A dark, intensely savoury black chilli oil-paste cooked low and slow with dried fish, ground prawns, onion, ginger and tomato until almost black. Ghana's essential condiment, keeping for weeks and spooned onto everything from kenkey to rice.
Shito is Ghana's dark, deeply savoury pepper sauce, fried slow from dried fish, prawns, chili and spice in oil until almost black. A spoonful lifts countless dishes, and a jar keeps for months — the country's all-purpose heat.
Profoundly umami and smoky, with the funk of dried fish and prawn carried by glossy oil and a deep, lingering chilli heat. It is salty, slightly bitter from the long cook, and intensely concentrated. A teaspoon transforms a plate of plain kenkey or rice.
Slowly frying the aromatics and ground seafood in plenty of oil drives off all water and develops deep Maillard browning, concentrating flavour and darkening the paste. The oil layer preserves it by sealing out air.
Variations
with extra dried prawns, vegetarian (no fish) version, with fresh tomato base, mild or extra-hot, chunky or smooth
On the Palate
Where Shito sits in the Ghanaian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 20
How it's made
8 steps · 25 min
- 18 min
Blend onion, ginger, garlic and tomato into a smooth paste.
- 26 min
Grind the dried fish, dried prawns and crayfish to a coarse powder.
- 33 min
Heat a generous amount of oil in a heavy pot until shimmering.
- 412 min
Fry the blended onion paste, stirring, until the moisture cooks off and it darkens.
Watch outFry the onion paste until every bit of water hisses off and it darkens and pulls away from the pot — this browning is the whole flavor base.
- 54 min
Stir in dried chilli powder and the ground seafood and lower the heat.
- 635 min
Cook very gently, stirring almost constantly, for 30 to 40 minutes.
Watch outKeep it on the lowest heat and keep the spoon moving — the seafood-and-chili paste scorches on the bottom in seconds if you walk away.
- 75 min
Continue until the paste turns deep brown-black and oil rises to the top.
Watch outIt's done when the paste goes deep brown-black and a clear layer of oil floats up on top — that risen oil is the finish line and the seal.
- 810 min
Cool completely, then store in a sterilised jar under a layer of oil.
