The evolution of Braai

Dear KuierKos Family,
South Africans love to braai. And somehow, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how

you were raised, a braai is one of those things we can all tell a story about.
The braai we grew up with was nothing special, usually just a big steel oil drum cut in half on a steel frame with four legs. No Green Egg, no Kamado. Real wood, and of course, the meat: skaap tjoppies, vark tjoppies, boerewors, and Ouma Nelie’s sosaties… the essentials. And then there’s always that joke, chicken on a braai is basically a vegetable ... aai tog!
Side dishes were pap and sous, aartappelslaai, and sometimes geel kerrie perskeslaai or piesang slaai, better not to say how it’s made. But let me tell you, it was delicious. A braaibroodjie is a must. No braai is complete without it.

As a little girl, it was my job to make sure all the plates and utensils were ready before the guests arrived. I had to pack the paper plates neatly into those paper plate riet mandjies, which was honestly harder than it sounds. I also loved rolling the knives and forks into paper serviettes. It felt like part of the ritual, part of getting ready for something special.
At one stage in the 1990s, it became quite fashionable to have a “Chinese braai”, basically a stir-fry braai. Looking back now, it’s quite funny. We had a special steel plate that fitted on the braai, and lots of spatulas so everyone could stir-fry their own meal. It took a lot of effort to prep, cutting up all the meat and vegetables. My mom even had blue pottery bowls with Mandarin symbols on them. So fancy. The stir-fry was served with rice and lots of different sauces. It was always so much fun.

That’s the thing about a braai. It’s never just about the food. It’s about the stories, the laughter, the memories, and the people gathered around the fire.
We’d love to hear your braai stories too. What made it special for you?
Warm groete,
Marnella en Andreas