My husband and I recently traveled to Madagascar to visit our youngest daughter who is stationed there with the Peace Corp. She has been there almost 10 months. Besides being over the moon happy to see my daughter, the trip was fantastic. We visited many different places on the 4th largest island in the world. The best meal we had on the island was at an open-air restaurant called “The Campsite.” The day before the hike, we had to pre-order our lunch because everything for lunch had to be packed in to be cooked at The Campsite. The menu was limited to steak skewers, chicken skewers, or mixed vegetables. All dishes were served with rice and beans as rice and beans are diet staples in Madagascar. All three of us ordered the vegetables.The Campsite was close to the end of a 9 mile hike through Isalo National Park, home to what they call “the mini Grand Canyon.” After a few hours of hiking, we emerged from the rocks at the bottom of cavern to enter The Campsite. It was amazing to see tables with linens, ceramic dishes, and silverware spread out under the trees. A few minutes after being seated, our meal was served. The simple meal was delicious!After we finished and with the help of an interpreter, I spoke to the “head chef” about how he made the vegetables. The mixture of carrots, green beans, and potatoes were cooked in a sauce made of soy sauce, oil (they use vegetable oil but I swapped the vegetable oil for olive oil), fresh ginger and garlic.When we got home, I tried a few times to recreate the recipe. The trick was perfecting the balance between the soy sauce and oil. Too much oil made the dish “heavy”. Too little oil made the dish too salty because the vegetables absorbed the soy sauce. So, after some trial and error, I think I am pretty close to how the cooks at The Campsite made the best meal on the island!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh, grated ginger
- 1 tsp fresh, chopped garlic
- Your choice of vegetables such as carrots, green beans, red peppers, and onion
Instructions
- In large bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients together.Heat a large frying pan or wok. Clean and cut vegetables into desired size. Place in bowl with the sauce and stir to thoroughly coat all vegetables.Empty the vegetables and sauce into the heated pan or wok.Cook until the vegetables are to your desired donenessHAPPY EATING!!
