Liidlii Kue/Fort Simpson - Christmas shoppers in Fort Simpson were greeted by the tastes and aromas of local and Asian cuisines on Dec. 8.

Yaling Xin serves up a Chinese steam bun at the Bompas Christmas bazaar in Fort Simpson. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

A recent bazaar at Bompas elementary school featured more than just crafts, artwork and presents. There was also an array of tables offering tasty treats to shore up failing energy levels so people could keep shopping.

The selection of food choices from various parts of the world were made with care and took hours to prepare.

Ready for customers, Renalyn Pascua-Matte and Anyes Fabre-Dimsdale were seated behind a table filled with spring rolls and satays.

The cooking was a joint effort between the women and Shirley Reid to raise money for the Open Doors Society. Many hands make light work but it helps when you have some experience, especially when wrapping spring rolls, said Pascua-Matte.

"If you know what you're doing, you're faster," she said.

Nine hours of work produced a mix of approximately 600 Shanghai meat, Vietnamese and vegetarian spring rolls along with more than 100 pork satays. Every step takes time, said Pascua-Matte.

All of the fillings for the spring rolls have to be cut finely or grated. Wrapping and cooking alone took three hours each.

Recreating Pascua-Matte's specialties isn't easy because she makes up her own recipes. She was willing to share the secret of great pork satays.

You have to marinate the pork in 7Up or Sprite overnight to make the meat tender and sweet, Pascua-Matte said.Starting to prepare early can also be a lifesaver according to Lynn Larter.

On the opposite side of the Bompas gymnasium, Larter was also selling spring rolls.

The trick is to prepare the vegetables the day before and store them in the fridge, said Larter, whose spring rolls contain carrots, cabbage and ground beef.

If you try and do all the work in one night you'll be up until 4 a.m., she said. For this bazaar Larter prepared more than 400 spring rolls.

Breaking up the steps even further, Larter browned the hamburger meat Friday morning and rolled the spring rolls that night before frying them on Saturday morning just in time to bring them to the bazaar. All the work is worth it because it helps raise money for the school, said Larter. Her three children also enjoy the spring rolls.

"My kids love it," Larter said.

Tastes of China were also available at the bazaar with Yaling Xin offering curried beef wontons, barbecue pork spring rolls and Chinese steam buns.

Many people in Fort Simpson weren't familiar with steam buns before she started making them here, said Xin. Some people call them Chinese hamburgers because the meat inside the dough is like a hamburger, she said.

The steam buns are actually made of dough with a filling of ground pork and vegetables. The bun is twisted shut and steamed to cook.

If you want to make it into a cheeseburger all you have to do is cut it opened after it's cooked and put in a slice of cheese, said Ken Stewart, Xin's husband, with a smile.

Alongside the exotic, more familiar fare was also available such as Rick and Jessie Snider's jams and jellies.

Rick Snider has been making jam since the 1960s.

"For me it was passed down through tradition from my mom," Snider said.

The couple makes a variety of flavours including raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, rosehip, low bush cranberry and high bush cranberry.

And what is Snider's favourite?

"I seldom eat jam. I'm diabetic," said Snider.

A bit of rosehip jam is nice though, said Snider.