the bridge and said “imagine if this bridge collapsed”.  The bridge is unavoidable, a bit like the Red Cow Junction in Dublin so everyone in Italy has probably driven over it at some stage and thought the same thing.

Genoa, like the Papal States mentioned last week, was once an independent Republic before the unification of Italy. Although it is a port city with a great maritime tradition and was the home of Christopher Columbus, whose house still stands today, its culinary identity is based on it being the birthplace of Pesto. When a dish is described “al Genovese” it usually means it has Pesto and Potato’s in it. One of the first Taste of Thursday dishes No.9 ever did was a pesto and potato lasagne.

The most popular pasta used to serve pesto in Genoa is called “Trophy” but after a week of trying No.9 couldn’t find it

anywhere in Ireland, so are having to make do with spaghetti. It’s ironic that of all the exotic countries and ingredients the have had over the last year, the only time they couldn’t get an ingredient was when it was one of Italy’s most popular pasta’s.

Thursday, 23rd of August – Suppli

This week No.9 are featuring the smallest country in the world; the Vatican State. which is only 110 acres and located in Rome and getting its name from the area which in which it’s located, called Vatican.

The Roman dish “Suppli” is a rice ball similar to Aranchini. It is a tomato flavored rice ball with a mozzarella filling, coated in a crispy bread crumb.

We assume the Pope and the Vatican have been around for almost 2000 years but the Vatican State as we know it has only been in existence for less than 100 years and is actually no older than the Irish state.

Up until 1870 Italy was divided into 10 separate republics one of which was The Papal State. As Italy was united, the papal lands were conquered until only the Vatican was left but the pope never surrendered and out of deference the new Italian State never entered the Vatican.

Eventually in 1929 Moussolini granted Statehood to “the Papal Sea” in the Vatican and only since then have the the Popes been in continuous possession of the Vatican. Having previously had to flee on several occasions throughout history and at one point ending up based in France for almost 100 years.

Thursday, 16th of August – Djerma Chicken with Jollof Rice

This week No.9 are featuring Niger.  There were many countries to choose from this week in the news but having already featured several west Africa countries and discovered the regions delicious flavors, a news story about the USA building an Airbase in Niger was hard to resist.

The base’s location on an area where goat herders used to bring there goats to drink, has led to protests by people in an area so remote they had never heard of America or even Coca Cola.

Niger is the largest country in west Africa with 80% covered by the Sahara desert. It is so poor it’s economy is the same size as one of Ireland’s large companies like Roadstone.

Djerma Chicken is normally a stew served with rice but No9 have chosen a variation which uses the same ingredients and spices to make a type of chicken burger or kebab where the chicken is minced with carrot, parsley, onion, garlic and chives to give vibrant colors and is mixed with paprika and curry spices for flavor and served on a bed of Jollof rice which we know from other west Africa countries is a delicious sweet rice cooked in a tomato stock.

Can you imagine the peace of never having heard of the USA OR Donald Trump or Coke!

Thursday, 9th of August – Kashmiri Chicken

This week No.9 are featuring Pakistan, where former Cricket Star Imran Kahn has been elected President. While this has interesting geo-political implications, the exciting part of this news is that his Dogs have been given their own Wikipedia page. While amusing its actually not that unusual; the U.S.A. and the U.K. are among the other countries who have page dedicated to presidential pets.

Pakistan is the 5^th largest country in the world with a population of 212m people, the same size as the U.K, France & Germany combined. Kashmir is a region in northern Pakistan, part of which is subject to border disputes with India & China.

Waterford’s Bilbery goats are thought to be related to Kashmiri Goats who produce Kashmir wool, known for being one of the softest and most luxurious wools in the world as well as being three times warmer than traditional sheep wool.

Kashmiri Chicken is a simple curry that uses lots of tomatoes and whole spices to get maximum flavour.

Thursday, 2nd of August – Sourdough Chicken

For this week’s Taste of Thursday, No.9 have chosen California. California obviously isn’t a country in its own right but if it was, it would be a member of the G7 with one of the world’s largest economies. As well as being the hub for cultural trends, from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, it’s also the birthplace of many food trends. If you’ve ever asked for the gluten free option or taken a picture of an avocado, you have California to thank!

The reason California got picked for this week’s Taste of Thursday was down to it featuring in the news due to the high cost of living in San Francisco. It’s now so high that a household income of €100,000 a year could fall below the poverty line – so spare a thought the next time you see an avocado on toast!

