INTERGEN: Cooking & Conversation

Ajak Kwai & Young Eritreans Australia

South Sudanese songwoman Ajak Kwai and members of Young Eritreans Australia (YEA) showcase the health and nutritional benefits of East African food in this Cooking and Conversation livestream, initially hosted on the Young Eritreans Australia instagram.

The livestream highlighted the mental health and wellbeing benefits of food, with YEA and Ajak discussing their cultural relationships to food, cultural eating rituals and stories of connecting to culture through food while living in diaspora contexts. See the recipes cards and watch summary videos of the livesteam cooking demonstrations below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Food is so important it unites people together, it gives people time to have a conversation together, so it’s very important’ – Ajak Kwai

 

 

Learn how to make Sudanese Kombo with Ajak Kwai in this summary video:

 

Download a Sudanese Kombo recipe card here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘They’re known as struggle meals because they were eating during the war, shiro and addis (lentils) … because they’re easy to make, it doesn’t take that long, you can make a big batch of it and it still tastes good so you’re getting fed struggle meals, but it’s nice struggle meals’ – Nada, Young Eritreans Australia

 

 

Learn how to make Shiro with Nada from Young Eritreans Australia in this summary video here:

Download a Shiro recipe card here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘It took me a long time to be able to eat food in Australia at all, it tastes awful… I was under weight for seven months’ – Ajak Kwai

 

Learn how to make Sudanese Ful with Ajak Kwai in this summary video:

 

Download a Sudanese Ful recipe card here