Dear LPG, 

Well I have to say that I would have had to be a complete idiot to have got this national recipe from Mali completely wrong but it was not all plain sailing.  If you have any experience of cooking a chicken there is little chance of getting that bit wrong although, looking at the version I found in a picture on line left me thinking that, when it came to the chicken, there needed to be a large dice rather than just cutting.  I jointed mine and perhaps that is why it took longer to cook.  I thought that there were quite a few vegetables to be added and I got a bit confused when it came to choosing a good sized sweet potato, and the ordinary potatoes that we have come to know and love come in all shapes and sizes too.   I got a bit worried about getting them all cooked at the same time so I cheated a bit and cut them into a lot more bits than the quarters that the recipe mentioned and I never realised just how much peanut butter you can get on for tablespoons. 

But the final version tasted quite good, if not authentic and that was not only my opinion.  I got my taste team in again and there were more nods of approval than odd faces pulled as a first reaction.   It was very filling and worth having a go at over the winter months in my opinion.  

The first day of next month is the day that China celebrates their national day and when you think of China we English are most probably experts when it comes to their national dishes.  I would not even attempt to better or get anywhere near producing a dish of Peking duck or sweet and sour pork because it would be futile to even start a comparison with the version from your local take away, but have you heard of congee rice porridge.  

It is supposed to be very good for you and especially for the digestion.  It appears to be quite easy to make as well so how can that go wrong?  I hope that I don’t have to explain next month…

CB, Lewisham