I Love Rice, But Do Jollof Rice?

Sorry. That pun is Gawd-awful. Thankfully, the rice is much, much better!

Jollof rice is ubiquitous across West Africa. It's prepared differently in different areas. So consider this only a starter recipe. You can add about any types of vegetable, spice, or protein that you think would go well in here. I've added sauteed seitan, fried plantains, carrot, peas, corn, peanuts, and shrimp powder. Those who are meatier among us commonly add chicken or sausage.

This rice goes great with anything West African. We made it with some kick-ass roasted fish and veggies, but you can also serve it with red-red, meat, or anything else that grabs your fancy. Jollofit! (sorry)

Prep time: 1 cocktail (3 cocktails, if you count cooking time)

1 large onion, very finely minced
3 TBSP oil
1 1/4 cup rice (I usually just use long-grain brown)
3 ounces tomato paste
2" piece of ginger, chopped
1-2 habenero peppers, chopped
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup water

1 cup veggie stock
1 cup very finely minced tomatoes


Heat the oil in a big saucepan that has a snug lid over medium heat. Add onions and saute, stirring occasionally until the onions start to turn transparent, about 5-6 minutes.

While onions are cooking, combine tomato paste, ginger, habenero, thyme, cumin, coriander, and nutmeg in a food processor with a couple tablespoons of water. Puree it all into a smooth paste and set aside.

Once onions have turned transparent, add the tomato paste puree and the rice. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes.

Add water, veggie stock, and tomatoes. Stir well, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until all liquid is absorbed. If rice is still crunchy but all the liquid is cooked off, add some more water or stock. Cooking time takes over an hour. 

Kick-Ass Kenkey Recipe

Think of a slightly sour tamale without the inner filling and you've got a pretty good idea of what this Ghanaian staple is like.

The problem with kenkey is that it takes a while to make on your own and is almost impossible to find (unless you have a West African market nearby). Traditionally, kenkey is a fermented corn mash that takes days to prepare properly. You can ferment it on your own (there are instructions available online), or you can use my recipe, which has an almost identical flavor and takes only a few minutes to prepare.

For a more sour kenkey, increase lime juice by ¼ cup and reduce water by ¼ cup.

This recipe makes roughly 6-8 kenkey “tamales.” For this, you’ll need to purchase both masa harina and dried corn husks (masa is a flour made from hominy). Both are available in the Mexican aisle of virtually any grocery store or any Mexican market.

Kenkey goes great with any type of fish and shito or red-red, all eaten by hand. Though not as traditional, kenkey also goes great with a lot of other African proteins, such as mesir mot. Non-vegetarians would love it with tibs and awaze.

Prep time: 1 cocktail

5-15 corn husks, depending on size

3 cups masa harina

1 cups water

½ cup canola oil

3/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice

2 tsp salt

Start by soaking the corn husks in a big bowl. Submerge them in hot water and let them soak for at least a half hour. You’ll need something heavy to set on top of the husks so they remain submerged. A brick is what I use.

Now you’re ready to make the kenkey dough. Combine masa, water, oil, lime juice and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well with a mixer or by hand.

Next, take a fully-soaked corn husk and figure out which is the smoothest side. Set on the counter with smooth side facing up. The stuffing amount will vary depending on the size of the corn husks. But you want to fill the corn husk so that you’ll be able to roll it up.

Roll the kenkey “tamale” like a big hand-rolled cigarette. Tie the two ends securely with string. If you don’t have string, you can tear strips off soaked corn husks to do the job, but this takes a bit longer and the husk strips are easy to tear when tightly pulled.

At this point, you can freeze any kenkey “tamales” you don’t plan on cooking right away. Just stack in a large Tupperware or zip lock bag and place in freezer. You can later prepare frozen tamales by following the steaming directions below (but add a couple extra minutes). Frozen tamales can also be steamed inside their husks right in the microwave (though most purists would pooh-pooh the practice). Cooking times vary on size and number cooked, but ranges from roughly 2 to 10 minutes.

To steam right away, use a bamboo or metal steamer. Stack the tamales so there’s lots of circulation space. Cover and until the masa gets nice and firm and doesn't want to stick to the wrapper when you open it up, which can vary from 45 minutes to two hours, depending on the thickness of each kenkey and how tightly they're packed in the steamer. . Don’t forget to check the water level occasionally!

