{"id":4683,"date":"2021-10-05T13:22:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T13:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/?p=4683"},"modified":"2021-10-06T13:56:57","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T13:56:57","slug":"hq-nigerian-and-embracing-the-ugly-delicious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/culture\/hq-nigerian-and-embracing-the-ugly-delicious\/","title":{"rendered":"HQ Nigerian and embracing the Ugly Delicious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is part of a series by Heidi Elkholy<\/a> called ‘At The Table’ for EATMCR that highlights Manchester\u2019s rich and diverse neighbourhoods, celebrating food, culture and community.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With roots in Benin, Henry has been manning family-owned HQ in Fallowfield for the last three years, and he has a lot to say about the under-representation about one of the most flavourful, most musical cuisines. I\u2019m prone to hyperbole, sure, but that suya spice mix makes my tongue sing. If you haven\u2019t tried Nigerian food, you\u2019re probably in the majority, as there are only a handful of outlets in Manchester, but HQ – and Henry\u2019s infectious enthusiasm – is the perfect place to begin your education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We\u2019re at a point where Nigerian food – African food in general, is just getting discovered.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we sit to eat the most intensely-fragrant, delicious spread, including suya (grilled beef or lamb – or both, please!) super-silky pounded yam and Egusi soup (not a soup that you  might recognise, this has a hearty texture and gets its name from the dried and ground  melon and gourd seeds that are used in many West African dishes). An enemy of bland food, every bite packs a punch – even the more unassuming dishes like boli (easy-peasy  roasted plantain) come with a sauce that\u2019s so fire you could drink it by the jugful. For those wary of spice, I should stress that while the food is definitely spicy, there are so many other elements that dance in this flavour profile than a flat, one-tone scorching heat. The chilli kicks you in the face, but you\u2019re then rewarded with moreish savoury tastes and a building sweetness that rounds this unreal experience off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if the food is so ridiculously good – this is fact, I\u2019m afraid – why haven\u2019t we seen more of it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I don\u2019t know why it shouldn\u2019t be in the mainstream – so who\u2019s not looking there? Because other cuisines like asian food, they all have a market\u2026 maybe because you eat with your eyes, and that\u2019s where we\u2019re unlucky\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there it is: the fear of the \u2018unknown\u2019. An unfamiliar-looking dish with interesting textures and a foreign name will put some people off before they try it. Sad but so true, though Henry has the solution for this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I think [people have] not been educated about the \u2018other\u2019 side of food. It\u2019s like, before you get anyone to try something, you would bring them to a point where they\u2019re comfortable. It\u2019s a lot of work.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s not wrong, but Henry is confident that Nigerian food will win you over when you try it  (Amen!) It\u2019s at this point that he brings out an \u2018easier\u2019 () dish of chicken and beef spring  rolls. So far, so beige, but that symphony of seasoning in the meat hits like no spring roll I\u2019ve ever tried before. You ain\u2019t ready for the pure joy in that uber-flaky crispy filo pastry.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of \u2018eating with your eyes\u2019 plays so much into Eurocentric standards of what is considered \u2018normal\u2019, \u2018palatable\u2019 and familiar. Any child of immigrants in the UK will tell you that Primary school lunch times could be a minefield to navigate, with children expressing  disgust at \u2018foreign\u2019 looking and smelling food. This is a very simplified comparison to describe the alienation of certain cuisines, and in time with education and increased representation, this can change. That said, the rise of the \u2018ugly-delicious\u2019 and David Chang\u2019s Netflix show is also a great thing for world foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We need to get [Nigerian food] out there because if you lined up a Nigerian Jollof Rice (Ghanaians, stand by) with a burger, it would beat a burger every. single. time.\u2019 The only thing that Henry says gives the burger an edge is the visual, \u2018If you use the right picture, you\u2019d be getting both the visual and the taste. Because any burger that you have out there by comparison is TASTELESS.\u2019 Cue irreverent cackling.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We go down to the kitchen and sample some of the spice mixes. Most of the dishes on HQ\u2019s menu, while usually containing meat, can be adapted to cater for vegetarians and  vegans when informed in advance. This is because most dishes are a long-ass labour of  love; slow-cooked tender meat adds both protein and a rich depth to the sauces, like the  simmering tomato stew with the softest beef that might bring a tear to your eye. Nigerian  food is first and foremost a source of sustenance, eaten to ensure you\u2019re able to graft, but  none of that sad \u2018food is fuel\u2019 BS, our tastebuds deserve better:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The sweetest thing about it is that Nigerians type of cooking has nothing to do with a specific food, it works with every single raw material, that has to do with food out there, just making it different – spicing it up giving it that Nigerian feel.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all this said, Henry\u2019s already looking to what the future holds for Nigerian cuisine:  \u2018Let\u2019s take the burger again \u2026 once we\u2019re done with all our traditional dishes, we\u2019ll start to do fusion. We\u2019ll take a burger or a Chinese dish, and make it Nigerian. So there\u2019s a  serious market that\u2019s trying to get started and it\u2019s in its engine stages. Now I just got to put the mirrors on.\u2019  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He completely loses me at this point because I\u2019ve fallen down a rabbit hole imagining just how insanely delicious that crossover would be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head down to HQ on weekdays for lunch or dinner and visit the website for a visual of what to expect when you order. It\u2019ll blow your mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is part of a series by Heidi Elkholy called ‘At The Table’ for EATMCR that highlights Manchester\u2019s rich and diverse neighbourhoods, celebrating food, culture and community. With roots in Benin, Henry has been manning family-owned HQ in Fallowfield for the last three years, and he has a lot to say about the under-representation about … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHQ Nigerian and embracing the Ugly Delicious - EAT MCR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/culture\/hq-nigerian-and-embracing-the-ugly-delicious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HQ Nigerian and embracing the Ugly Delicious - EAT MCR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is part of a series by Heidi Elkholy called ‘At The Table’ for EATMCR that highlights Manchester\u2019s rich and diverse neighbourhoods, celebrating food, culture and community. 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