Don’t forget WLR will be broadcasting live from Barronstrand St. this weekend for the Spraoi Festival in association with No.9 Barronstrand Street and Carters Chocolate Café.

Thursday, 19th of July – Anti Pasti 

This week No.9 are featuring Italy. As we continue to enjoy our unseasonably warm and dry summer, in the Italian mountains despite temperatures as high as 15c snow keeps falling with up to a metre of snow landing in places!

The world has truly gone mad.

As well as Taste of Thursday, No.9 have also been doing “Throwback Tuesday” featuring classic dishes and blasts from the past. Creating home-made, tongue in cheek, versions of things like; crispy pancakes, sausage rolls and potato waffles all cooked from scratch using the best ingredients. Customers suggest dishes on Facebook and No.9 come up with interesting and delicious ways to reinvent popular dishes.

Thursday, 19th of July  – Tuna Nicoise Salad

This week No.9 are featuring France.  As No. 9 are always partial to good news with a twist, they have chosen the World Cup winners for taste of Thursday.

Usually No. 9 send us some interesting facts about the Country they have chosen but this week they have chosen not to give us a load of football facts as it would be very boring!

The only fact they found that was interesting is that the economic impact of winning the world cup is so small it is unmeasurable.

Thursday, 12th July – Kibbeh (kith- beh), lamb croquette served with Fattoush Salad

This week No.9 are featuring Syria.  Back in April they did a Malaysian dish of Chicken Rendang and covered the story of a Syrian man who had been stranded in Kuala Lumpur Airport for over a month! Well he’s still there!

His Syrian passport expired while he was living in the United Arab Emirates, but with the ongoing war he has been refused a new passport and was deported, he was allowed to travel to Malaysia but was then refused entry or onward travel and so he’s trapped in the transfer lounge, with no sign of a solution in sight.

He has been fed by the staff or AirAsia and has received a lot of support from fellow travellers and supporters on line, but he has been there for over 4 months now!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43735717

As No.9 did a Malaysian dish last time we covered this story this time they have chosen the national dish of Syria; Kibbeh (kith- beh), a lamb croquette served with Fattoush Salad, which is a chopped salad with a zesty lime vinaigrette with homemade pitta chips as croutons. By the way the man’s name is Hassan and he has family in Canada, but it will take two years to process his travel application, he has an online petition asking for his application to be fast tracked.

Thursday 5th of July – Larb Gai, Thai Chicken Salad

This week No.9 have chosen Thailand, as rescuers have reached the boys trapped in the Doi Nang Non cave.

The cave are located in a mountain the known as the Mountain of the Sleeping lady. The Legend goes that a Princess and a Stable Boy fell in love and they ran away together, but the boy was killed and the princess lay down to cry, she stayed there forever and turned into a mountain and now it is her tears that flow through the cave.

“Larb Gai” is a Chopped Chicken Salad “Larb” is a chopped salad and “Gai” mean chicken, perfect for this fine weather. It comes from Northern Thailand, the same region as the location of the Caves on the border with Myanmar and Laos.

Every week No.9 chooses their Thursday special from topical news stories, they then have to research the country and cuisine, source the ingredients and come up with a delicious lunch.

Thursday July 5th – Larb Gai  – Thai Chicken Salad

This week No.9 have chosen Thailand, as rescuers have reached the boys trapped in the Doi Nang Non cave.

The cave are located in a mountain the known as the Mountain of the Sleeping lady. The Legend goes that a Princess and a Stable Boy fell in love and they ran away together, but the boy was killed and the princess lay down to cry, she stayed there forever and turned into a mountain and now it is her tears that flow through the cave.

“Larb Gai” is a Chopped Chicken Salad “Larb” is a chopped salad and “Gai” mean chicken, perfect for this fine weather. It comes from Northern Thailand, the same region as the location of the Caves on the border with Myanmar and Laos.

Every week No.9 chooses their Thursday special from topical news stories, they then have to research the country and cuisine, source the ingredients and come up with a delicious lunch.

Thursday June 27 th 2018 – Russian Summer Salad with Paprika Rubbed Chicken

As the Soccer World Cup enters the knock-out stages No.9 have chosen Russia for Taste of Thursday. Russia is the largest country in the world spanning 11 time zones, that’s the same as a country stretching from Ireland across the Atlantic Ocean and the USA all the way to Alaska.

