Ray McVinnie: Destination Vanuatu

I looked forward to my first trip to Vanuatu and wasn’t disappointed (my father was there during World War II, so I was curious).

Vanuatu is a legendary diving haunt but there are also many great resorts with the usual tropical beach activities, perfect for a relaxing holiday. Many tourists would assume it is merely a tropical holiday destination perfect for a Kiwi winter escape, but the inside of a resort wasn’t the only thing I wanted to see.

Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, consists of more than 80 islands strung out over a distance of more than 1000 kilometres. The official languages are French, English (until independence in 1980, it used to be an Anglo-French condominium) and Bislama. Bislama is a pidgin language that uses English vocabulary, Melanesian grammar and somewhat phonetical spelling. (“Thank you” is “Tankyu Tumas”. I kept wondering who this “Thomas” person was until I was put right by the locals.) Bislama, the universal language, is essential for a place that has more than a hundred local dialects.

I stayed on the main island, Efate, where the capital, Port Vila is situated.

The island is a jungly place that reminded me of parts of Fiji. Vanuatu has many active volcanoes and earthquakes are common. While having dinner one night my fellow diners all tensed and I was asked if I felt that. Obviously the locals have senses finely tuned to a slight earthquake, as I felt nothing.

As usual I was interested in the food. Not only are there no fast food chains in Vanuatu, it also has the fortunate history of being relatively untouched by chemical fertilisers and pesticides — and this inheritance is one that many there see as an asset worth preserving. The beef that is raised there is excellent, but other great produce includes cocoa, kava, copra, vanilla and coffee (I am drinking a cup of delicious Tanna coffee as I write this) with fishing providing an appetising range of seafood, which was available at the local restaurants. Despite a drought, the produce at the Vila market looked pretty good to me and I leisurely perused the stalls, ticking off the things I was unfamiliar with like the local island cabbage used in the laplap (cassava wrapped in the cabbage — mine had chicken on top). I tried it from one of the cooking stalls at the back of the market when I had lunch with the Vanuatu National Chefs team who gave me the best introduction to the local food.

I also visited three local producers concerned with promoting traditional food products and crafts.

The dynamic Cornelia Wyllie runs Vanuatu Direct which has partnerships with many growers and sells indigenous tribal foods with high health benefits including Vanu’kai honey, reputedly more effective than manuka, and laplap, marketed as Natur’kai Healthy Bites. This is a balanced meal popular in New Zealand with seasonal workers from Vanuatu.

I also went to the Activ Centre, run by the hardworking Sandrine Wallez, a former vulcanologist, now employed fulltime at the centre, which sells products made by people who would otherwise have difficulty finding a market. I bought coconut jam and coconut soap and Sandrine gave me some of the great chocolate they produce at the centre. The Activ Centre is quite a way out of town but they have hopes of a bus service soon, and it’s worth a visit. I also met the gracious Votausi MacKenzie-Reur, a Vila caterer who has set up a business using and marketing products made from indigenous produce. I used her manioc flour for the recipe below.

So, I met some great people and I ate some outstanding food — my idea of a holiday.

I stayed at

The Havannah

This small but perfect award-winning resort (only 34 guests and no kids under 16, definitely five star) is about half-an-hour up the coast from Vila, on a small pristine natural beach. It's a very different scene from the 1940s when the area was a base for American flying boats and the American fleet assembled in the bay. Great food from Vietnamese chef Peter Phan (love his name!) with a Pacific/Southeast Asian menu that would have you eating there every meal. The restaurant is open to the public. Relaxing and luxurious. thehavannah.com

The Terraces

If you are in Port Vila, this is the place to stay. Set up high on a cliff with great views, the Terraces is 16 luxury apartments, some with their own pool. There is a great restaurant next door at sister establishment Mangoes. Kiwis Tom Leuschke and his partner Becky do a great job as managers here. Tom, a great cook, delivered two jars of iced watermelon tea to me (it is almost like a fruit salad) each day — simple but delicious. He also made a watermelon ice block that was pretty good as well. His collaboration with the chef at Mangoes resulted in a great dinner. theterracesvanuatu.com

I ate at

Francesca’s

Just up the road from The Havannah is what owner, native of Milan, Francesca Grillo, calls a "beach club, bar and restaurant". It is a small but inviting restaurant obviously with a bar, but also with a small beach where one could comfortably spend the day. Tear yourself away from Mr Phan's food, as Francesca's is a must. The night I was there she had her chef make fresh ravioli stuffed with smoked New Zealand mullet. Great Italian food, some using Kiwi produce, all made by locals. Loved it! francescas.com.vu

Au Fare

This is what my parents would have called “a dine and dance”as it is not only a restaurant but also has a dance floor and an amazing vocalist. As well as this, Au Fare is right beside the sea with a pontoon anchored a few metres away where the local taut and highly trained dance company does a spirited version of a fire dance, sometimes to the beat of vintage disco. I also watched Aurelie, the owner, pull up a cage of live crayfish from the sea nearby, which was destined for the menu. I ate superb tuna sashimi there.

