Alice’s Fish Stew

Alice has a soft, gentle voice, large brown eyes and skin the color of burnt caramel. She works as a housekeeper in one of the major hotels in Port Moresby. She loves to eat. She loves to cook.

“I’m getting too fat,” she says. “I have to cut down on my eating.” But Alice is a zaftig Melanesian foodie. She enjoys talking about food. She tells me, “When I cook for my family, I cook with many vegetables and meat and fish. I cook simple. Put in tomatoes, onions and . . .” She fumbles fo