Ghanaian Vegan Shito (Black Chili Sauce)
This popular Ghanaian black chili sauce #shito is a daily essential in every Ghanaian home.
It's one of our most loved chili sauces and a great condiment to pair with any food.
Traditionally, Shito is made with dried shrimps and fish with gives it an authentic Ghanaian taste. Some also use fried meat for a much more chunky twist.
My recipe, which I adapted due to lack of Ghanaian ingredients here in Finland has neither shrimps, fish nor meat added.
One may be surprised, yes, but trust me you might change your recipe once you give this 'vegan' version a try.
Onions, garlics and gingers are the first base for this recipe. Then tomato paste and chili powder are added according to how spicy you want your shito. Add salt or vegetable stock cubes to taste. It's that simple.
I used a rough Chili flakes powder for the recipe to give the shito some texture but my daughter and my Finnish family actually likes the milder one I made with a smooth paprika powder much better.
And one more advantage to this recipe is that, you use less oil and less time in cooking, as compared to the original traditional recipe. This is because of lack of dried shrimps/fish which absorbs a lot of oil and its absence also saves cooking time.
Also this recipe has a longer shelf life without the need to worry about always making sure the top of the sauce must be completely immerged in oil or covered in oil.
Below is my simple which yields about 500g of Mild Shito Sauce.
Simply store in a fridge once used and kept over two months without fridge.
It's one of our most loved chili sauces and a great condiment to pair with any food.
Traditionally, Shito is made with dried shrimps and fish with gives it an authentic Ghanaian taste. Some also use fried meat for a much more chunky twist.
My recipe, which I adapted due to lack of Ghanaian ingredients here in Finland has neither shrimps, fish nor meat added.
One may be surprised, yes, but trust me you might change your recipe once you give this 'vegan' version a try.
Onions, garlics and gingers are the first base for this recipe. Then tomato paste and chili powder are added according to how spicy you want your shito. Add salt or vegetable stock cubes to taste. It's that simple.
I used a rough Chili flakes powder for the recipe to give the shito some texture but my daughter and my Finnish family actually likes the milder one I made with a smooth paprika powder much better.
And one more advantage to this recipe is that, you use less oil and less time in cooking, as compared to the original traditional recipe. This is because of lack of dried shrimps/fish which absorbs a lot of oil and its absence also saves cooking time.
Also this recipe has a longer shelf life without the need to worry about always making sure the top of the sauce must be completely immerged in oil or covered in oil.
Below is my simple which yields about 500g of Mild Shito Sauce.
Simply store in a fridge once used and kept over two months without fridge.
All you need:
500ml of oil (you might use less)
1 big onion
50g fresh ginger
3 garlic gloves
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
200g Chili flakes powder (or paprika powder for a much milder sauce)
2 vegetable stock cubes ( i used two to prevent using salt).
500ml of oil (you might use less)
1 big onion
50g fresh ginger
3 garlic gloves
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
200g Chili flakes powder (or paprika powder for a much milder sauce)
2 vegetable stock cubes ( i used two to prevent using salt).
How to make it
Heat about half oil in a deep deep saucepan on medium heat.
Blend onion, garlics, ginger and about 1/2 cup of water until smooth.
Add to hot oil and fry for 3-5 minutes stiring occasionally until completely combined.
Add in 2 tablespoon of tomato paste, mix completely and allow to cook for 10 minutes stiring once in a while.
Sometimes at this stage, oil may begin to splatter off, so take note and reduce the heat.
Add in chili/paprika powder. This is the stage where you carefully burn the sauce for it's blackish colour. Reduce heat to low and slowly cook the sauce for 15-20 minutes stiring occasionally.
Also add in stock cubes and more oil if needed. Sauce should be loosely thick. You can also check for the spicy level of the sauce and add in the extra tomato paste to tone down the hotness* level.
Once carefully blackened, carefully scoop hot with the help of a funnel into a sterilized (washed and boiled in hot water), glass jar. Cover and allow to cool down before storing in a cool dark place.
Store in a fridge once opened.
Enjoy with rice, as dips and also to add some spice into soups and stir-fries.
Eduani Pa. Good Food. Hyvää Ruoka.
Heat about half oil in a deep deep saucepan on medium heat.
Blend onion, garlics, ginger and about 1/2 cup of water until smooth.
Add to hot oil and fry for 3-5 minutes stiring occasionally until completely combined.
Add in 2 tablespoon of tomato paste, mix completely and allow to cook for 10 minutes stiring once in a while.
Sometimes at this stage, oil may begin to splatter off, so take note and reduce the heat.
Add in chili/paprika powder. This is the stage where you carefully burn the sauce for it's blackish colour. Reduce heat to low and slowly cook the sauce for 15-20 minutes stiring occasionally.
Also add in stock cubes and more oil if needed. Sauce should be loosely thick. You can also check for the spicy level of the sauce and add in the extra tomato paste to tone down the hotness* level.
Once carefully blackened, carefully scoop hot with the help of a funnel into a sterilized (washed and boiled in hot water), glass jar. Cover and allow to cool down before storing in a cool dark place.
Store in a fridge once opened.
Enjoy with rice, as dips and also to add some spice into soups and stir-fries.
Eduani Pa. Good Food. Hyvää Ruoka.
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