There's hardly any Yoruba meal that is not peppery and it would be nearly impossible to find an Igbo woman who cooks without adding crayfish to her soups, stews and even jollof rice.
My hubby once teased me that a time will come when I'll start making tea with crayfish. Lol.
It's not just with these two tribes, most families, based on the health requirements of its members, tastes and body goals have learned to add certain spices to enrich their meals.
I still recall a friend who sprinkles a dash of ground garlic and ginger to her cooking because of the medicinal attributes and it's so evident in her 'garlicky breath' when she talks.
Others can't do without spices like cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, curry, thyme and tumeric in preparing their meat stock, pastries, stews and varying dishes.
Exploring the world of spices in cooking can be interesting and such a delight when it comes out delicious, but it can be disappointing and literally difficult to swallow when the flavour from a newly tried out spice overpowers the taste of the food.
My hubby once teased me that a time will come when I'll start making tea with crayfish. Lol.
It's not just with these two tribes, most families, based on the health requirements of its members, tastes and body goals have learned to add certain spices to enrich their meals.
I still recall a friend who sprinkles a dash of ground garlic and ginger to her cooking because of the medicinal attributes and it's so evident in her 'garlicky breath' when she talks.
Others can't do without spices like cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, curry, thyme and tumeric in preparing their meat stock, pastries, stews and varying dishes.
Exploring the world of spices in cooking can be interesting and such a delight when it comes out delicious, but it can be disappointing and literally difficult to swallow when the flavour from a newly tried out spice overpowers the taste of the food.
There are people who cook without adding any of these flavours and i wonder how the food turns out.
Spices are important component of any meal all over the world.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the Yorubas do not add pepper to their meals, they add their meals to their pepper. 😜😜😜😜😜😜😜😜
😂😂😅😅😅
DeleteLol @ add meals to their pepper😂😂
DeleteCan't cook without garlic and ginger. Not a fan of onions or crayfish. Use cinnamon and rosemary also.
DeleteHahahahhaha
DeleteAnon don't drag us na😂😂😂😂
Delete😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
DeleteI am Yoruba, but I don't eat pepper at all. All my igbo/edo/deltan friends eat more pepper than I do.
Delete@Dainty
DeleteGo and tell that thing to Olumo Rock. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Hi Mrs Dee, I like your posts, quite creative and entertaining. Keep it up.
DeleteAsides Edikan Ikong soup that one uses unshelled perewinke,there is almost no local dish we cook here without adding perewinke.
ReplyDeleteI've never tasted periwinkle.....e go sweet o
Delete@ Gem it is really tasty .
DeleteChocolate noir,yes it is.
DeleteGem that's surprising. It tastes nice. Used to keep the mouth busy while eating
Plenty crayfish in jollof is so yummy!...
ReplyDeleteCan we just agree all these are stereotypes? I have eaten the meals of so many Yoruba people and I felt it wasn't hot enough while I screamed and rushed off to wash my mouth when I ate out of the food my Igbo friend prepared. She said her husband likes it like that.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't do without herbs and spices in my cooking. I love to play with them. Asides the fact it creates a wild range of health benefits due to antioxidants properties, it also adds a variety of unique flavour.
There is nothing like too much spice and herbs. You just have to be knowledgeable about the pairing methods. Know the right combination of the right spices to add to your sauces, meats, fish and your meal in general.
Maybe u ate the meal of ajebo yorubas. That thing is not stereotype anything. My friend can even make 'ata rice' with only pepper and smoked fish. Let's not even argue that thing. It's not even a bad thing. It is just what it is.
DeleteThe crayfish thing is why I hardly eat food in igbo restaurants. Conc igbo restaurants oh. They will add crayfish to jollof rice, beans (God forbid) and even stem and they will not add it in Little qty oh.
Eka Joy you're missing. Crayfish in beans is bar😋😋😋
DeleteMost Yorubas must love spicy food then. Okay about adding crayfish. I remember when I went to spend the holiday with my Igbo friend. I wanted to make fried eggs and as I was just about pouring in the eggs she looked at me in amazement and said, "Won't you add crayfishhhhhh?" She asked me to hold on and got it from her flatmates before I proceeded. Throughout my stay, I noticed crayfish was a must in all our meals but I thought it was just her 'thing' and the few others . Didn't connect dots till now. How Interesting! Different tribes, different food preferences, I guess.
