Mkoko House BBQ Gambas

Your feet will get wet. You arrive by boat with all your airport gear, luggage, maybe even a hat for the sun, but the island laughs at your formality. The strong sea breeze knocks off your hat, the sand engulfs your toes, the salt water licks at your jeans. With your shoes in hand, you jump into the cool water and walk barefoot up the shore. Your shoes will remain far for the rest of your stay or hidden at the back of the closet, because this island life is a no frills island life, it’s bare skin and flip flops from here on.

Manda is a big partially inhabited island, part of the Lamu Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, an ocean that has for centuries been a melting pot for flavours, textures, culture and colours.

We begin our walk through the “bush” to get to the house. Up through the path, the dry earth, now compact and dusty after the passing of the rainy season makes its way comfortably between the sand grains still on your feet. Some baby goats flutter by quietly behind the trees and we reach the green door to our home. Our home in Africa, our home in Kenya, our home in an island off the Swahili Coast.

Mkoko House is our little piece of paradise. The place we come back to again and again after exploring the world beyond. And when the world seems to be turning upside down with increasing tensions and inexplicable stupidity, this place somehow makes sense.

The acacia trees frame the walkway, so majestic that you forgive them for their thorns. Bougainvillea overwhelm the entrance to the house, pops of deep fuchsia and purple screaming for attention aside the perfect white flower that is frangipane. At the end of the garden are the imposing baobab, their trunks thick and sturdy like the trunks of elephants, standing guard against the cheeky blue-bottomed monkeys who wait for the quiet, before approaching the house to devour the moist red hibiscus flowers, their source of water during the dry season.

Mkoko means mangrove in Swahili and staying true to its name, a never-ending expanse of lush mangrove surrounds the front of the plot, so that the house itself seems to be floating in a sea of green.

You dip you feet in the foot bath as is tradition in Swahili houses, entering with clean steps. The luggage is dropped off and you make you way to the top of the house to soak it all in. A view where the land is flat as far as the eye can see, the level acacia heads bunched together like green mushrooms and the Lamu channel just beyond. The village of Shela separated from us by a narrow sea, sand dunes and “civilisation” staring back. Because Manda is quiet. It is so quiet that at night, you can almost hear the stars, thickly woven into the fabric of the sky. And when the stars are gone, it is only because the moon is so bright, the mangroves like dark giants huddled tightly together to stay warm in the night.

It is never hot here, because the upepo (the wind) goes through the house, the open space cleverly designed to allow natural air to flow through. The traditional makuti roof sits high above the living area, made from intricately knitted palm leaves through which even the biggest storm cannot steep.

The only thing hot here is the food. And in a good way. Hot as in mind-blowing, hot as in spicy, hot as in straight off the grill. Thanks to Idi, chef extraordinaire of Mkoko House, we are always well-fed and leave feeling healthier, happier and lighter.

One of the recipes I have always wanted to learn from him are his finger-licking barbecue prawns. In Swahili, prawns are called kamba, similar to the spanish gambas. I can think of no other way I would prefer to have my prawns cooked and honestly I don’t even usually like prawns, but done this way, I could polish off a mini-mountain of these if you left me alone with them.

These prawns are drenched in flavours of the Swahili coast, then grilled till crispy, the hint of smoke and charcoal just strong enough to make them even better. Ginger, garlic, black pepper, chilli and limes from the garden, it seems so simple, yet when you eat them you cannot believe they were so easy to make.

They are the perfect dish for a summer barbecue by the sea and I cannot wait to try them back in Hong Kong. For me the aromas will always bring me back to the gentle stirring of the upepo and peppery smoke over the garden barbecue and that moment when I first dip my feet into the salty ocean, knowing that I have arrived to the most perfect place.

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MKOKO HOUSE BBQ GAMBAS \mkoko haws bibikju gambas\

chilli・ginger ・garlic・lime

Equipment: barbecue grill & skewers

Light lunch for 2 – 3 people

For the marinade

500g prawns (about 30 medium-sized prawns), cleaned but not de-shelled
1 whole garlic or about 9 small cloves, finely chopped
1 piece ginger about 5cm long, peeled and finely chopped
2 small green chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 lime
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Start by making the marinade, you can either finely chop the ingredients then crush in a mortar and pestle or go the easier way and pulse the marinade a few times in a blender.

Combine the chopped garlic, ginger, chilli and juice of one lime in a mortar and pestle or blender and pound or blend until you have a rough paste. Add the salt, pepper and olive oil and stir. Let the marinade sit for about 10 minutes for the flavours to combine. 

Slide the prawns side down onto metal skewers or wet bamboo skewers, about 10 per skewer depending on the length of your barbecue grill. Brush the prawn skewers generously with the marinade and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. They could also stay a couple of hours in the fridge so can be prepared ahead of time. The longer they marinade, the stronger the flavours will be.

Prepare the barbecue. When you grill the prawns the coals should be amber without any flame. 

When you are ready, brush the prawns once again with the marinade and place the prawns in a folder grill on top of the barbecue. Grill on each side for about 10 minutes until they turn a nice red-orange colour and the shells start to crisp up and darken. 

Serve each person a skewer and be prepared to get your hands dirty clearing out the shells and licking your fingers. You’ll wish the skewers were never ending! 

They are great for a summer lunch with a simple salad and a generous serving of coconut rice. Get the recipe for coconut rice here. 

The leftover marinade can still be used, don’t chuck it yet! It would be amazing heated up with some tomato and white wine for a great pasta sauce or even with some extra crab meat or clams, you won’t regret saving it.