On the latest episode of BBC News’ flagship food programme, Discovering The World’s Table, food writer and presenter Nick Kwek goes on a gastronomic journey through Uzbekistan. Nick writes about his culinary journey through Uzbekistan for TheTaste…
Be honest, how many of us are familiar with Uzbek cuisine? I’ll be the first to admit, that Uzbekistan wasn’t a country I knew much, if anything about – which is why it was such a genuine delight to travel there and truly unearth what the food scene is all about for our BBC series Discovering The World’s Table.
It’s a programme with tradition, sustainability, and community at its core, whereby we taste the nation’s celebrated dishes, cook with local ingredients and meet talented young chefs passionate about elevating their country’s cuisine.
We come to understand a place through its food. And on this trip, I really felt like I was eating something brand new, yet oddly old.
It’s a destination slinging open its ancient doors to an influx of tourists who can now sink their teeth into its decorated history and marvellous produce.
And it is historic. The immense weight of history sits heavy in the air, and it’s particularly palpable in Samarkand – a UNESCO World Heritage Listed town that has served as a major Silk Road trading hub for more than 2,500 years.
If walls could talk, they’d shout here. Arriving at the ancient Registan Square is like (pardon the cliche) stepping back in time. The magnificent architectural ensemble juts out of the earth seemingly from nowhere – with its glittering mosques and madrasas (schools) that are so unbelievably intricate in design. At their feet is a giant flat square that once would have been packed to the rafters with market stalls and traders flogging their artisanal goods.
Today, the iconic landmark is brimming with photoshoots of newlyweds keen to enshrine their love against a jaw-dropping backdrop. In between filming, I even encountered a proposal between a young couple from England – who travelled there on a whim and got caught up in the romantic, majestic atmosphere.
Of course, my love language is food. Samarkand is famed for its beautiful bread – glorious golden round loaves which are sacred in these parts and carry spiritual significance, our local guide Asadbrek Ibrahimi tells me.
“Bread is something very holy for us – we never put bread on the ground, it should always be high up. Bread-breaking traditions are also linked to weddings here. By breaking two breads together, it spiritually links two souls together.”
The remarkable way the bread is baked is something to behold too – At Kulchanon, master bakers dive headfirst into giant tandoor ovens built into the ground. It’s quite the spectacle! Like gymnasts performing an expert manoeuvre, they swing downwards, their feet leaving the floor in the process. Engulfed in flames, they act quickly and methodically to affix the dough to the oven’s interior.
I roll up my sleeves and have a try – you can see how horribly that goes in the show!
In embarrassing defeat, I’m consoled with a freshly baked, piping hot loaf. It’s extremely dense, very filling, and apparently can last for several weeks, so it was perfect for carrying on long journeys along the Silk Road.
Equipped with a couple of loaves, I head to the bustling capital of Tashkent – Central Asia’s most populous city – to meet one of Uzbekistan’s most celebrated chefs, Bahriddin Chustiy, who has become an authority on the nation’s cuisine. At Aksu, one of his four restaurants, Chustiy also makes fine use of the tandoor but today he’s sticking slices of ribeye steak to its fiery walls. Whilst it cooks, we get talking over a traditional cuppa.
“I’m so proud of my country and its cuisine, but we have to develop to keep up. The foundation of our cuisine is incredible, delicious food. We have access to high-quality produce, spices etc, but we have stayed the same for too long”, says Chustiy.
Chustiy is determined to shake up the scene, designing more delicate dishes that will appeal to the modern market.
“As chefs here, we’re the ones responsible for driving the development of Uzbek cuisine. This is our mission and our community’s purpose.”
The medium-rare steak is served family-style on a platter for us to enjoy – it was excellently charred, succulent and celebratory, and greatly appeased this meat lover. My vegetarian producer India Latham was somewhat less tickled pink.
Along with its savoury traditions, Uzbekistan is world-renowned for its wonderfully sweet melons. They are a lifeblood for many rural communities here, with the roadsides lined with them. There are around 150 varieties of these juicy beauties here and storing them, ageing them and preserving them is serious business.
A couple of hours East of the city, I meet Jahongir Giyasov of Jahon Exim, whose family has worked with melons for generations.
He shows me around a melon farm where they still dry melon the traditional way – in the wind. Strips of the fruit dangle ever so precariously from string out in fields – like washing on a clothesline – which is risky as the weather can be unpredictable. (And it did in fact start raining!). Meanwhile, inside an old storage shed, row upon row of huge melons hang in individual sleeping bags, preserving as they have done for hundreds of years.
The sound is dampened from all the surface area, and we begin to whisper as if we’d stepped into a bedroom of melons in hibernation.
“If the melons touch each other they spoil, so they must hang like this”, Jahongir says, his voice lowered.
Back outdoors after careful selection, Jahongir cuts open a perfect melon, revealing the ripe flesh. Salivating, I take a bite – what a sublime, magical explosion of flavour! I must confess it was the best yellow melon I’ve ever had.
Jahongir and his peers are modernising this traditional preservation process and trying to establish Uzbekistan as a global market leader in dried melon.
“Every quality of our product is changing to be better than before. We now have clean production, focused on high quality and absolutely different tastes. Over the last seven or eight years, lots of things have changed. The market is open to the world, and the world is open to Uzbekistan.”
Discovering The World’s Table – Uzbekistan: The Succulent Steppes airs on the BBC News channel on Saturday 1st March at 01:30 and 07:30, and on Sunday 2nd March at 14:30 and 22:30 (all times GMT), and available in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
Nick Kwek, presenter of Discovering the World’s Table said: “It was utterly fascinating filming in such an ancient part of the world where you can really sense the weight of a decorated history. You can taste it in the food and drink – they serve as a gateway to the past now being brought to life by some brilliant young chefs who have a real passion to show the world their country’s finest.”
“I feel so lucky to have been able to discover Uzbek cuisine, and look forward to closely watching how the nation’s scene develops in years to come.”
