### A Day in the Life of a Yellowknife Chef: Preparing Traditional Arctic Cuisine
#### Introduction
Angela Hovak Johnson, a resident of Yellowknife, shares her passion for traditional Arctic cuisine in this video. Growing up in Umingmaktok, a small community in central Arctic, Angela was surrounded by hunters and storytellers. Her connection to the land and its bounty is evident as she prepares dishes featuring caribou head, caribou heart soup, and polar bear meat. These recipes are deeply rooted in her family’s heritage and the survival instincts passed down through generations.
#### The Caribou Head: A Favorite Cut
For Angela, the caribou head is one of her absolute favorite parts of the animal. She explains that it is “nice and tender when you cook it,” requiring no salt or spices to enhance its natural flavor. The process of preparing the caribou head involves starting from the bottom and cutting just the skin part while leaving the meat intact.
Angela emphasizes the importance of not disturbing the head too much during boiling, as this would cause the brains to fall out. Instead, she allows it to cook slowly, ensuring that all the nutrients remain intact. The result is a dish that is both flavorful and nutrient-rich, reflecting the Inuit tradition of using every part of the animal.
#### Caribou Heart Soup: A Family Recipe
Next on the menu is caribou heart soup, a dish Angela learned from her mother. She shares the simple yet delicious recipe, which includes potatoes, onions, carrots, long grain rice, and a secret ingredient—beef noodle soup mix. While the original recipe didn’t include vegetables, Angela adds them as an extra bonus to make the meal even more hearty.
The preparation involves cutting up the heart and boiling it for about 20 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. The beef noodle soup mix is a staple in her kitchen, as its flavor closely resembles that of caribou. This dish is not only a family favorite but also a way to feed many people, ensuring that nothing goes to waste.
#### Polar Bear Meat: A Strong and Respectful Dish
Polar bear meat is another delicacy that Angela prepares in this video. She mentions that it has a strong smell reminiscent of seal meat, which can be overpowering. Despite its strong odor, polar bear meat holds a special place in Inuit culture.
Angela recalls her father’s teachings about hunting—emphasizing the importance of respecting the animal and avoiding the mother and cubs to ensure future hunting opportunities. These values are deeply ingrained in her approach to cooking and hunting. She explains that polar bear meat is often boiled for three hours to make it tender and edible, a process that highlights the care and respect given to this珍贵 resource.
#### Community and Tradition
Throughout the video, Angela reflects on her connection to her community and the importance of sharing meals with others. She misses the days when hunters would bring home caribou or other game and the entire town would come together to celebrate.
As she finishes cooking, she invites a couple of friends over to enjoy the meal, which includes caribou head, polar bear meat, and heart soup. The process of removing the eyeball from the bone and tasting the tender meat is a moment of pride and satisfaction for Angela.
#### Conclusion
Angela’s preparation of traditional Arctic foods is not just about cooking—it’s about preserving a way of life. Each dish tells a story of survival, respect for the land, and the importance of community. Her approach to cooking, whether it’s caribou heart soup or polar bear meat, reflects a deep appreciation for the resources provided by the Arctic environment.
