Pappa's Sauce

I come from a very colourful family.

Let me put it this way, my mother's maiden name is "Uys", rooted in some very deep South African Anglo Boer War History (A tale for a rainy day).

My father's surname is "Lenferna De la Motte". His family came to South Africa in the 1950s, from a little island nation somewhere in the warm Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Africa, called Mauritius. My grandfather settled in the Natal Province (now known as kwaZulu Natal) and started work as a laboratory assistant for the Hulett's Sugar Company (still today South Africa's biggest sugar producers). He worked for this company for 45 years and retired from his position as the sugarmill's safety executive officer.

My grandfather was affectionately called "Pappa"by all of his 8 children (I'm not sure if kwaZulu Natal had television broadcasting back then) and was an infamously good cook.

"Pappa" would be known to get up early on a Saturday morning and head off to the nearest rocky beach. He would return hours later, laden with fresh fish, oysters and sometimes even crayfish and no doubt, would have an absolute feast laid out by dinner time. Much to the relief of my (by this stage of the week) overworked grandmother. 

One of his specialties, which I clearly remember him cooking on a visit as a child, was a seafood chow mien. It was lovingly prepared with real Chinese egg noodles, shelled prawns, fresh line fish and bits of succulent crayfish tail. I also need to mention, that only the freshest selection of veggies from his vegetable patch, were used in his chow mien, Capiesh!!! But the most memorable part of this dish was his sauce, "Pappa's Sauce". An intoxicatingly moorish blend of light soy sauce, chicken stock, lemon juice, freshly chopped coriander leaves with garlic, ginger and chilli, crushed in a mortar and pestle, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a generous amount of chopped spring onions. 

This sauce was prepared and served in a large sauce-boat that would be eagerly passed around the large outdoor garden table and then hogged, by every member of the family. When it got to your turn, you would take the spoon it would be served with and ladle out some of the crunchy spring onions and then slowly tip out some of the dark, zingy goodness over your fragrant, steaming pile of "Chow Mien Au fruits De Mere." 

BON APPETITE!!!