My Guide to Food – Exploring and Mapping intersections between Nigerian Cuisine and Foods of the World
I don’t use lemon and lime interchangeably, no sir. They have such different profiles and I like to keep each special. For instance, I haven’t yet met a lemon and mango combo that I like. Lime and mango, however? Take me home, baby! Sometimes I think I love both of them equally and then lemons […]
I love making hash – great for combining starches, meat, vegetables and sauce, all in one pan. I employed my cassava chunks in this recipes, along with suya of tripe – shaki to Nigerians. I got the ‘book’ shaki, known as Bible. Manifold. Onigbawe, in Yoruba. For the ‘pages’ it has. I love how expressive […]
I love the taste and flavours of this sauce, perfect for dunking southern fried chicken tenders in. That’s what we did the first time I made it. Chunky vegetables go into a sauce that’s rich with mangoes. Secret sauce? Angostura Bitters. Perfect for Chapman, soup and pie. [wpurp-searchable-recipe]Caribbean Mango Sauce – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
My children’s reaction when lunch was served made me realise that what most of us know as Mexican cuisine is actually Tex-Mex. “Tex-Mex” (portmanteau of Texan and Mexican) is a term describing a cultural fusion cuisine of American cuisine and Mexican cuisine, deriving from the culinary creations of Tejanos. It has spread from border states […]
Plantains…versatile veggie. So much to do with it, here’s one of them – plantain noodles. First discovered in 2010 en route some plantain dessert gnocchi. And long before the spiralizer craze. Since then, I’ve explored a few other options and here are some routes to plantain noodles, in three (3) steps. This works with both ripe […]
It was one day last June, July when I discovered Glover Court suya in Ikoyi – Lagos, Nigeria. I missed suya. I missed the flame-grilled, peanut-spiced sticks of meat that are perfect for 5pm on a Friday. I wish I could say 4pm but that’s one hour when I’m still at my desk. I can’t […]
It never ceases to amaze me just how connected we are, from Lagos to Laos. Scent leaves, Perilla, Shiso, of the family Lamiaceae. These herbaceous, perennial shrubs are cousins in the mint family I thought I knew everything about this plant. Growing up, it featured prominently in pepper soup, added at the last minute to bring […]
We aren’t doing too badly in Naija. Lots of things are being processed and packaged, and sold in stores. You can find locally canned palm nut sauce for banga soup, spice blends in bottles and jars, hibiscus leaves in packs. That soothes my soul. I’m particularly glad to find Abacha – shredded and dehydrated. Perfect […]
A few nights ago, Lara took me to Barracuda – a popular fish restaurant in Jumeirah 3, Dubai. It is owned by an Egyptian and is established on the concept of ‘selecting’ your own seafood. It reminds me very much of selecting catfish in some Nigerian restaurants, popularly known as Point & Kill. Except in this […]