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DeleteI am from delta state isoko to be precise and I make steww with rodo those small ones because d big ones are big for nothing
DeleteSame thing I said up there. ALL my close non yoruba friends back then in school ate more pepper than I did. Didnt even know it was a stereotype till I went to school outside yoruba land.
DeleteI have stopped adding crayfish in my stew, and it tastes better
ReplyDeleteExactly.. No crayfish for stew and jollof rice..
Deletei love crayfish in every meal but crayfish in stew is a no
DeleteI can do without crayfish in rice and stew. Just gives a different taste, which is also nice. I see it all as variety.
ReplyDeleteMaggi (or other such artificial seasonings) have become a constant in dishes. I recently started preparing meals without these seasonings and, errr, they weren’t that baaaad; but it will be hard to let go of that acquired taste.
I add garlic and ginger to almost every meal asides local soup.
ReplyDeleteFor over 4months now I stopped adding seasoning cubes to my foods because of it's high sodium content and negative effects of msg to health. I have had to also increase Quantity of crayfish.
My meals taste way better now. And ofcourse healthier😁
I cook every meal with crayfish. I just love the taste in the meal.
ReplyDeleteogiri and okpeghi is a compulsory ingredient for my soup
ReplyDeleteThat pepper though, I'm Yoruba but I'm not a fan of foods with too much pepper.
ReplyDeleteToo much pepper is punishment, drinking water at intervals while you eat plus when you poop, the torture no be here. How do you even enjoy the food when your head is on fire?
DeleteOnions oooo. Sliced crispy onions. This one you guys are screaming onions is expensive no be for me o. I reserve money specially for onions.
ReplyDeleteYou can eat it as a snack sef
Deletemy mom loves crayfish die. mine is garlic
ReplyDeletei love it so much in every meal. infact if I forget to add garlic after cooking, I become unhappy. As for spices, I want to use only natural spices...no processed spice but I don't know where to get them in bulk
Spices n crayfish here..even native stew, you'd see tiger prawns.
ReplyDeleteSpices adds flavour to our meals,you can tell from the aroma when a food is cooked with/without spices.
ReplyDeleteI love iru(locust beans)in egusi,okro,ogbono,there's this particular flavour iru adds to your meal that makes it irresistible😋😋,abeg gimme some iru(kpete and woro).....how about crayfish-oh my world,crayfish is the real deal,the beauty of crayfish is that there's practically no meal you can't add it to.
Just like "music is the life of the party","spices is the life of every meal"
@Gem, that iru thing...I thought I was the only one. I cooked a simple smoke turkey and dry fish sauce and my Oyinbo neighbour knocked on my kitchen window for it. Gave her some with white rice and she thanked me for days...lol
DeleteAyetymama.. Iru is bae
DeleteFor me pepper and crayfish, very compulsory
ReplyDeleteI use ginger to cook almost every food.my mil is professional caterer,she introduced me to the world of spices n how to use them in cooking.Now I can almost say I'm perfect in my cooking 😊
ReplyDeleteI learnt how to add lemon grass to my fish when boiling from my friend's mum one holiday I went there. Its very nice, gives the fish a beautiful lemony flavor and taste
ReplyDeleteI think I will try this some day
DeleteSomeone pls recommend a good pressure pot for me biko
ReplyDeleteI'm using anchor, and it's over 2 years now.
DeleteWe sparingly use crayfish in my family before I got married, but when I travelled to see my in-laws after my wedding, I understand crayfish is one of the cooking ingredients one must have in the kitchen, there's hardly any food we cooked without adding it. Now, my cooking is not complete without it. And I also teach them how to eat plenty pepper as a yoruba woman wey I be.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 12:51, I sell natural spices in both retail and wholesale. Free is MSG.... Let's talk boz-08062267647
ReplyDeleteMy regular ingredients are crayfish, garlic and ginger
ReplyDeleteI can't do without grinded crayfish 😋
ReplyDeleteHa i am Igbo and I dont use crayfish in my jollof rice and stew
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked.
DeleteCrayfish in jollof rice and stew by Igbos? How?
Abi my own Igbo is different.
'Don't really like the taste of crayfish. Too sweetening. I use it for the additional protein where appropriate.
ReplyDelete