As she looks forward to sharing her meal with friends, Angela reminds us that these traditions are not just about food—they’re about connecting with our roots and ensuring that future generations can continue to thrive in the North.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI'm just getting the furoff the caribou head.Cuz you don't wantto cook that.We don't wantto eat the fur.I'm Angela Hovak Johnsonfrom Yellowknife.I live here inYellowknife.I grew up in a smallplace called Umingmaktokup in central Arctic.Today I'll be preparingcaribou heart,caribou head, andpolar bear meat.The caribou headis one of my veryfavorite parts.It's nice andtender when you cook it.You don't need salt orany spices.I find if you don'tuse any spices,then you can really tastethe flavor of the meat.So normally, you startfrom the bottom andthen you start cutting,just the skin part,leaving the meat on.I have three boys andthey have really busylives of sports andschool andstuff like that.And I still have thatguilt that I wish theywere hunting more andhad access to my dad andother hunters.One day they'll learn.You wanna kiss it?You want it as small aspossible, when you'reboiling it, because ittakes so long to cook.So you just putit like that andthat's one partright there.The tongue isthe delicacy.Now we need the ax,the hatchet.Hunting's reallyimportant,like I said before,my dad is a hunter andI grew up around that andit's so important forsurvival and for feedingthe community, andthe animal gives you somuch andwe try not towaste anything.We eat from almostthe whole thing,everything that'sprovided from the animal,and also use the skin forclothing or for tools.When you're boilingthe caribou head, youdon't want to disturb ittoo much cause the brainswill fall out.You want them to cooknice and whole and youcan already see all thenice nutrients coming.I'm so excited.Okay, now we're gonnamake some caribouheart soup.Here's the caribouheart andwe're gonna add somepotatoes, some onions,carrots, some longgrain rice, and also,the secret ingredient,beef noodle soup mix.I got this recipefrom my mother.It's minus the potatoesand carrots, that's justan added bonus that we'regoing to put in there.So I'll start withcutting up the heart.There's lots of ways youcan cook the heart, butsince the heart is not sorich, we tend to spoilit up and have it forsoup, then we can feeda lot more people.In the next step forthis heart soup,we're just gonna put itinto the pot, boil it forabout 20 minutes,and then we can add therest of the ingredients.We're gonna becooking withbeef noodle soup mix.It's just something thatwe cook with quite a bitcuz beef is pretty closeto the taste of caribou.It just gives ita nice flavor.So a lot of stuff that wetook from the bay stores,like from the whalers,and we like to eatbeef noodle soup mix orpilot biscuits.So there,it's cooking nicely.You just want the pinknot showing anypink anymore.Then you can addthe other stuff.Okay, so we're gonna cookup some polar bear meat.Kind of smells like seal.I've never eaten polarbear before, butI heard that it'sreally strong andkind of similarto seal meat.For polar bears,usually, there's lot ofsuperstitions, and peoplealways talk if you areever going to eat polarbear, you should reallyrespect the animal and,otherwise, you'dget attacked.My dad always taughtme that you don't huntthe mother and the cubscuz that's your future.You want to be able tohunt in the future too.So be respectful andleave the mother andthe cubs.So we're just thencutting the polar bearmeat and we are goingto put it in a pot andboil it forthree hours and then itwill be ready to eat.Pretty strong smelling,right?Yeah.It's part of our life andour survival when we'reeating polar bear oreating caribou meat.I didn't want to getinto that situation yetwhere people are reallyagainst that to my face,but yeah, you hearit on the media andstuff about how peopleare so anti this,anti that, and I thinklike, if they spenta little time up north,feel how cold it is andyou don't have access toa lot of fresh stuff.I am just gonna checkon the polar bear meat.We've decided to boilit out on the barbecuebecause of the verystrong smell.It kinda smells likefish, muck duck, andseal meat all put to oneand it's quite strong.Oh my gosh, I love that.It smells so good.The polar bear meat andthe caribou havebeen cooking forthree hours now.So, they should beall ready to eat.I miss the littletown community whereeverybody shares and whenyou'd catch a caribou orsomething, and the hunterwill bring it home,and the wife will cook itup in a meal, call forthe whole community tocome and celebrate, andenjoy the meal with you.Everything's all ready anI've invited a couple offriends to come andenjoy this meal here.We have caribou head,polar bear meat,and caribou heart soup.So there's kind ofa process on how totake the eyeball outof the bone here.You just push the eyethrough there and sothis is really tender,it's ready to eat now.I haven't had polarbear in a long time, sothis is kind ofa bit strong forme, but it's good.Is it full of nutrients?Mom, look.It tastes good.Thanks forhaving us here, Huva.Thanks for coming.\n"
