"How I Fell in Love with Ghanaian Food… and How to Make It Yourself"
November 12, 2015 3:52 PM Subscribe
"The one who has not traveled widely thinks her mother is the best cook.” A short article describing the experiences which led the author to write a Ghanaian Cookbook.
Yes, she's promoting her book, but it's worth it for the recipes at the end of the article.
(not affiliated with the author in anyway, i just love food, and there's a dearth of good African cookbooks out there)
Yes, she's promoting her book, but it's worth it for the recipes at the end of the article.
(not affiliated with the author in anyway, i just love food, and there's a dearth of good African cookbooks out there)
This is so exciting, it can be really hard to find recipes for African dishes. There's an incredible spicy chicken stew they make in Ghana that I would love to recreate.
posted by arachnidette at 5:48 PM on November 12, 2015
posted by arachnidette at 5:48 PM on November 12, 2015
Oh man. Kenke and shito. Red-red. Fufu and light soup.
Where do I sign up?
posted by clvrmnky at 6:04 PM on November 12, 2015
Where do I sign up?
posted by clvrmnky at 6:04 PM on November 12, 2015
I'm excited about this cookbook! I loved visiting Ghana, and I'd love to go back.
posted by purpleclover at 7:03 PM on November 12, 2015
posted by purpleclover at 7:03 PM on November 12, 2015
This cookbook looks awesome! And I also suddenly feel so incredibly lucky to live in Washington DC, because my immediate reaction to this was "wow, Ghanaian food sounds amazing--I have got to go to the Ghanaian restaurant down the street".
posted by capricorn at 8:03 PM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by capricorn at 8:03 PM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ha! The last time I was in DC, univac took me to a Ghanaian restaurant there and it was delicious. I think it was the first time I had Ghanaian food in a restaurant.
I'm really hoping that the ingredients become more available, especially out here on the West Coast. Maybe I should give another search for African grocery stores…
posted by klangklangston at 10:45 PM on November 12, 2015
I'm really hoping that the ingredients become more available, especially out here on the West Coast. Maybe I should give another search for African grocery stores…
posted by klangklangston at 10:45 PM on November 12, 2015
Fran Oseo-Asare also wrote a children's Africa cookbook A Good Soup Attracts Chairs.
She also started a newsletter called “BETUMI: The African Culinary Network,” which is an online forum for exchange and information on African food.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 8:09 AM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
She also started a newsletter called “BETUMI: The African Culinary Network,” which is an online forum for exchange and information on African food.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 8:09 AM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
"wow, Ghanaian food sounds amazing--I have got to go to the Ghanaian restaurant down the street".
I'm having the same reaction here in Chicago. There are a couple places I've been meaning to try ever since I moved to Uptown, but I've been too intimidated by their vague menus and mixed reviews online.
I also feel like I should try to tackle Ghanaian / West African cooking simply because every little corner store around here has those giant yams daring me to take one home, and red palm oil, and fufu mix, and all this other stuff I don't even recognize. (I have to say, it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what cuisine these stores were catering to.)
posted by gueneverey at 9:33 AM on November 13, 2015
I'm having the same reaction here in Chicago. There are a couple places I've been meaning to try ever since I moved to Uptown, but I've been too intimidated by their vague menus and mixed reviews online.
I also feel like I should try to tackle Ghanaian / West African cooking simply because every little corner store around here has those giant yams daring me to take one home, and red palm oil, and fufu mix, and all this other stuff I don't even recognize. (I have to say, it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what cuisine these stores were catering to.)
posted by gueneverey at 9:33 AM on November 13, 2015
gueneverey- Don't even bother with the fufu mix. That stuff is terrible! I tried making it for people in the US who were curious about fufu and I could not get it to come out right. You would be better off serving whatever you make with the boiled yam, white rice, or plain mashed potatoes.
posted by arachnidette at 1:05 PM on November 13, 2015
posted by arachnidette at 1:05 PM on November 13, 2015
arachidnette, my experience with fufu mix is quite the opposite. It's the next best thing to actual pounded cassava/plantain. If you need pointers on how to make it let me know.
posted by ramix at 1:21 PM on November 13, 2015
posted by ramix at 1:21 PM on November 13, 2015
Well, since I've never made it and have been pleasantly surprised by a lot of Asian mixes (e.g. jeon mix that my sister-in-law bought was actually pretty legit), could you just tell all of us?
posted by klangklangston at 1:57 PM on November 13, 2015
posted by klangklangston at 1:57 PM on November 13, 2015
Sure, the trick is to keep stirring :).
1 cup fufu powder
Water (not sure how to quantify the water,(see below..
