Geographically indicated famine food: 'Mıcırık Aşı'

The Mıcırık Aşı, which emerged during the famine of the liberation struggle and took the geographical sign of the gastronomy city Gaziantep, are among the flavors that local people cannot give up and tourists cannot forget.
Mıcırık Aşı, which emerged during the famine in Gaziantep and has recently received its geographical indication, attracts attention in the Southeast due to its taste and nutritional properties. Among the dishes of Gaziantep, which is famous all over the world, which smells of history from its food to its social and cultural areas, Mıcırık Aşı is among the indispensable tastes of budget-friendly tables despite a grueling production phase. The soup, which is tasted by local and foreign tourists, as well as by the local people, takes its place among the unforgettable tastes. Attracting the attention of locals and tourists, Mıcırık Aşı stands out with its flavor and nutritive aspect. Businesses that are trying to maintain their position in Gaziantep's cultural and local cuisine, keep the historical taste of the liberation war alive on the palate with affordable prices. Gaziantep Mıcırık Aşı is a dish prepared using diced meat or minced meat, rice, tomato paste, bork or micrik, or both. Börk is obtained by drying the head of the eggplant with the green part, and the mıcırık is obtained by drying the inner part of the eggplants in the sun. Since it is an easy meal, it is also a very preferred dish at home.

“It is a dish that comes from the past without losing anything from its taste and history”

Explaining that the Mıcırık Aşı emerged due to the famine experienced in the liberation war, Yusuf Pektaş said,

“The Mıcırık Aşı is a historical dish left over from the liberation war. When we lost 6 thousand 317 martyrs, we had to defend our city on our own, so a famine arose. It is a dish that our mothers made at home by evaluating the stem parts of the eggplant, and that has been preserved since then, without losing anything from its taste and history. It's a traditional dish. As it can be easily made in all houses, the bork part, known as the stem of the eggplant, is used to prevent wastage to a large extent. It consists of the stem parts of dried eggplant and dried pepper in its stuffing. We do not throw them away, we Gaziantep people are a society that does not like waste, and we cook aubergines by using the stem part just as we cook them. In addition, there is rice, onion and garlic, except for the dried pepper and eggplant stem part in the stuffing. Therefore, it is like an antibiotic."
Stating that its historical texture has an impact on tourists and that they aim for everyone to eat comfortably in economic terms and feel its history and culture on their palates, Pektaş said, “Mıcırık Aşı is a dish that has a place in world cuisine books and is geographically indicated by UNESCO. Our tourists guests do not know about these dishes. They like it when we tell its historical meaning and they like it when they eat it. They leave with a smile. After the earthquake, we started to sell an average of 60 plates a day with the low number of tourists. Before the earthquake, we were selling 80 plates. We sell an average of 3,500 plates of Mıcırık Aşı on a monthly basis. We offer the plate to the citizens for a small amount such as 40 TL in a way that fits the pockets of people from all walks of life, and we do not increase the price.”