Sauces
In Ghana there is one sauce that is served with nearly every dish. From jollof rice to tilapia to spring rolls, shito is served at every restaurant regardless of cuisine. There are two main variants of shito sauce. The first, a green pepper version that is normally served with banku and tilapia. The green shito is fresh and often less oily than its counterpart. The other sauce is a black pepper shito made with chiles. The more common of the two, black shito sauce is made with shrimp and herring powder. In addition to the fishy taste, it has a fermentation-like quality created by the combination of garlic, oil, and sugar from the chiles. Common with chicken and jollof rice, this sauce is a staple throughout Ghana.
Produce
Fruit
Mangos are by far the most popular fruit here. A staple across most of Ghana, the mangos are much larger, sweeter, and juicier than those back in the United States. For only 7 cedis ($1.50) you can get a mango cut up in a to-go container from the street vendors.
The majority of pineapple I have eaten in Ghana has been similar in taste to pineapple from the United States. Where they differ are in color and juiciness. The Ghanaian pineapples are often anemic in color as well as harder and ‘dryer’ compared to the typical pineapple found throughout the United States.
The papaya are much more flavorful than those in the United States. Before this trip I didn’t even think papayas had a flavor, they always tasted like a dulled cantaloupe, sweet but lacking real flavor qualities. Here they are much more flavorful and nearly as common as the mangos.
Watermelons are subpar here. Compared to the Hermiston watermelons in Oregon, Ghanaian watermelons are dryer and contain a lot of seeds.
Vegetables
Unfortunately, I am restricted in my vegetable consumption. Since the vegetables are grown and washed with tap water we have been advised to only eat vegetables that have been washed with vinegar or have a tough skin. Ghanaian cuisine is primarily cooked dishes and the consumption of raw vegetables is generally uncommon.
Proteins
There are two main proteins in Ghana, fish, and chicken. Found at nearly every restaurant, they all have generally similar flavors rooted in the cooking method. Cooking techniques include frying, grilling, and roasting.
Chicken
The street vendors usually rely on charcoal for their heat source giving their food a smoky quality. The cheaper restaurants typically roast or fry their chicken making it less flavorful than the street vendors but not as dry. My personal preference is for the street charcoal version. There is a spot in Osu where the chef, who reminds me of a southern BBQ pitmaster, has multiple retrofitted oil drums grilling up fish, chicken, and pork. Unlike most of the other vendors, he throws on a Jamaican jerk rub that when combined with the smoke from the charcoal creates my favorite food to date in Ghana. The sauce he serves with it tastes like a liquified version of the rub with some more peppers and what seems like MSG or a lot of salt.
Fish
Fish is not served in the fillets or steaks we are used to in the US. Instead, the fish is served whole, with bones, skin, and head still attached. Occasionally restaurants will have fried fish but be warned the bones are still inside. In most situations, I typically prefer the fish over the chicken. One of my favorite Ghanaian dishes is banku and tilapia, a whole fish grilled served with a cassava flour dough ball (banku) and the green pepper shito sauce.
American Fare
Most Ghanaian restaurants have a menu section dedicated to ‘American’ food. Limited primarily to cheeseburgers and pizza, the food is not similar to what we call American, but different enough from Ghanaian food to provide relief from the ever-present jollof and chicken. Chips or fries are also present, but I’m convinced there is one brand of frozen fries that all restaurants use. What fries you’ll find in Accra will be the same as in Kumasi and Cape Coast.
Fufu
The divisive dish. You either love it or hate it. I’m on the side of the latter. Fufu is a starchy stretchy dough served with stew. Usually made by pounding cassava flour and plantains the dough is much stretchier than banku. Served inside stew, it is meant to be pulled apart and eaten with only the right hand. It is also meant to be swallowed whole and not chewed. Fufu can come in many different stews but the most popular are light, groundnut (peanut butter), and okra.