Despite its size and its global influence, it is often pointed out that its economy is not that big, only being around the same size as countries such as Spain, South Korea or Mexico. Did you know that the prize for winning the world cup is $38 million dollars, with even the team which comes last getting $8 million.

No.9 recently celebrated 5 years in business having opened in 2013, since then it has won a host of awards including Irelands Best Family Friendly Restaurant two years in a row and become one of the busiest restaurants in the south east.

Thursday June 21st 2018 – Kanda, Spicy Meat Balls with Pumpkin Seeds

This week No.9 have chosen the Central African Republic (or CAR) for Taste of Thursday, following German Tennis star Boris Becker’s attempt to avoid Bankruptcy by claiming to have diplomatic immunity.

The Central African Republic, a former French Colony is one of the world’s poorest countries, with the same population as Ireland but is nine times bigger with over 80 distinct ethnic groups, each with their own language.

They are one of the countries which uses the Central African Franc, which regular listeners might remember is a Common Currency used by many Central and West African countries and is tied to the Euro.

The Countries national Basketball team is a source of great pride, having twice won the African Cup and qualified for the Basketball World Cup. To honour the Central African Republic, No.9 Barronstrand St. are making Kanda which is a spicy meatball dish using Pumpkin Seeds served with rice.

Thursday June 14th 2018 – Nasi Lemak with Beef Rendang

This week No.9 have chosen Singapore for Taste of Thursday, as it was the location for the summit between North Korea and the United States.

Singapore is an independent island republic less than half the size of county Waterford and a population of five and a half million people. It is one of the worlds most advanced and wealthiest countries, based on industry, trade and commerce, with some of the worlds largest; oil refineries, container ports and stock exchanges.

Singapore was founded by Stamford Raffles who worked for the British East India Company in 1819, when he chose the island as a company base. When the company was dissolved the island became a British Colony and in 1965 became independent, after a brief stint as part of Malaysia.

The name Raffles is well known from the Raffles Hotel named in his honour and home to the Singapore Sling.

As one of the main hubs of Asia Singapore’s cuisine takes the best of its neighbours particularly Malaysia & Indonesia. Nasi Lemak is a Malaysian Rice Dish cooked in Coconut milk, Beef Rendang is an Indonesian Beef Dish, similar in flavour to a curry but with a richer flavour from the slow cooked beef.

Thursday May 31st 2018 – Turkmenistan

Ich Lekki (ish-lekki)

It’s stories like this that make Taste of Thursday so much fun. We have a crazy news story which leads to the discovery of an amazing new dish that you wouldn’t find if you watched all the cookery programmes in the world.

Turkmenistan is a former soviet republic, located north of Iran on the Caspian Sea. It has the world’s sixth largest natural gas reserves and is considered one of the worlds most repressed countries. The reason it’s in the news this week is that its President ordered police to investigate reports of people using toilet paper with his face on it. While the plight of the Turkmen people is nothing to be laughed at; its president is a goldmine of hilarious YouTube videos as he tries to develop a cult of personality and fails.

(ish-lek-i) is Turkmenistan’s national dish, it is effectively a skinny pizza pie with a meat filling similar to a Bolognaise, its two of the world’s favourite foods in one!

As for the President of Turkmenistan he is also famous for banning and confiscating all black cars because he thought they were bad luck and his best YouTube clip is of a horse race that was fixed so he could win, what could go wrong – he fell off the horse!

Thursday 31st of May – Mali

Warm Spinach Salad with Chicken and Shrimp

On Monday morning on a street crowded with people, Mamoudou Gassama from Mali performed what newspapers have described as the actions of a “Superhero” climbing four stories to save the life of a four year old and in so doing becoming “The Spiderman of the 18^th. By lunch time; he had met the French President, been given a medal for bravery, been offered French citizenship and been offered a job with the fire service.

To acknowledge this amazing story No.9 have chosen Mali for Taste of Thursday, serving a Warm Spinach & Chicken Salad.

Mali is a very poor country. It has a population of 18 Million people with 80% of the population working in seasonal agriculture, the countries average wage is €28 per week. Millions of people have no access to fresh water, sanitation, electricity or education. On the bright side Mali’s economy is growing exponentially, doubling in size every 5 to 10 years and public services are slowly expanding.