When done, serve with fish or the protein of your choice and shito.

Shito

Shito (sometimes spelled shitor) is an essential condiment in Ghanaian cuisine. It's damn good with any type of Ghanaian food, but also as a rub for grilling, as an exotic dipping sauce for fish, or a spicy marinade for vegetables. You can also add a dollop to homemade mayonnaise to give it a great kick.

The shrimp powder or paste can be purchased at any Asian grocer; as can the dried anchovies. However, the dried anchovies are usually sold whole, so you‘ll need to turn them into a powder using an electric spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Prep time: 1 cocktail

1 cup canola oil
2 small onions, chopped finely
3-inch piece ginger, finely minced
3-4 ounces tomato paste
2-4 TBSPS Siracha
2 tsp salt
2 TBSP powdered shrimp (you can substitute shrimp paste)
2 TBSP dried anchovy, powdered
12 drops liquid smoke

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and ginger. Stirring frequently, sauté for 15 minutes or until onions turn a nice golden to golden brown.

Add tomato paste and stir very frequently 5-10 more minutes.

Add chili paste and sauté 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Add salt, shrimp, anchovy, and liquid smoke. Reduce heat to a low simmer and stir very frequently for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool at least 1 hour before serving.

This recipe stores well in a jar or other narrow container. The oil will separate a bit, but this buffer will keep it from going bad. It'll store indefinitely.

Red-Red: The Greatest Recipe Known to Humankind

If you've ever been to a dinner party at my house, the chances are good that you had red-red. I'm not kidding when I say it is the best recipe that will ever grace this (or any) blog. I should just hang up my apron after this, because it simply won't get any better.

Red-red is a traditional Ghanaian recipe of spicy black-eyed peas. Though it sounds odd, I must say that it is simply amazing. Red-red gets the name from dual red palm oil and tomatoes traditionally used to prepare this dish. It is also usually served with fried plantains (I typically opt for fried bananas). I also add a non-traditional twist by eating it with injera (click here for recipe), though the more traditional kenkey is great, as is plain old rice.

Also, if you like to make your black-eyed peas from scratch rather than purchasing store-bought, you'll want to increase the salt by roughly  2 tsp.

Prep time: 3 cocktails

1 cup red palm or canola oil
2 onions, chopped
1-3 habenero peppers, minced (I use 4)
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tomatoes, vine ripened (not Roma or Hothouse), quartered
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
1-2 TBSP salt (depending on how much your canned beans have in them already)
¼ cup fresh, unpeeled ginger, grated (grate with smallest possible grating of cheese grater or Microplane; do not mince with knife!)
3 ounces tomato paste (1/2 small can)
2 tsp shrimp powder (optional)
Ground black pepper to taste
2-3 bananas or plantains, sliced into 1" wheels (optional)
Injera or kenkey for serving (rice or flour tortillas make acceptable alternatives as accompaniments)

In large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium heat. Add onions and sauté about 5 minutes, until softened. Add peppers and garlic. Cook a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 1 more minute.

Transfer to a food processor bowl and puree into a sauce.

Return onion/tomato sauce to pan or Dutch oven and reduce heat to a nice simmer, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, drain the black-eyed peas and mash up about 1/3 of them in the cans or a separate bowl. Add all peas to the tomato mixture. Also add the salt, ginger, tomato paste, and shrimp powder (if using). Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add black pepper.

Stirring occasionally, simmer 20 minutes or until you reach consistency of a thick stew. Add additional salt, if needed—it should be a fairly (but not crazy) salty dish. Same with the spiciness: it should be really hot. If it's not, add some cayenne powder.

As the red-red simmers, heat a couple more tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. When it gets hot, add the bananas, flat-side down with a tongs. Once the bottoms get browned but not burned (about 3 minutes), flip and repeat. Remove and gently pat with a paper towel or cloth to remove excess oil.

Now tear your kenkey or injera into bite-sized pieces. You'll use these pieces to work like an edible scoop--no utensils here!

Eat the shit out of this and let me know how awesome it is!