I shopped at

Traverso

Technically a butchery but they sell all sorts of imported food for when you have a hankering, as well as ready to eat French charcuterie and other take-out French home cooking. I asked the name of the road it was on and received blank looks. I was told people in Vila don’t worry about street names very much, so just ask.

Organic paradise

This small shop is in the Vanuatu Handicraft Market and there you will find a good range of natural Vanuatu food products including vanilla, coffee, pepper and cocoa. Great for gifts.

Ray McVinnie travelled to Vanuatu courtesy of Vanuatu Tourism.

Rice rolls

Though we have all seen these before, the following are based on an idea from Peter Phan at the Havannah resort. Tasting his, I thought he had included some Chinese pickled vegetables in the filling but it was simply cooled stir-fried vegetables with oyster sauce, an excellent addition. The secret with these is to not to over-fill them. You need surprisingly little filling in each.

Serves 4-6

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 baby bok choy, thinly sliced lengthways, then sliced into 3cm pieces
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 free range chicken breast
200g raw peeled prawns
20 x 16cm centimetre square Vietnamese rice papers
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, grated
¾ cup thinly sliced cos lettuce leaves

1. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat and add the bok choy. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes, until wilted but crisp. Add the oyster sauce. Mix well, stir-fry a further 30 seconds then remove from the heat and cool.
2. Put the chicken breast in a saucepan and cover well with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the heat, drain, cool and slice thinly. Reserve.
3. Drop the prawns into a saucepan of boiling salted water and simmer 4 minutes or until just cooked. Remove from the heat, drain, cool and slice in half lengthways.
4. To make one roll, immerse a sheet of rice paper in a large bowl of warm water until it is flexible. Place it flat on a clean surface. Place a slice of chicken and a slice of prawn at one end, add spring onion, carrot and lettuce and roll the end over the filling. Fold the sides in and roll up like a spring roll.
5. Cut in half with a wet knife, cover with a damp cloth to prevent sticking, and repeat for the remaining rice papers. Serve with the dipping sauce below.

Dipping sauce

½ cup Thai sweet chilli sauce
1 red chilli, deseeded, finely diced
1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed or finely chopped

Put everything into a small bowl and mix well.

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Watermelon and orange iced tea

It occurs to me that this would also be good with a shot of Campari, vodka or tequila for a more narcotic effect.

Serves 4

800g watermelon, peeled, flesh diced 2cm
2 Tbsp caster sugar
Handful mint leaves
1 orange, rind removed with a sharp knife so there is no pith, flesh sliced off the core and cut into thin wedges
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 litre strained, cooled green tea

1. Put the watermelon, sugar, mint, orange, lemon zest and juice into a bowl, mix well and reserve for 15 minutes.
2. Put the tea into a jug and add the watermelon mixture. Mix well.
3. Fill the jug with ice cubes and serve.

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Votausi’s manioc wraps with belly pork and mango and tamarind relish

The wraps are good warm or cold and come from Votausi MacKenzie-Reur, the founder of Lapita products. The pork and the mango relish are my idea. Manioc, tapioca and cassava are the same thing, so you may find the flour marketed here as cassava or tapioca flour.

Wraps

Makes about 8 x 20cm diameter wraps

1¾ cups milk
2 cups manioc (cassava or tapioca) flour
3 eggs, beaten
Large pinch salt
Coconut oil for frying

1. Put all the ingredients, except the coconut oil, into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
2. Heat a heavy medium-sized frying pan over moderate heat. Wipe the surface of the pan lightly with coconut oil on a paper towel.
3. Working in batches, pour ¼ cupfuls of batter into the pan, quickly spreading the batter with the ladle before it cooks. Cook until the bottom browns and bubbles appear on the uncooked surface. Turn over and cook until the underside is brown and just starting to puff up. Cover the wraps with a clean cloth while finishing the rest.

Pork and relish

Serves 4

1 large bulb lemongrass, squashed
4 cloves garlic, squashed
3cm piece ginger, sliced
3 star anise pods
800g belly pork, skin scored almost down to the flesh in parallel lines
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Sea salt flakes
1 large mango, peeled, flesh sliced off the stone and diced 1 cm
2 Tbsp tamarind paste, (I use the Pantai Norasingh brand)
3 Tbsp grated palm sugar
½ red chilli, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp coriander stalks and leaves, thinly sliced
Leaves from 1 baby cos lettuce

1. Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Put the lemongrass, garlic, ginger and star anise into a roasting dish.
3. Place the pork in the bottom of a clean sink, skin side up. Boil a full electric kettle and pour the boiling water over the pork skin. This will make it shrink and make crisp crackling. Remove from the sink and dry well.
4. Place the pork on top of the lemongrass mix in the roasting dish, skin side up. Drizzle oil over the skin and sprinkle with salt. Place in the oven for 1½ hours or until tender and crisp on top. I usually just turn the grill on for the last 5 or 10 minutes to make sure the crackling is bubbly and crunchy, but be careful as it will burn easily. Remove from the oven, cool and slice thinly. Reserve.
5. Meanwhile put the mango, tamarind, palm sugar, chilli, lemon juice and coriander into a bowl and mix well. Taste and season with salt. Reserve.
6. Serve each wrap filled with a few slices of pork, some lettuce and some mango relish.

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