This is what I first Googled before coming to Ghana: Accra, beaches around Accra, Ghanaian food. Ghanaian food is definitely one of the things that I look forward to the most, so I wanted a sneak peek to what it might have been like. From the pictures, the food seem very dense, plain and red. We were also warned that Ghanaian food was spicy and for some people it is. Fortunately, I’m the type of person who likes different food from different places, and most of all, I think it’s a very important part of living abroad. Therefore, get ready for this necessarily lengthy post.
*(Note: I can take spicy food better than most people I met in Lancaster Uni, but compared to most Indonesians I’m not that tolerant. I’m just sharing this so you will be aware that I might have a different level of tolerance for spicy food).
Now, let’s talk about these beauties.
No.1 is charcoaled Tillapia (fish) with Jollof rice (spiced tomato fried rice). Some people find it spicy and others (me) don’t. Jollof always smell a bit like lamb to me (which is great), but maybe it’s just the spices. Also, the portion of food in Ghana is usually quite huge, but only for the carbs. They will serve a bit of protein with a lot of rice or any other carbs. Vegetables and fruits are also quite rare in Ghana, which explained the cabbage and lettuce in the salad. The people here don’t really eat vegetables in general, too, meaning they don’t really know how to cook or dress it (however you have your vegetables).
No.2 is a very local dish called fufu. Fufu actually refers to the torn apart yellow “dough” on the picture, which is one of Ghana’s original staple food, along with Banku and Kenkey. Most of them are a mix of plantain, yam, corn meal and/or casava, and different combinations of these ingredients in different areas. Banku and kenkey are tougher and are not soaked in curry like fufu here. In Ghana, the traditional way of eating is by hands, even with soup like fufu. Unfortunately, I was a chicken and ate it with a spoon Another shocking thing, Fufu is quite soft, but it still has a bit of texture, but we’re supposed to swallow. Each. Bite. Whole. I also failed at this and when I said fufu is not my favourite thing, they say that’s because I eat the Fufu wrong. Okay…
No.3 is a goat curry. One thing about Ghanaian food is they have this tomato sauce that you can get in the supermarkets. My friend, who loves this sauce, explained the flavour as spiced wholesome ketchup, which doesn’t taste artificial. Their curry usually tastes like a stronger version of this tomato sauce, but not as strong as Indian curry, but it has its own character. If you’ve never tried goat before, don’t be alarmed, the flavour is similar to lamb, but the meat is slightly more fibrous.
No.4 is probably my favourite, besides for yam fries (I don’t have a picture of this because I ate it too much). This is Red-red, which is fried plantain (top side) and stewed beans, sometimes with fish (this one has chunks of fish). It has a savoury, light tomato sauce and fish flavour, which is quite unique compared to most Ghanaian food that are very thick and quite fatty. The fried plantain is quite sweet, but I personally love sweet and savoury as someone who eats omelettes with jam and bread
No.5 This would be my favourite because PRAAAWWWNS (prawns), but it is not common. We had this in Keta Lagoon and it was great! To be very honest, the shrimp could have been fresher, especially for this very light sauce of butter, lemon and pepper (called Pilipili), but this goes well with the tomato sauce I mentioned to you. The beer is also a big part of the whole meal; it is a locally brewed beer and it’s a beautiful strong lager, which smells more like ale. I mean, look at that beautiful colour.