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 Chomp Chomp Malaria Tropicana

By: Ethan Wijaya

          A long time ago, in the islands of Indonesia, there lived a girl, who is now my mom. Everything was going downhill at that point in time. My mom started feeling sick, she started vomiting a lot, started being nauseous, and getting major headaches. After a bit, she decided to talk to a doctor about it. Soon enough, it was told that she had Malaria Tropicana. Luckily, she had someone there, she had a hero: It was one of her many friends. Every single day that my mom had Malaria, her friend would come over to her every single day: “I was sick and they sent me that soup, and that was the first time ever that I eat the crocodile meat”. Now it was a medicinal fact that crocodile meat helps boost your immune system. At that time, my mom never realized that it was crocodile meat. While eating it, she believed that it was fish. The effect of my mom’s friend didn’t end there. After my mom healed, she never forgot about what her friend did, “The crocodile meat actually gives me the inspiration to open the restaurant from a crocodile, everything based on the crocodile”.

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          Now, at that time, Indonesia was known as a third-world country. My mom’s friend would constantly give her that soup every single day. They worked hard every single day, and used her hard-earned money to buy the ingredients for this soup every single day! Especially since it was a third-world country, everything would’ve been hard to find! Let alone buying it with the little payments received! Also, they were one of the most dedicated people you could find anywhere around. The fact that they rode a bike and walked to my mom’s house every single day just to drop off one soup just goes to show their dedication. Every single day, taking out so much time of their day just to help my mom. My mom went through a huge crisis in her life, the crisis of Malaria Tropicana. Through this crisis, she built resilience towards it and is now living very healthily and happily. This was also the start of a mutual aid system, with my mom constantly helping her friend with many everyday problems and her friend helping her pull through everything.

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Crocodile

Soup

Ingredients: 

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  • 1 tablespoon Salt

  • ½ teaspoon Salt

  • 2 teaspoons Sweet paprika

  • 1 ¾ teaspoons Cayenne pepper

  • 1 ½ teaspoon Garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon Ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon Dried Sweet Basil Leaves

  • 1 green Onion stalk

  • ¾ teaspoon White pepper

  • ¾ teaspoon Dried Thyme leaves

  • ½ teaspoon Black Pepper

  • ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano leaves

  • 1 lb boneless Crocodile Meat, trimmed of fat and pounded to ½ inch thick, then cut into 1-inch squares

  • ½ lb Unsalted Butter

  • 1 ¼ cups Onions, very finely chopped

  • 1 cup Celery, very finely chopped

  • ½ cup All-Purpose flour

  • 2 cups Tomatoes, peeled and chopped

  • 1 teaspoon minced Garlic

  • 6 cups of Seafood Stock

  • 2 tablespoons Dried Sherry

Directions: 

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Step 1: Combine the salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, basil, thyme, peppers, and oregano in a small bowl.

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Step 2: Take 1 teaspoon of the seasoning mix and rub it over the meat.

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Step 3: In a 5 ½ quart saucepan, heat ¼ lb of butter over high heat until about half melted.

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Step 4: Add meat and cook until meat is well browned and sediment on the bottom of the pan is continuously building up, about 13 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally.

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Step 5: Remove from heat. With a slotted spoon, transfer meat and any very brown bits to a bowl and set aside.

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Step 6: Return pan to high heat and add remaining butter and ¾ cup onions, scraping up all browned sediment, then stirring occasionally.

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Step 7: Stir in ½ cup celery.

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Step 8: Add flour, stirring until well-blended. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring and scraping frequently.

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Step 9: Stir in tomatoes, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of seasoning mix. Cook about 4 minutes, stirring and scraping.

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Step 10: Add ½ cup stock and stir and scrape until browned sediment is dissolved.

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Step 11: Add ½ cup more stock and the remaining seasoning mix.

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Step 12: Cook about 2 minutes, stirring and scraping frequently.

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Step 13: Add remaining stock and stir and scrape well.

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Step 14: Return meat to the pot and add sherry. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping frequently.

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Step 15: Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring and scraping occasionally.

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Step 16: Add remaining onions and celery. Continue to cook until meat is tender, about 30 minutes more, stirring and scraping occasionally.

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