--- airs weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm and 10.30pm, or stream it free on . Catch Matt Okine in the noodles and favourite flavour episodes. ---
"When I was young, I didn't really appreciate some of the African food dad cooked. I felt they were too exotic. I felt intimidated by all the unique and colourful foods," comedian and actor Matt Okine tells SBS Food.
"Typical kid – I would just reach for chips and sausages."
Although Okine still enjoys the occasional roast chicken and Dagwood Dog, his food choices are now more diverse. And he has his dad to thank for it.
Matt and his dad. Source: Matt Okine
Chichingas
When Okine's parents separated, he ate very different food between his two homes.
"Mum used to make a lemon chicken dish for Christmas. That will always be one of the most memorable dishes of my childhood.
"As for my dad, he was a big cook. He used to be in the local paper in Brisbane and he would appear on TV shows like 'Brisbane Extra' for his take on African food. He also ran a club night that was quite popular, featuring Ghanaian food."
His dad also whipped up Ghanaian food for him at home. He remembers the fragrance of the spices.
"We had food I never really saw anywhere else. We had things like black-eyed peas, peanut soup and semolina," he says. "But my favourite was this shish kebab called chichingas. It has this nutty rub and you cook it over charcoal."
When Okine's dad brought out the charcoal grill to cook chichingas, it was an event.
Making chichingas. Source: Supplied
"To this day, when I go to his place, he cooks the dish for me. Back in the day, it was difficult to get spice powders from Ghana. We relied on relatives he went back to Ghana to bring them back, so it was quite rare to have chichingas. It was always a special-occasion kind of meal then."
The master fisherman and the apprentice
Okine saw helping in his dad and uncle's food stall at the as a special occasion.
"Such a good memory - serving up food for people, helping a bit in the stall and the kitchen," he laughs. "Then sneaking out to see Powderfinger for the first time."
His dad taught him a lot in the kitchen. "I still give him a call every so often when I'm cooking a crab.
"He's a king fisherman. From when I was younger until today 30 years after, he would take me to this place called Rainbow Beach. We would go and catch crabs and he taught me how to cook them."
There was this world of possibilities when it came to cooking.
The cooking techniques his dad taught him came in handy when he moved into his first apartment.
"I moved to this apartment in Milton, [a suburb in Brisbane], with a friend and another friend donated this old barbecue. This thing was 'well-loved'," Okine laughs. "Anything you cooked on it would come out looking black and greasy."
Even so, Okine admits that it gave him the confidence to cook more.
"It led me to believe that there was this world of possibilities when it came to cooking. I was there, living on my own, and I started to appreciate that I could make anything I wanted whenever I want."
Matt Okine's dad taught him how to catch and cook crab. Source: Supplied
'Anytime she eats anything, it's a win.'
Now with a family of his own, his love of cooking has grown again.
"Making food is quite exposing. You feel vulnerable because you show this side to yourself – not only do you show your cooking ability, but also the flavours and dishes you like.
"When you cook, you make decisions on behalf of a group and, you commit to these decisions. It can be nerve-wracking at first, but I'm proud of where I am in my own abilities."
Okine is proudest when his young daughter eats his food.
"I literally spend hours sometimes slaving in the kitchen and I put the food in front of her and she slides the plate away," he laughs. "I try not to take it too personally. She likes curry though, which I'm surprised by; so it's becoming a real pleasure to cook that again."
THE COOK UP WITH ADAM LIAW
Kingfish and lime chirimushi