While researching Mali we discovered something fascinating; Mali is one of eight countries in west Africa with their own common currency called the CFA Franc, this currency is not just like the Euro it is in effect “The” Euro just with different coins and notes; the currency is guaranteed by the French Central Bank and has a fixed rate against the Euro at 655 CFA Francs to the Euro.

Thursday, May 24th – Congo

Mwambe Peanut Chicken with Congo Rice

Mwambe is the national dish of the Congo, it is a chicken dish with a spiced peanut sauce and Congo Rice is a fragrant rice dish cooked with Spinach and Okra.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo or the DRC, is currently in the news because they are trialling a new vaccine for Ebola.

The DRC was formerly a Belgian colony and is not to be confused with its neighbour on the other side of the Congo River, the republic of Congo which was a French colony. The name Congo means; the river that swallows all rivers. It is the second longest river in Africa after the Nile, but is also carries the second largest volume of water after the Amazon.

The DRC is Africa’s largest country almost, at almost half the size of the USA and is situated on the Equator.

Above the equator the rainy season lasts from October to May and below the equator it lasts from April to November, but in the region along the equator which is an area many times larger than Ireland, it rains all year round. As a humid tropical country with a year round rain season its annual rain fall is 42 inches but that’s still only half the rain we had in Ireland last year!

Thursday 17th of May

Lemon & Saffron Chicken Skewers with Persian Couscous

Iran is one of the countries most heavily featured in the news over the last year and that is likely to continue for some time, due to differences with its neighbours and by extension the United States. Iran is a very large country, the 17^th largest in the world, making it bigger than; France, Germany, Spain and Portugal combined. It has a population of 81 million people, which is the same as Germany and it has an economy the size of Canada.

Iran is not an Arab country but is actually majority Persian, with a different culture and language to its Arab neighbours. Iran is also unique in the Muslim world being mostly Shia Muslim, with most of its neighbours being Suni Muslim.

Persian Cuisine is well known for its use of herbs and its delicious flavours whose influence has spread across the world. Some of the founders of; Tinder, Dropbox and ebay are of Iranian extraction.

Thursday 10th of May

Swedish Meatballs with Mustard Mash

There was a recent news story about how Swedish Meatball’s actually came from Turkey when Swedish King Charles the 12^th brought the recipe back from Moldova which was, at the time, part of the Ottoman Empire.

But the most fascinating part of this story is not the meatballs but the King. At the age of 15 Charles the 12^th assumed the throne three years after his widowed father Charles the 11^th died.

Three years later at the age of only 18 he faced an invasion from an alliance of; Denmark, Norway, Saxony, Poland, Lithuania and Russia which started the Great Northern War which lasted 21 years.

With a much smaller but well trained army Charles managed to meet the invasion and by the age of 24 he had defeated all but Russia and to finish them off decided to march on Moscow, but was injured and in a decisive battle was unable to lead his army and they were defeated.

He was exiled to Moldova for several years before returning to Sweden, not only with a recipe for Meatballs but also introduced Sweden to Coffee. He died in 1718 at the age of 36 fighting to liberate Sweden.

Thursday 3rd of May

Bobotie  (ba-boor-tea)

This week No.9 have chosen South Africa, where two of South Africa’s most prominent people have both chosen to step down, one from politics and the other from sport. President Jacob Zuma was recently forced to step down as a corruption scandal escalated. Meanwhile South African Rugby player and former World Rugby Player of the Year Brian Habana has coincidently decided to retire from Rugby.

These two men’s legacies couldn’t be more different, Zuma has always been a controversial and divisive figure, while Habana has been an inspirational role model on a global scale.

Bobotie is South Africa’s national dish, which is similar to Cottage Pie, but with a slightly curried flavour and with a creamy golden topping a bit like Moussaka. No.9 will be serving it with yellow rice.

Thursday, 25th of April

Swiss Rosti with a Korean Twist

Tomorrow North and South Korea will hold a joint dinner to honour the first meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Koreas president Moon Jae In.

One of the dishes to be served is described as a “Swiss Rosti with a Korean Twist”, which is a reminder that Kim Jong Un actually went to school in Switzerland.

No.9 Barronstrand st have this week chosen to do their own Swiss Rosti with a Korean twist, creating a Potato Rosti with fresh coriander, ginger and soy and serving it with Korean Style Sweet and Crispy Chicken and a Sticky Dipping Sauce.

