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Aklilu Weldemichael's Doro Wat
Beyond the orange and gold autumnal leaves scattering our streets or the true onset of six months of overcast weather, October is a month of history. Holidays like Halloween or Day of the Dead and the month’s turn draw on the resurrection of personal and cultural histories, while the colder weather draws more people into the warm, wooden halls of local museums and libraries. It seems a month where the ghosts of the past become slightly more visible, allowing us a crucial opportunity to reflect on our own histories. As we uncover in all of our work at the Historical Society, Seattle and its Rainier Valley have a long, rich history filled with diverse groups of people, traditions, and more. This month, we explore a bit of the history of one of Seattle’s many immigration populations—Ethiopian immigrants—and the cultural traditions they brought with them to make our community even richer, particularly when it comes to food.
Most Ethiopians came to Seattle in the 1980s after the 1979 national passing of the Refugee Act, with Seattle chosen as one of a few cities where the federal government placed Ethiopian refugees. When they first arrived, they faced some of the same problems that other immigrants have faced, including difficulty finding ingredients for their meals. One Ethiopian staple food is injera: a sour, spongy bread that is used to scoop up various lentil and meat stews. Alysan Croyden, an ESL teacher at the Refugee Women’s Alliance, says “my Ethiopian students have told me many stories about making injera, and how that’s changed so many times in the U.S. When they first came they couldn’t get a supply of teff—the grain that they use to make injera. So they had to substitute wheat for it. So they have something called “911 injera” which is made with wheat instead of teff, in an emergency. It’s like a sourdough recipe so they have to leave it in a big bowl. They usually make it one day, the next day they leave it, and maybe by the end of that day then they pour it on [a griddle] to make big pancakes out of it.” Teff is now available in Ethiopian grocery stores in Rainier Valley, along with other Ethiopian necessities like hot pepper berbere and raw coffee beans.
Bob Ackley at Bob’s Quality Meat similarly had to learn about Ethiopian cuisine in order to serve his ever-changing Rainier Valley clientele. A sign on his wall in 2002 advertised “Ethiopian Red Meat – SIGA.” Here he explains the sign: “Ten or twelve years ago, approximately, I had an Ethiopian man come in to me. And he says, “I want some red meat. No fat.” Red meat, with no fat. And I said, “Well, now, just what do you mean? You want steak, you want roast?” He said, “I want red meat.” So I must have spent ten or fifteen minutes getting him four or five pounds of this – just little tiny chunks of meat, but no fat on it, see. Oh, it’s just what he wanted.” As more and more Ethiopians began to come into his store asking for “red meat, no fat,” Bob started talking to his suppliers about this new demand. Chapter 6: Stew Pot to Melting Pot 183 “There’s a fellow up in Ferndale that I was talking to. ‘What’s the possibility of raising these animals that are gonna have no fat on the inside and little or no on the outside.’ He said, ‘Oh, you’re talking about the old hamburger beef.’ And I said, ‘No, I’m not. I want a quality animal, with no fat on the inside, with a little bit on the outside.’ Well, we tried several and we’d talk about the improvements that we needed on it. Within about four months, he was hitting her pretty good. "And that has grown into an entire industry by itself, now. He’s got one feedlot that does nothing but that type of animal up there. They’re raised for this specific type of meat. I used to [supply the Ethiopian restaurant Fasica]. I don’t know if [Jim still] does or not. But anyway, we have people come from all over for this. But then, what we sell is the best you could possibly buy. We don’t sell leftovers or sidepieces. I mean, it’s the best cut you can get. They deserve it, you see.”
The proliferation of African shops, restaurants, and social organizations in Rainier Valley is a sure sign that Africans are flourishing here. And like the Italians, Southeast Asians, and others before them, they are bringing their diverse heritage–and delicious food–to Rainier Valley’s vibrant mix of cultures. This month’s recipe is brought by the owner of the aforementioned Fascia Ethiopian Restaurant Aklilu Weldemichae, who shared his recipe for doro wat for our Food Stories Cookbook. As he told us. “[The way we make it in Ethiopia] is totally different from the way we make it here. We buy the chicken by itself and then slaughter the chicken. And then we take off all the skin and break down the chicken into twelve parts. Our people, they know where to divide it. They divide it into twelve pieces. [This procedure is known as doro mebelet]. And then you add the lemon with the hot water. Some people add the salt. And then wash it. In addition to that ritual, this will prevent contamination. You’ll have a lot of red onion and you have to cook it very well. Then you add the hot stuff, the different kind of spices. You stir the onions so many times until it is dark brown. You add water a little bit and then you add more salt. Oil you can add a little bit, but mostly doro wat is made with butter. You should have special butter that’s made at home [clarified butter], you add that one. And after this is ready, you put the chicken. You boil it until it’s ready. Or we, we just test it with our hand and you feel it. And the smell also. When you take it out, you are putting garlic, a nice smell. After that the butter, and then you add some eggs. The egg, you boil it first. When it’s ready you just pick off the shell and then you put a slice – you are not cutting but just put a knife inside it. And then put it in the doro wat and then all the spices and everything will go in. So that’s how you are making doro wat.” This month, consider making Weldemichael’s doro wat—or supporting a local Ethiopian restaurant if cooking isn’t your strong suit—and reflecting on the history of your city, neighborhood, or family.
Doro Wat
Aklilu Weldemichael, adapted from Ethiopian Cooking in the American Kitchen, by Tizita Ayele
Sauce:
1½ lb. chopped onions
4 oz. clarified butter
2 oz. beer (cooking wine or water)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. berbere powder (red hot pepper)
3 lb. chicken (whole chicken)
12 oz. warm water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tsp. blended fresh ginger and garlic
½ tsp. coriander powder, or equal amount cinnamon and ground cloves
4 hard-boiled eggs
Heat the onions in a frying pan for about three minutes before you add the butter. Add 2 oz. clarified butter and fry until the onions turn reddish brown. Add the 2 oz. beer (cooking wine or water) and stir it well. Add the tomato paste and fry it for about five minutes. Add 2 oz. warm water before you add the berbere and stir it well. Add the berbere and fry it for about 3 minutes.
Add the chicken and stir. The chicken must be fried until its juice gets thick. Add warm water and let it boil for about five minutes. Put the heat on a low setting, season it, and let it simmer until its juices thicken. Shell the hard-boiled eggs and make narrow openings (by slicing) along the sides. Drop the eggs in the red sauce. Add salt and your doro wat is ready to be served. .
Recipe from the Rainier Valley Food Stories Cookbook, available for purchase here.
Individual's stories sourced from the Rainier Valley Food Stories Cookbook.
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