Pinch of salt
Mix water and powder together till you get the consistency of oh gosh, maybe whipping cream? (not thick but not super watery either? - oh like a watery pancake batter) Make sure you mix till all the lumps are out (i find mixing with my hand works better than mixing with a wooden spoon)
Add pinch of salt
How to cook
Method 1:
Put mixture in long handled pot (preferably stainless, you don't want non stick for this) on medium heat, stirring ALL THE TIME with a wooden spoon. (DO NOT STOP STIRRING OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE A LUMPY MESS!!)
Stir stir stir, did i mention stir? until the mixture begins to coagulate. Keep stirring. As the mixture thickens, it will be less stirring and more putting your whole body into it...Make sure to smoosh (that is so a technical term) any lumps that may decide to form. Keep stirring until the thick gelatinous glob no longer looks or tastes powdery. It will begin to look almost (but not quite) semi transclucent. Use wooden spoon to scoop out of pan, and place in a deep dish/bowl that has a little water at the bottom (to prevent the fufu from sticking to the dish). Toss the fufu about in the bowl to shape it into a smoothish ball (the water in the bowl prevents it from sticking to the sides as you toss it about)
Remember i said use a stainless steel pan? If you use a non stick, what you will get is the hard crust of the burned fufu at the bottom mixing with the soft gooey delicious mess and then all your hard work will be ruined!!
Serve with soup of your choice (i believe I've posted a recipe for peanut soup somewhere in askme)
Method 2
Mix fufu and water as in method one. Put in microwave safe deep bowl (preferably one with a handle). Zap oh high for 6 minutes. Remove from microwave. Mix with wooden spoon until you have a nice semi translucent glob. (you may have to add a little more water and zap some more - maybe 2 extra minutes, until you get the consistency described in method 1). Use wooden spoon to transfer to a different bowl that has a little water at the bottom (to prevent the fufu from sticking to the dish). Toss the fufu about in the bowl to shape it into a smoothish ball (the water in the bowl prevents it from sticking to the sides as you toss it about). Serve with soup (see above).
I prefer method 2, it's less labor intensive and involves way less stirring/mixing. No discernable difference in taste between method 1 and 2. Method 1 is more prone to getting lumpy.
posted by ramix at 12:58 PM on November 16, 2015 [4 favorites]
1 cup fufu powder
Water (not sure how to quantify the water,(see below..
Pinch of salt
Mix water and powder together till you get the consistency of oh gosh, maybe whipping cream? (not thick but not super watery either? - oh like a watery pancake batter) Make sure you mix till all the lumps are out (i find mixing with my hand works better than mixing with a wooden spoon)
Add pinch of salt
How to cook
Method 1:
Put mixture in long handled pot (preferably stainless, you don't want non stick for this) on medium heat, stirring ALL THE TIME with a wooden spoon. (DO NOT STOP STIRRING OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE A LUMPY MESS!!)
Stir stir stir, did i mention stir? until the mixture begins to coagulate. Keep stirring. As the mixture thickens, it will be less stirring and more putting your whole body into it...Make sure to smoosh (that is so a technical term) any lumps that may decide to form. Keep stirring until the thick gelatinous glob no longer looks or tastes powdery. It will begin to look almost (but not quite) semi transclucent. Use wooden spoon to scoop out of pan, and place in a deep dish/bowl that has a little water at the bottom (to prevent the fufu from sticking to the dish). Toss the fufu about in the bowl to shape it into a smoothish ball (the water in the bowl prevents it from sticking to the sides as you toss it about)
Remember i said use a stainless steel pan? If you use a non stick, what you will get is the hard crust of the burned fufu at the bottom mixing with the soft gooey delicious mess and then all your hard work will be ruined!!
Serve with soup of your choice (i believe I've posted a recipe for peanut soup somewhere in askme)
Method 2
Mix fufu and water as in method one. Put in microwave safe deep bowl (preferably one with a handle). Zap oh high for 6 minutes. Remove from microwave. Mix with wooden spoon until you have a nice semi translucent glob. (you may have to add a little more water and zap some more - maybe 2 extra minutes, until you get the consistency described in method 1). Use wooden spoon to transfer to a different bowl that has a little water at the bottom (to prevent the fufu from sticking to the dish). Toss the fufu about in the bowl to shape it into a smoothish ball (the water in the bowl prevents it from sticking to the sides as you toss it about). Serve with soup (see above).
I prefer method 2, it's less labor intensive and involves way less stirring/mixing. No discernable difference in taste between method 1 and 2. Method 1 is more prone to getting lumpy.
posted by ramix at 12:58 PM on November 16, 2015 [4 favorites]
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