Looking at the multiple Ethiopian restaurants in the Denver area, one common thing across all menus is that tibs is on the menu. Tibs consists of cubed sautéed meat and vegetables that is flavored with berbere, niter kibbeh, as well as other herbs and spices. A variety of different meats can be used but the most popular include beef and lamb. Because of role that influencing religions have had on Ethiopia, tibs is never made with pork or any type of shellfish (Shilcutt). Tibs and other popular Ethiopian dishes can be traced all the way back to the Aksumite Empire, which ruled over modern day Ethiopia almost 2407 years ago (Liagre). Because of this rich and long history, tibs has many variations in cooking methods and meat used. A popular version of tibs is called derek tibs, where the meat is cooked dry with just some butter in a pan and searing the meat until some pieces get crunchy (Wiens). However the true authentic method used to cook tibs is to cook cubed beef or lamb in a dutch oven type dish and sautéed in niter kibbeh, a type of Ethiopian spiced clarified butter, spices and vegetables. The spice, berbere, that gives tibs its authentic taste is a Ethiopian spice that consists of various spices mixed together and is what gives tibs its hot tangy peppery taste (Hultquist). It is traditionally eaten with the right hand and injera is used as a type of utensil that you dip in the dish and collect a piece of meat and sauce with. Injera is a fermented pancake-like flatbread that is slightly spongy made with teff flour, an Ethiopian grain, and is served with most Ethiopian dishes (Killebrew). It is also served with a sauce called awaze, which is a spicy tangy red chili sauce that you can dip the tibs in (Wiens). As with most Ethiopian dishes, tibs is meant to be a shared dish and is typically served on a large circular plate (Embassy of Ethiopia). In Ethiopia, tibs, historically, was served as a way to show respect or compliment a person. Today tibs is still a celebratory dish and served in celebration for holidays or special events. The only occasions when tibs is not eaten is during periods of religious fasting when meat is not eaten (Jeffrey). One of the reasons that tibs has stayed popular because of the popularity and cultural significance of meat in Ethiopia. Because of the significance that meat has in Ethiopian culture, the meat used for tibs is typically freshly butchered (Seleshe, Jo, Lee). While Ethiopia has many other cultural dishes tibs is something that is both extremely popular and significant. Tibs is a dish that helps bring people together and is a way for Ethiopians to help share their culture with others.
Comments