Get to Know Charleston, South Carolina By way of an Oyster and Okra Gumbo

A good way to get to know a spot higher is thru its meals, as inevitably, the regional and seasonal components have performed a giant position in constructing the character and character of a spot. So whether or not it’s strolling by a farmers market or a grocery retailer or sampling the native specialties at a bakery or restaurant, you’ll seemingly study loads concerning the geographical, cultural, and historic roots of the world. Name it terroir, name it merroir, or simply name it a scrumptious understanding.

Working example could be how an oyster and okra gumbo tells you numerous about Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry. Chef and restaurateur Mike Lata — of FIG and The Abnormal in Charleston — spoke concerning the subject in depth on the Meals & Wine Basic in Charleston.

Calling oysters and mariculture certainly one of “the perfect tales within the meals chain,” Lata believes that the farm elevating of oysters will not be solely a “internet optimistic for the atmosphere” however that they’re additionally scrumptious and “finest signify a way of place, which is what we try to do in our eating places.” 

Lata recounted the primary time he ever ate an oyster in Charleston: “It was in a skiff with a neighborhood farmer, and we have been popping oysters within the boat, which had a gap in it. I am standing within the water and I stated, ‘Nowhere else on the earth can I get this expertise than proper right here.’ And that was one of many many issues that has occurred to me over the course of my profession that has actually grounded me in what it’s that we do.”

In getting ready his dish of a “neo-traditional model of a Lowcountry gumbo,” Lata admitted that there are various totally different sorts and iterations of gumbo, likening it to a “dialect in a delicacies.” The language spoken right here was seasonality, and particularly that of summertime. “It is the longest season we’ve,” stated Lata. Within the gumbo he ready, okra and tomatoes figured prominently.

“The springtime, it is very quick in Charleston,” stated Lata. “So asparagus, little child lettuces, and radishes, all of the issues that come up within the springtime are right here and gone so quick. It fills cooks with nervousness as a result of they’re right here, you modify your menu, they’re gone, you modify your menu.” However when summer season hits, with greens like peppers, tomatoes, okra, and eggplant, stated Lata, “They go from June, after which there is a second run within the fall proper now. So you possibly can have these components in your menu for 4 months. It is enjoyable to have a good time the summer season right here.”

One other component of the bowl of Lata’s oyster and okra gumbo was rice. “Folks do not know that rice is a part of our tradition,” stated Lata. “Lots of people put the rice down first. I believe that is sacrilege.” Rice is historically paired with gumbo as a result of, in response to Lata, “It was plentiful, and you could possibly make a a lot larger meal out of it.” However his take is that gumbo will not be a rice dish. He likes to “type of kick it to the facet just a little bit” and let the diner break it up, the place “it turns into suspended, and the rice is a part of it, nevertheless it would not take over the feel of the particular viscosity of the gumbo.”

To Lata, an oyster and okra gumbo completely speaks of a way of place. “This dish represents what’s occurring proper right here, proper now, in Charleston,” stated Lata. “The gumbo could be very a lot a dish that’s of the Lowcountry with Lowcountry components.” He believes in an idea he calls “the Charleston palate,” the place like-minded, expressive cooks are working with the identical native “wonderful” components. “You may go away with an impression of the town primarily based on the expertise,” stated Lata. “I believe whenever you go away, you will say, there’s one thing about Charleston and its delicacies that’s so distinctive and so totally different.”