#30 Vanuatu

Vanuatu is a Pacific archipelago and former colony of the UK and France. The official languages are Bislama, English and French, the population is circa 300K and the capital is Port Vila.

Did you know that there’s such a thing as the Happy Planet Index? This is a function of wellbeing, life expectancy, inequality and ecological footprint, calculated on a national level. Of 140 countries registering HPIs, Vanuatu comes 4th!

This isn’t a bad achievement when you consider that Vanuatu is also the world’s most dangerous country, according to the UN World Risk Report, which considers the risk of natural disasters to each country.

To balance out the danger of volcanic eruptions and sea level rise, Vanuatu has only had one confirmed case of COVID-19. One!

It’s also not a bad achievement coming 4th in the HPI when you consider the local cuisine.

Vanuatu has not been influenced much by the West and most people grow their own food. Cooking methods are traditional with hot volcanic stones being used to bake or steam food.

Roots such as taro and sweet potatoes provide starch and protein comes from fish, beef and chicken. Pigs are sacred and are only eaten on special occasions. There isn’t much in the way of spice and seasoning. Tropical fruits (thankfully) grow abundantly – coconuts, papayas, mangoes, etc.

Flying foxes are human food here. Until the late 19th century humans were also human food…apparently we take 3-5 hours to cook to perfection…

Another interesting-sounding protein is poulet fish, a kind of snapper, which supposedly tastes a little bit like chicken. Fish is often baked with citrus fruits and coconut milk.

Google coconut crabs; they are bloody terrifying! They live on land, can grow up to 1m in size and feed on coconuts by crushing them with their super-strong scary crab claws. However, they are considered somewhat of a delicacy in Vanuatu, and potentially an aphrodisiac.

Ah, now we’re talking… Santo beef is Vanuatu’s answer to wagyu. These cattle graze freely amongst the coconut trees and produce lean, very beefy-tasting beef. Santo beef is one of the country’s top exports, exporting to Australia…who are massive beef producers!

Something else that does sound tasty is Vanuatuan coconut cake, made with freshly grated coconut, flour, sugar, eggs and butter.

Lap lap

For now, let’s forget delicious and focus on the national dish: lap lap: a bake of plantains and roots, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground oven with coconut cream and meat.

Lap lap Splott-style is as follows:

- spinach

- grated sweet potato & banana

- chicken thigh

- more spinach

- onion, garlic & coconut milk

- wrapped in cabbage in lieu of bananas

- baked in an above-ground electric fan oven in lieu of hot volcanic rocks.