wordsweshared),shemademefeelcared
forandsafe.
Thiswasnotthelastoftheinvitations
I wouldreceivefromneighbourswho
becametrustedfriends.Onewastoa
friend’sfamilyfarmwhereweweretreated
toa “poorman’sbarbeque”offoil-
wrappedsweetpotatoesandother
vegetablesburiedinanearthovenof
soilandrocks.Astheycooked,westood
aroundthefiredevouringfoodfromthe
grill:oysters,enokimushrooms,curiously
sweetsausagesthatsmelledlikefive-spice
andcinnamon,andloadsofsilveryfish
caughtonthefarm.
Occasionsliketheseinvolvedsharing
storiesaboutourrespectivefamily
histories,teachingeachotherwordsand
phrasesfromourhomelanguages,
lessonsonlocalculture,andalwaystons
ofquestionsaboutlifeinSouthAfrica.
Andwhentheconversationlulled
becauseI’dexhaustedmyquotaofbroken
Mandarinormyhostsgrewtiredoffinding
therightEnglishwords,theflavoursofthe
foodandtheritualsofdrinkingteafilled
inthegapsofourcomfortablesilence.
Whoknowsif Guangzhouwouldhave
burroweditswayintomyheartwithout
thoseneighbourlyculinaryadventures
andthethrillofthenextnewingredient
tobediscovered.ButI’llbeforever
thankfulthatfoodbecamemyshortcut
todiscoveringtheessenceofa beautiful
andcomplicatedplacesofarfromhome.
Mymemoriesareindelible.WBroadcast journalist Refiloe Mpakanyane hosts the
Weekend Breakfast show on Radio 702 from 6–10 am.
PHOTOGRAPHMICHAEL LEGRANGEPRODUCTIONABIGAIL DONNELLYPORTRAITHAZEL MATHIAS
Guangzhou, circa October 2016, could
have been a very lonely place. My
grasp of Mandarin was limited to “Good
morning”, “Hello” and “Good night”, which
didn’t exactly make it easy to get to know
anyone. But I was determined to find a
way to settle into this beautiful city – my
new home for two years. What I did not
anticipate, however, was that I would find
the answer to feeling at home there by
spending hours browsing the aisles of
every single grocery store I entered.
Initially, with no social life to speak
of, I passed my free time by scouring
the shelves in search of ingredients
I recognised, and by making weekly trips
to the wet market to peruse the fresh fruit
and vegetables. (I also hoped to connect,
however fleetingly, with other people –
as well as practise my bargaining skills.)
My curiosity meant that I soon movedonfrombuyingfamiliaringredients
tograbbinga fewlocalsaucestotry
outeveryweek,aswellassearching
forrecipesthatincorporatedthe
hugearrayofingredientsavailable.
I graduatedfromsaucesandstarches
(tapiocawasnewtome)to
incorporatingthepaperydried
shrimpthathadsurprisedmein
a dishofgreens,andtheshredded
porkunexpectedlyfoundin(and
atop)bakedgoods.I beganto
explorefurtherafieldinsearch
ofnewstores,differentingredients,
andunexploredcuisines.
Mycuriosityeventuallyresulted
ina neighbourofferingmecooking
lessons.Andsobeganmyencounters
withthegelatinousbutintriguing
preserved“centuryegg”,fermented
tofuinvaryingdegreesofpungency,
durianfruit,lilybulbs(ina stew),
cornjuiceandmungbeanice-lollies.
Bynomeansa comprehensivelist,
butyougetthepicture.
ThepoliticianCesarChavez
reportedly once said, “If you really
want to make a friend, go to someone’s
house and eat with him ... the people who
give you their food give you their heart.”
Truth! I have the fondest memory of a
neighbour insisting, a few months into my
stay, that I come to Friday-night dinner.
The occasion: a special Peking duck made
with ingredients that her uncle had
brought from his recent visit to her home
town. The soft pancake enveloping the
crunch of the cucumber and scallion; the
thick hoisin sauce enhancing the flavour of
the crispy duck skin; the umami of the dark
meat. There were tears in my eyes ... what
my neighbour didn’t know was that I’d had
a difficult week that had left me feeling
despondent and homesick. When she
welcomed me into her space and sat me
down to a huge spread, never letting the
language barrier get the better of us (we
used gestures and whatever common“Mycuriosity
eventually
resultedin
a neighbour
offeringme
cookinglessons”56 TASTE MARCH 2020 TEXT REFILOE MPAKANYANETASTES LIKE MOREAn extended stay in the south of China taught Refiloe Mpakanyane that
food is often the key to forging human connectionsMy Chinese takeaway
Peking duck helped
Refiloe Mpakanyane
connect with her
neighbours in China.