Our home and native land...
-Now in French!-
Ton front est cient de fleurons glorieux
-Now for our Inuit friends!-
Sanggijulutillu
Nangiqpugu, Uu Kanata
Canada, like its neighbor and ally to the south, US (catch the clever wordplay here?), is a polyglot nation of transplantees (except for the Inuit and othe native peoples), comprised historically of English, Irish, Scottish and French folk. As a result it suffers from a crisis of identity not unlike the one suffered by... well, us. Actually, Canada is a relatively well-adjusted and contented country, and the only identity crisis that I know of involves the conflict between mainstream, English-speaking Canada and some radical, French speaking(and, I think, only by tradition) Quebecois secessionists.
I, and countless other wiseasses, like to mock Canada, but let's face it, Canada has a lot of things going for it. Things like universal health care, a much lower crime rate than the U.S. and civil rights that we can only dream of. The first, and only, time I saw the Northern Lights was outside of Calgary. It was truly awesome, not in a mid-90s surf punk kind of way, but in a "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio" kind of way. It was about two or three in the morning and I had to pull off to the side of the road and just watch until it was over. Let's not forget, either, that alot of bootleg liquor from across the Saint Lawrence River kept us smiling during prohibition. And, yes, the Canadian falls are better.
American Falls
Canadian Falls
See what I mean? But we're here to talk about food , and talk we shall. So then , you may ask, what do they eat in Canada? Wikipedia lists Butter tarts (essentially little pecan pies), pancakes and syrup, and Kraft Dinner (known as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the lower forty-eight) as some of the national dishes of Canada. True foodies are probably getting very nervous right about now.
Fear not intrepid reader, because Canada actually has a rich and varied cuisine that draws from all its native and immigrant culinary traditions. Wild blueberries, seafood, wild game fowl, fiddlehead ferns, chantrelles, morels all find their way into the cooking of the great white north. Possibly the best seafood chowder I ever had was in Nova Scotia, in a little fishing village known as Peggy's Cove, in a little restaurant called The Sou'Wester Restaurant and Giftshop, and one of my favorite dumpling shops is Toronto's Chinatown (more about that in a moment).
I spent this past weekend in the province of Ontario, Toronto specifically. Sitting on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto is a pastiche of cultures from all across the globe. English, French, Caribbean, Indian, Chinese, African, Ukranian and Afghani are just a few of the nationalities that call this city home. A drive down Eglinton Avenue from Etobicoke to central Toronto is like a twenty minute world tour. An Indian restaurant sits catty-cornered to a falafel shop, which is just up the block from an Italian bistro. Want some Jamaican oxtail stew instead? Drive a little further. The city has its strictly ethnic neighborhoods too. Aside from Chinatown and Little Italy (which every major city seems to have), you'll find Koreatown, Little Portugal, Little India and Greektown. There are also places like the bohemian Kensington Market that have a little bit of everything, from vintage clothing shops to fresh produce and international cheese shops. Click here for a photo tour of Kensington Market.You may remember me saying that one of my favorite dumpling shops is in Toronto. It's called Dumpling House Restaurant, and it's located on Spadina Avenue, right in the heart of Toronto's Chinatown.
Only four years old, this little eatery has acquired a loyal following, and for good reason.They take pan fried dumplings, a Chinese favorite, and give them a unique twist.Their dumplings have a lacy, crispy crust that lends a textural counterpoint to the soft, savory dumplings laying beneath. Here are a few pictures of the process.
Jing Wang, who works there, told me that dumplings are not made this way in China and that the owner, Hong Xian Zhang, invented the crust to make their's stand out from Toronto's only other dumpling house. Their strategy has obviously worked. If you're ever in Toronto, make it a point to visit. If not, I'm working on recreating their recipe. The dough and filling are pretty close, but the lace crust is giving me a bit of a hard time. I know that the batter contains water, rice vinegar and wheat flower. The proper proportions are still eluding me, though. I'll report back and provide the recipe once I get it right. Until then, it's back to the kitchen.
