唐辛子が決め手のイエメン魚料理、多文化ジブチの国民食に

【ジブチＡＦＰ＝時事】アフリカ北東部ジブチの首都のお昼時、レストラン「シェ・ハムダニ」は大賑（にぎ）わいだ。地元の著名人、海外移住した人の子孫、遊牧民のグループ──誰もがこの老舗の唯一のメニュー、イエメンの魚料理を求めてやってくる。（写真はジブチの老舗レストラン「シェ・ハムダニ」のイエメンの魚料理）
　魚の身を二つに割り、赤唐辛子のペーストを塗り、伝統的な土の窯で焼く。そのスパイシーな風味は、アフリカとアラビアに挟まれた沿岸に位置する小国がたどってきた複雑な多文化の歴史を思い起こさせる。
　「イエメンから輸入されたレシピで、私たちの食生活の一部になっている」。説明してくれたのは、注文を待っていた元テレビキャスターのアブバカル・ムーサさんだ。
　店の常連だという６３歳の男性が、「老いも若きもジブチ人はみんな食べている」と付け加えた。
　天井の扇風機がむなしくかき回すジブチの猛烈な暑さも、ムーサさんを訪ねてきたベルギー国籍の孫たちの興奮をかき消すことはできない。
　１６歳の孫ソハネさんは「ジブチに来るたびにここに連れて来てもらって、とてもうれしい」と語る。「ブリュッセルの家で作っても同じ味にはならないけど、ジブチを思い出す」

■一番大事なのは「唐辛子」
　アデン湾を挟んでイエメンと面する港町の首都ジブチには、「ムクバサ」と呼ばれるイエメン風料理の店が点在している。漁師が１日に何度もタイ科の魚やボラを届けている。
　そして、いよいよ料理人の出番だ。
　魚を縦に割って塩を振り、エチオピアから輸入した辛みがマイルドな赤唐辛子を使ったペーストをはけで塗る。
　「一番大事なのは唐辛子だ」と話す料理人。汗を流しながら、長い金属の棒に魚を固定し、インドのタンドールに似たテラコッタ製の窯に入れる。
　１５分後に取り出すと完成だ。まろやかな辛さと強烈な赤い色は、唐辛子からきている。
　経営者のオマール・ハムダニさんは、祖父の「世界的に有名な」レシピのおかげで、一家がイエメンから移住して１００年近くたった今も店の人気が続いていると語った。

■故郷の味
　イエメン人は、イッサ人、アファール人に次いでジブチで３番目に多い民族だ。イエメンとジブチ間の人と物の行き来は、何千年も前から続いている。
　２０１４年以降は多くのイエメン人が、内戦を逃れてバブエルマンデブ海峡を渡り、ジブチに避難している。
　イエメンの首都サヌアから逃れてきた元公務員のアミン・マクタルさん（４５）は、２人の移民仲間と共にムクバサを始めた。
　「このレストランで食事をし、同胞に囲まれている限り、幸せだ。イエメンで持っていたものがすべて、ここでも持てるのだから」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/09/06-16:34）

It's lunchtime in Djibouti's capital and Chez Hamdani is buzzing. Local celebrities, visiting diaspora and nomadic herders: everyone flocks to this decades-old establishment for a taste of Yemeni fish, the only dish on the menu.
Split in two, coated with a red pepper paste and then baked in a traditional oven: its spicy flavour evokes the complex, multicultural history of this tiny coastal nation nestled between Africa and Arabia.
It's a recipe imported from Yemen that we have adopted and which is part of our eating habits, explains Abubakar Moussa, a former television anchor, as he waits for his order to be prepared.
All Djiboutians, whether they are young or old, consume it, adds the 63-year-old, a regular at the establishment.
The heavy Djibouti heat -- which the ceiling fans vainly try to dispel -- does little to dampen the enthusiasm of Moussa or his visiting Belgian grandchildren.
Every time I come to Djibouti, he takes me here and I'm so happy, says Sohane, 16, who discovered the dish with her grandfather.
When we make it at home in Brussels, it doesn't taste the same, but it reminds me of Djibouti, it's a little memory.
- 'The chilli is most important' -
Several times a day, fishermen deliver sea bream, mullet and other offerings to the many Yemeni fish restaurants or moukbasa dotting the port city, which is separated from Yemen by the Gulf of Aden.
Then, it's time for the chefs to get to work.
The fish is cut lengthwise and salted, before a paste made from mild red peppers -- imported from Ethiopia -- is applied using a paintbrush.
The most important thing is the chilli, says one of the cooks, beaded with sweat, as he secures the fish to a long metal rod, before plunging it into a traditional terracotta oven, which resembles an Indian tandoor.
The finished dish -- retrieved 15 minutes later -- owes both its gentle heat and its intense red colour to the peppers.
Across Djibouti City, Yemeni fish is eaten with pancakes and fata, a paste made from bananas or dates, and usually sold for around 1,000 Djiboutian francs (five euros or $5.60).
Restaurateur Omar Hamdani credits his grandfather's world-famous recipe for his establishment's enduring popularity, nearly a century after he emigrated to Djibouti from Yemen.
Not much has changed at Chez Hamdani since then, but for the addition of a second floor.
Its walls are still adorned with earthenware and traditional moldings. A small dining room in the back is reserved for women who wish to dine alone. And the recipe remains the same.
My grandfather brought it back from Yemen, he opened this restaurant, then my father took over from him, and now it's my turn to take the lead, the bearded entrepreneur, who is in his late 30s, tells AFP.
- Taste of home -

The Yemenis are the third largest ethnic community in Djibouti, behind the Issa and the Afar.
Migration and trade between the two countries have existed for millennia.
But in recent years, their shared history has taken a tragic turn, with thousands of Yemenis crossing the Bab el-Mandeb strait to seek refuge in Djibouti and escape the war that has ravaged their country since 2014.
After fleeing Sanaa for Djibouti, former civil servant Amin Maqtal set up a moukbasa called Le Kaaboul with two other immigrants -- a reflection of their desire for a fresh start and their longing for a taste of home.
As long as I am in this restaurant, I eat here, I am surrounded by my compatriots, I feel good. Because everything I had in Yemen, I have it here, the soft-spoken 45-year-old tells AFP.
He is both moved and amused by the local craze for Yemeni fish, which is only one among dozens of delicacies in his home country.
In the end, demand is stronger in Djibouti than in Yemen, he says with a smile.