The Kyrgyzstan Experience: The flavors of Camca and Nan
While on the road to Osh, we made a stop at a roadside restaurant to have breakfast. At first, my colleagues and I were not planning to eat, but we got off the bus anyway. While standing outside the restaurant, we saw a couple baking fresh bread just beside the restaurant.
In their small workshop-bakery, a man stood in front of an oven built into a concrete structure rising from the ground. He was holding a long stick which had a flat tip to place the dough into an oven shaped like a mound rising from the ground, with an opening at the top, much like a volcano. Using the stick, he carefully presses the soft dough into the inner walls of the oven, the tool leaving a shallow circular imprint in the center of each bread, making them look like a shallow basin.
A fire made from firewood burned in the bottom center of the oven while the round breads baked evenly along the curved interior, surrounding the heat. Once one side of the bread is done, the man reaches for the bread to turn it around so the other side will be cooked as well.
Infront of the workshop-barkey, a woman with a thick mittens in her right hand places each hot baked bread in a box. The bread they are baking is called nan, a staple commonly eaten with meals in Kyrgyzstan, much like rice is in the Philippines.
For us, who were not used to this kind of scene, it was truly a sight to behold. The oven and the baking process were different from those we know in the Philippines. We approached the couple and took photos and videos of them (with permission) while working. The aroma of the bread being baked was so inviting. Before going back to the restaurant, a colleague bought a couple of nan for us to try.
At the restaurant, a colleague came up to me and said he wanted to try camca, a local pastry filled with potatoes and beef, similar to the Philippine empanada. He saw them freshly baked right in front of the restaurant. I agreed to try it and order one of each variety. We then told our hosts so they could place the order for us, as we couldn’t speak the local language and would have had a hard time communicating with the restaurant staff.
In our minds, we only wanted a few pieces to try, but our hosts ordered one camca for each of us, which turned out to be the best decision. As soon as we took a bite, we all agreed: it was absolutely delicious. Some were filled with beef, others with beef and potatoes. The fillings were soft and flavorful, almost melting in your mouth. Most of us ended up preferring the one filled with pure beef. The nan, on the other hand, was incredibly soft and equally enjoyable. We were given a tomato dip (similar to marinara sauce) that complemented the camca and nan, making them even more delicious (think pizza).
Initially, a few of us weren’t planning to eat much, but in the end, we demolished all the camca and nan on the table. This is easily one of the best breakfasts I’ve had while traveling.
Comments