Kim Jong Un’s Swiss connection again reminds us how small, yet complicated the world can be but that sitting down and talking over dinner can help to make things better.

Thursday, 19th of April

Chicken Rendang with Nasi Lemak

This week No.9 has chosen Malaysia due to the recent news story of a man from Syria who has been stranded in Kuala Lumpur Airport for over a month! As with everything in life the details are complicated, with no obvious solution in sight. He is not permitted to enter Malaysia nor is he permitted to leave, and so there he sits, in the flight connection centre posting videos on YouTube.

Malaysia is located between Thailand and Indonesia and shares some similar customs and style of cuisine with its neighbours. With varying degrees of success it aims to be a modern progressive Muslim country and is one of the few developing countries to have an extensive publicly funded health and education system.

Rendang is a coconut milk stew and was a dish introduced to Malaysia from Indonesia where beef was usually used, but has become a Malaysian favourite. Lasi Lemak it a fragrant rice dish which also uses coconut milk to cook the rice and is considered Malaysia’s national dish.

Thursday, 29th of March

Matzo Stuffed Chicken with Gremolata Roast Vegetables

This week No.9 has chosen to celebrate Passover, the Jewish Biblical Holiday. The Book of Exodus tell of how God helped the Children of Israel escape Egypt with the help of Moses.

It is said that when the Pharaoh finally freed the Israelites they left so quickly the bread they took  didn’t have time to rise, so they eat unleavened bread (Matzo) to mark the holiday. In Judaism the days begin and ends at sun down. So Passover begins on Thursday evening, it was this feast that was the scene of the Last Supper. In Suni Islam the Parting of the Red Sea by Moses during the Israelites escape from Egypt is also marked at the same time by fasting for two days. Three religious holidays at this time of year demonstrates that while all three religions mark the same occasion for different reasons and in different ways they are all the children of Abraham with

Thursday, March 22nd – Myanmar

Burmese grilled chicken with Forbidden Rice.

This week No.9 has chosen Myanmar as it has unfortunately been heavily featured in news stories due to the treatment of the Rohingya population.
Myanmar used to be knows as Burma up until the end of British rule in 1948, since then it has been home to one of the world’s longest running conflicts which has its roots in the Second World War, the factions created during the second world war have continued for 70 years. Effectively for the people of Myanmar the Second World War never ended!
To celebrate the people of Myanmar and to remember the Rohingya people No.9 will be serving Burmese Grilled Chicken with Forbidden Rice. This is a dish based around the city of Mandalay which is an inland city about the size of Dublin in the
centre of the country, where chicken dishes are popular.
Forbidden rice which turns purple when cooked was once so prized as to be known as Forbidden rice in ancient china. It has a delicious nutty flavour and is known for its health benefits.

Thursday, March 15th – Suriname

Masala spiced chicken with rice and beans.
This week No.9 has chosen Suriname because it’s a country that never gets in to the news but has an unbelievable history.
Firstly it sounds like it’s probably a country in Asia, but it’s actually in South America between Brazil and Venezuela.
Then you discover that even though it is in South America its largest ethnic group is actually Indian and south Asian, and accordingly its cuisine is an unusual combination of popular South American ingredients but cooked with Indian spices.
The Indian population grew when slavery ended and the Dutch colonists hired Indian labourers. When the country became Independent in 1975 a lot of the Indian population moved to Amsterdam, hence the reason there are so many Surinamese take-away’s in the Netherlands.
Even though it doesn’t get into the news very often Suriname shows us that the world is a very small
place.

Thursday, March 8th – South Korea Sweet Crispy Chicken with Korean Vegetable Rice and Crispy Fried Egg.
Today they have chosen South Korea where they just wrapped up a successful Winter Olympics which has opened the door to a relaxing of hostilities with the north and averted world war three for a while.

Just to give you an idea of what’s to come, here are some dishes they’ve included in the past that are sure to make your mouth water:

• Japan: Tempura of haddock with kare raisu Japanese rice curry
  
• Malaysia: Chicken Laksa a delicious Malaysian noodle soup with amazing flavours
  
• Egypt: Dukkah-crusted chicken and roast chickpea salad
  
• Nigeria: Suya Chicken kebab, tasty jollof rice with everyday salad & tzatziki dipping sauce