Sample Sri Lankan, Mexican and Liberian flavors at Ethnic Foodways, a series of food demonstrations happening at Staten Island greenmarkets over three Saturdays this summer. The Folklife branch of the Staten Island Arts—the organization behind the wonderful LUMEN performance festival—organized the demonstrations as a way to highlight the vibrant ethnic communities on Staten Island by way of their cuisines. Attendees watch as chefs and home cooks prepare dishes, then get the opportunity to ask questions, learn where to shop for ethnic ingredients and, of course, sample the delicious food.
First up on Saturday, July 13th, the project investigates Staten Island's large Sri Lankan community, which boasts lots of delicious restaurants in the Stapleton section of the Island. Learn how to make vambatu pabie, an eggplant curry, by home cook Monica Thenuwara. Next, the flavors of Mexico are on display, with a demonstration of chicken with adobo sauce on August 10th. Finally, on September 10th, watch the preparation for Liberian fufu, a dough made with starchy vegetables that's then dipped into a flavorful sauce.
All the demonstrations begin at 11 a.m. and are completely free and open to anyone. The Sri Lankan demo takes place in a greenmarket on St. Marks and Hyatt Streets, which is located a stone's throw from the St. George Ferry Terminal. Excellent opportunity to take that ferry ride you keep hearing about.
