Mariko Otsuka Report on her stay in Uzbekistan & Dinner "Uzbekistan x Tetra Meetup - Let's sit together and learn about Uzbekistan　Chaq-chaqlashib o’tirishamiz".

This is a meeting where we will talk about Uzbekistan while making and eating a plov of standard Uzbek dishes. We will also bring Uzbek spiced tea and snacks (snacks, according to Otsuka).

Guest: Mariko Otsuka (Chairman of Otsu International Association, farmer)
After working for JICA and the Japan Foundation, she now lives and works as a farmer in Otsu Town, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Interviewer: Azusa Suga (Photographer, traveler, cookery researcher)
A photographer who travels around the world. Mainly in the Middle East, she works to document the realities of life and society.

Cooking assistant: Nodir Abdullayev
Born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, Nodir Abdullayev came to Japan in 2015 and is now in his 9th year. He currently lives in Fukuoka and works for Nippon Travel Agency. He has been friends with Otsuka for 9 years since he came to Japan.

■Schedule
18:30-19:00: Talk 1 (Otsuka)
19:00-19:30: Cooking Tasting
19:30 - 20:00: Talk 2 (Otsuka & Suga)
*After the talk, dinner will be served directly afterwards.

After working for JICA and the Japan Foundation, I visited Uzbekistan for the first time in about 8 years.
During the three and a half months of stay from January 2024, I will talk about the atmosphere of the country and the social changes I felt during my stay.

The interviewer is Azusa Suga, who has traveled around the world and taken photographs.

The meal will be a very relaxed event, with everyone making "plov," a standard dish in Uzbekistan.
Anyone is welcome to attend, so please feel free to come.

Plov" is a typical Uzbek dish of rice cooked with rice and fresh lamb or beef in vegetable oil. Carrots, onions, chickpeas, raisins, chilies, pomegranates, and quail eggs are added as ingredients.