MAORI FOOD

Food from the sea is very important to Maori today, just as it was in the past. The types of seafood most commonly used in cooking are shellfish, mussels, the John Dory fish, and even seaweed! On land, they would grow kumara and pumpkins. For my primary source, I contacted Mlladavynn Prime, a Maori living in New Zealand today. I questioned her about foods that were identified as Maori, and she responded that the "most common traditional Maori food that is regularly feasted on" is the hangi, known as a roast in America. However, instead of having food cooked in an oven, it is placed in baskets and steamed inside pits in the ground. The variety of food at a hangi includes chicken, pork, beef and lamb (there are more sheep than people in New Zealand today) as well as potatoes (sweet and regular) and pumpkin, all of which are cooked in the ground for about four hours before eating. Another common type of Maori meal is called the boil up, when all of the food is boiled for approximately two to three hours before it is eaten. Even though it was not created in New Zealand, the Maori have "claimed" it as theirs, as America has "claimed" hot dogs as our own. Brisket, bacon, and pork bones are placed into the pot first and are allowed to boil for ninety minutes by themselves. Next, the potatoes are added, and that boils for twenty minutes. After that, some types of greens are added to the pot (either watercress or a type of sow thistle), and finally Maori-style dumplings, or motumotu, are put in the pot. The Maori bake three main types of bread. One type is called paraoa takakau, which is flat and rubbery. Paraoa rewana is thick sweet bread that goes well with butter. Finally, fried bread (paraoa parai) is used in chicken sandwiches and goes well "with jam or with mayo…and pickled onions."