【英语趣味课堂】美味的尼日利亚食物-Delish Nigerian Foods

Todd: So Abidemi, you're talking about food in Nigeria, are there any other dishes you can talk about?

 

Abidemi: Yes, I could talk all day about food but I'll mention one more that I know that a lot of children in Nigeria really love. It’s called dodo. In my region¹ of Nigeria, I’m Yoruba we call it dodo but it’s basically² fried³ plantains. So when plantains are really ripe fried, actually, plantains are like bananas but they are bigger and starchier. So when they get really ripe, we fry them in oil over the stove, deep fry it and it just comes out really sweet and a bit caramelized, just a little bit and little kids just really love it. And we have this at home or even school and if you tell a little kid, when I was growing up if you told us that, “Okay, if you don’t do your homework, you’re not going to have dodo." It would freak us out because we just wanted to have it so we always listened then because that’s what we wanted to have. So yeah, I have really good memories of eating it.

 

Todd: So is this a dish like that you just make at home or is it something you buy on a street stall⁴, or can you buy it in a supermarket?

 

Abidemi: Actually, both. When I was growing up we didn’t have it so much outside but now you can buy it just about anywhere. They have little kind of like plantain chips but it’s made from, yeah, it’s sweeter and you could buy it anywhere on the streets or you can make it at home. I make it definitely⁵ at home when I get my hands on plantains. So, it’s very accessible⁶, yeah.

 

Todd: That’s great. So in your country is there lots of street stall food?

 

Abidemi: Yes. Yes, actually there is. In my area of Nigeria, the southwestern part, the Yorbas, we like to eat out. We can buy food from the market or from outside people cooking. In the mornings lots of people outside making pastry-like food that you can buy and eat, for people going to work who don’t have time to cook at home. In the afternoons for lunch too, you could just pop out of your office and buy something. And at night, there are lots of people in different neighborhoods who make food on the street. And you can just buy it hot and fresh and delicious.

 

Todd: Oh wow! So what are some dishes that you can buy, like what’s a typical lunch that somebody would buy on the street?

 

Abidemi: I would say, probably something made from rice - rice and beans with stew⁷. That’s very easy to buy. You could also buy for lunch maybe, we call it Puff⁸ Puff, it's like a...

 

Todd: Puff Puff?

 

Abidemi: Puff Puff, yes, it’s like dough⁹, it’s doughy¹⁰ and it’s fried in oil. And it’s like a simple lunch that you can have, a simple dish not very filling but mostly they would eat what I talked before, maybe Inyan or Amala. These are all made from yam, different ways of making yam, of processing yam that comes out to different food, yeah.

 

Todd: Oh, sounds yummy. What about fruits?

 

Abidemi: Lots of fruits. Nigeria is a tropical¹¹ country so we've got an abundance¹² of fruits: mangoes, pineapples, watermelons and we also have fruits that I’ve never heard of. There’s one that’s called in my language Agbalumo but I checked it on the internet the other time and it’s called African cherry and I’ve never seen it anywhere but Nigeria before.

 

Todd: Oh really, what’s it like?

 

Abidemi: It’s ... how do I ... the color is bright orange, inside it's sour and really sour and a little bitter¹³. It's just got this really strong taste and...

 

Todd: So it’s not sweet like a normal cherry?

 

Abidemi: No, it’s not. No, not at all. It’s not sweet like a normal cherry but it's got its own different ... it tastes a little bit like grapefruit but it’s not citrus. It’s not a citrus fruit so it’s really interesting when you eat it and it’s really good. And the thing about Nigeria is like other tropical countries, you have fruits that come in, in different seasons so that’s always exciting to look forward to because some things you can only get at a certain time of the year. So when it comes out and it’s really cheap and everyone is buying it so it’s really good.

 

Todd: Oh, well that sounds great. And you like ... it sounds you’ve a lot of really good food in your country.

 

Abidemi: Yes, we do, definitely. Come check them out.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

I could talk all day about ---

 

 

I could talk all day about food.

 

When say we can do something all day, we mean that we really enjoy doing it. It never gets boring. Notice the following:

 

I love video games. I could play them all day.

I could talk about sports all day.

freak --- out

 

 

It would freak us out.

 

When something freaks you out, it makes you worried or bothered. Notice the following:

 

Not knowing what is on the test freaks me out.

I get freaked out when I see a spider.

just about

 

 

You can buy it just about anywhere.

 

Here, just about means¹⁴ almost or nearly. Notice the following:

 

There is a 7-11 just about one every street corner.

I know just about everyone in the class.

pop out of

 

 

You could just pop out of your office and buy something.

 

When you 'pop out of' the office, you leave and return quickly. Notice the following:

 

Bob is not here. He popped out of the office to make a call.

I am going to pop out of here for a second to stretch my legs.

look forward to

 

 

That’s always exciting to look forward to

 

When you look forward to something, usually a time in the future, you are excited about it. It is also a polite phrase¹⁵ to say to someone about your next meeting. Notice the following:

 

I am looking forward to spending time with my family.

I look forward to seeing you next week. (Common Polite Phrase)

1 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

2 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

3 fried   

adj.油煎的；油炒的

参考例句：

• I ate everything fried.所有油炸的我都吃。
• I prefer fried peanuts.我选择炸花生。

4 stall   

n.摊位，铺子，售货亭

参考例句：

• She sells fruits at a market stall.她在市场的货摊上卖水果。
• He has a stall that sells designer ripoffs.他开了个铺子卖仿冒设计师品牌衣服。

5 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

6 accessible   

adj.易于得到的，易于进入的，可处理的，可存取的

参考例句：

• The island is accessible only by boat.这座岛只能坐船去。
• Such information is not really accessible.这种信息不是很容易得到的。

7 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

8 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

9 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

10 doughy   

adj.面团的，苍白的，半熟的；软弱无力

参考例句：

• The cake fell; it's a doughy mess. 蛋糕掉在地上，粘糊糊的一团。 来自互联网
• Soon the mixture was doughy. 很快，混合物成了面团状。 来自互联网

11 tropical   

adj.热带的，热带的，炎热的

参考例句：

• You must grow these tropical flowers in a glasshouse.你必须把这些热带花卉种在温室里。
• This disease is widespread in tropical areas.这种疾病在热带地区蔓延很广。

12 abundance   

n.大量，丰富，充足

参考例句：

• At the feast there was food and drink in abundance.宴会上有丰富的饮食。
• There is an abundance of commodity supplies on the markets.商品供应充足。

13 bitter   

adj.激烈的，苦涩的，辛酸的，厉害的，悲痛的；n.辛酸，苦味，苦酒

参考例句：

• The bitter winter was coming.寒冬到了。
• The two countries fell out in a bitter wrangle over imports.这两个国家在有关进口问题的激烈争吵中闹翻了。

14 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

15 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。