Steam Cooking & KPHI Food

Steam Cooking & KPHI Food

Steam, patience and good food from Troy Hunter’s kitchen.

Troy Hunter learned steam pit cooking under Dr. Nancy Turner at the University of Victoria. For Troy, steam cooking is a heritage practice worth carrying forward: gentle heat, time, and food meant to be shared. The dishes on this page come from his kitchen at Kootenae Plains Holdings Inc. (KPHI), a 100% Indigenous-owned company, and show where that idea is heading.

On the plate

  • Salmon patties · swaq̓mu
  • Steamed bread · kki·kuǂ
  • Hooshum juice, from soapberries · kupaʔtiǂ
  • Fresh green beans braised in the Itaki · kaǂaʔmaǂ ȼam̓na
  • Cranberry sauce
Salmon patty with cranberry sauce and green beans
Salmon patty with cranberry sauce and green beans
A KPHI plate with hooshum juice and steamed bread
A KPHI plate with hooshum juice and steamed bread
The table, with the steamer behind
The table, with the steamer behind
Steamed bread, fresh from the steamer
Steamed bread, fresh from the steamer
Cranberry sauce and fresh green beans in the Itaki
Cranberry sauce and fresh green beans in the Itaki
Salmon patties in cast iron
Salmon patties in cast iron
Hooshum (soapberry) juice
Hooshum (soapberry) juice
Steamed bread with butter on the steamer rack
Steamed bread with butter on the steamer rack
Cranberry sauce beside green beans in the steamer trays
Cranberry sauce beside green beans in the steamer trays

Words at the table

  • ʔa·q̓aǂnuqǂutaʔqa · steam
  • k̓ikiǂ · food
  • swaq̓mu · salmon
  • kki·kuǂ · bread
  • kupaʔtiǂ · soapberry
  • kaǂaʔmaǂ ȼam̓na · green beans

Recipes stay in Troy’s kitchen. What you see here are the dishes and the heritage behind them. More to come.