And, as we pedal along and explore places we eat food. Lots of food!
Unfortunately so far, I have not lost any significant amount of weight since leaving Hooky which I hoped was going to happen.
Probably there was an imbalance of how much I was eating over the past three months compared to the few hills we had to climb...Well, we will see what lays ahead, this might change pretty soon. Let’s hope!
Below you will find a few of the ‘not so known foods’ we have eaten since arriving in Türkiye three weeks ago.
..Balik Ekmek – Fish sandwich..
The fish sandwich is a common street food of Istanbul, mostly served in the Eminonu and Karakoy area of Istanbul, down where the waters of the Golden Horn and Bosphorus Strait meet each other.
The two suburbs are connected by the Galata bridge which hosts several dozen restaurants underneath it, which are nestled in its arches. And as one walks pass those restaurants, keen waiters are trying to lure you inside. “Hello Sir, please come in for something to eat! We are the best Galata restaurant serving the best food. What about a seafood platter? We also do Balik Ekmek! Where are you from? UK? What about ‘just one for the road’ then?”
The same ‘little game’ for dozens of times! Eventually, one decides to walk over the bridge instead…
And then, we've put it to the test:
We got a large crusty (French baguette style) piece of white bread, some shredded lettuce, a lemon wedge & a grilled fillet of mackerel. As per my Insta post, it was nice, it was what the promise of a Balik Ekmek is. Not less, and not more either.
I’ve enjoyed it for what it was (cheap and cheerful) whilst Rebecca was less complimentary. Too much bread, not enough salad, too dry – all fair enough comments and my Balik Ekmek recipe would certainly be different to the one we ate!
On another day, Rebecca went out on her own and found a small stand in the backstreets just off the Galata bridge. And there, she got excited about the Balik Ekmek… Reason enough to convince me to go there as well. At that place, the Balik Ekmek was done as a wrap.
And the guys there made it with a difference. Chilli pepper seasoning on the grilled mackerel fillet which was then topped with a mix of chopped tomatoes, onions & parsley, lemon juice, and a dash of soy sauce. This was then wrapped into a wrap and quickly grilled again with a sprinkle of their secret seasoning mix added at the end!
That’s how it is done! It was so delicious and moreish that we went back again and again…
What might sound a bit unusual for most readers and in fact was for us as well some weeks ago, instead of a lovely glass of chilled white or rose wine or a cold beer, food often is enjoyed with Ayran (salted drinking yogurt). Different, but nice!
..Lambs Liver..
Edirne is primarily known for its rich history and stunning Ottoman architecture. The city was the capital of the Ottoman Empire before Constantinople (Istanbul) took over.
However, for the less history and more food interested readers, Edirne is also known as the ‘Liver Capital’ of Turkiye! In Edirne, liver is King!
As we entered Turkiye in Edirne, we came across a huge display of a frying pan. For a chef, a good enough reason to stop and explore!
In 2018, during the ‘8th International Brass Festival’ organised by the Edirne Municipality, 600 kg of fried (lambs) liver was cooked on the largest frying pan in the world to set a new record on Guinness World Records!
The pan weights 2 tonnes, is 800 mm deep with a diameter of over 7 meters.
To cook this amount of liver, 2520 (!) liters of sunflower oil, 250 kg flour, 12 tonnes of wood and 3 tonnes of coal was used...
We found a whole street in Edirne where restaurants only serve Arnavut Cigeri (fried liver)! It was not just busy with lots of people, it was also lunchtime, so we dived into it…
Flour dusted thin sliced of lambs liver, seasoned with salt & pepper and then fried in sunflower oil. There wasn’t a sprinkle of sumac seasoning and raw onions coming with it as it is often done. Instead we got a plate of hot chilli paste, some whole and very very hot dried chillis, lemon wedges and lots of bread served with it. The liver wasn’t sauteed nor properly fried and was quite oily but still moist in the middle as it is supposed to be.
There was no escape from the flavour of the liver… and I kept asking myself: Which one do I like more and eat again, the fried liver or the tripe soup I had as a starter…
..Kazandibi..
All I wanted was something sweet for after dinner…
And Rebecca got it for me – a Kazandibi! All good so far..
It came in a small plastic tub with a clear lid and at first sight, it looked similar to a rice pudding or a white mousse of some sort...
I started eating: it was pretty sweet, dense and gooey with a caramelized top. The flavour reminded me of rice pudding but it was totally smooth and there was no evidence of any cooked rice in it.
Let’s get google translate out and have a look at the ingredients: Milk, sugar, water, rice flour, corn starch, modified starch, vanilla, some other stuff and CHICKEN BREAST!
That’s when I slowed down with eating the Kazandibi! Chicken breast in my dessert?
That’s what Kazandibi is, a caramelized milk pudding which was developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman Palace and nowadays is one of the most popular Turkish desserts.
Doing some research on the dish, there are many chicken free versions out there nowadays but traditionally, chicken breast was cooked out in the milk but the copious amount of sugar and the caramelizing of the dish at the end, pretty much covered up the chicken flavour.
Fancy any chicken for dessert??
..Clay Pot Chicken..
It looks all very fancy and intriguing!
Fresh chicken (or veggies only, meat or fish) vegetables, seasoning and a small amount of liquid are placed in what looked like a clay vase which got sealed with a lid. This is then placed on an open fire and slow cooked. The porous clay vessel will give some extra flavour to the dish but only if the chef does his magic too!
The show was great! The waiter comes with a tray with burning coal where the clay pot sits on it. He then shoves the coals over and around the pot for a few times before taking it off the coal. He then flicks the pot with a metal rod to open it and pours the clay pot chicken on the plate…and I ended up with a lot of liquid disappointment…
Lots of flavourless liquid, little veg, plenty of not very well seasoned and overcooked chicken. I couldn’t make out the clay pot flavour either. I can’t blame the clay pot for the dish being bland, so the blame for this disappointing meal goes to the chef!
..Cay..
Cay is everywhere!
Turkish tea is typically prepared using two stacked teapots called "çaydanlık" specifically designed for tea preparation.
Water is brought to a boil in the larger lower teapot and then some of the water is used to fill the smaller teapot on top and steep several spoons of loose tea leaves, producing tea with a strong flavor. When served, the remaining water is used to dilute the tea on an individual basis, giving each consumer the choice between strong and weak.
Tea is drunk from small, tulip-shaped glasses called ince belli (literally "slim-waisted"), which allows the tea to be enjoyed hot as well as showing its crimson color.
Source: Wiki
I couldn’t have explained it any better..
However, nobody in the three weeks ever asked us “strong or weak” but we figured out, as more of a red haze the tea has as stronger and more bitter it is!
Most people have it just like this or with a desired amount of sugar. No lemon, no milk.
Before coming to Türkiye, I always thought Turkish coffee is their drink of choice. But this is not the case at all and we hardly see any people drinking Turkish coffee! Cay is trending!
With a yearly consumption of over 3 kg of tea leaves per capita, Türkiye is the world leader in drinking tea! The Irish and British who are second and third in this prestigious table of records consume only just over 2 kg per capita!
A cay maker to take camping...it's only about 60cm tall.
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