My Guide to the perfect Shito
Shito is an iconic pepper sauce that pairs well with everything. Throw it on your meat, rice, stews, noodles even in the eyes of your haters and it works wonderfully. Shito is one of the most commonly eaten sauces in Ghana mostly because of its versatility. It can be practically combined with any food except fufu (I hope). Also it is quite easy to make and the method is pretty straightforward. This shito recipe has been adapted from my mom who for a long time in her life sold waakye, and as we all know there's no waakye without shito. So dare I say my shito recipe is straight from the ‘sauce’. This recipe yields 4 big sized mason jars. There will be short videos on my social media for anyone who is confused about any of the steps or you could just fill out the contact form and I'll get back to you.
Recipe
what you need
2 cups semi smooth Kpakpo shito puree
2 cups garlic purée
1 cup semi smooth ginger purée
4 cups semi smooth onion purée
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1/2+ cup semi smooth chili powder (adjust)
3 hwentia (negro pepper)
3 calabash nutmeg ( wedie aba)
1/2 teaspoon dried fennel seeds (optional)
2 teaspoons anise (nkitinkiti)
1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cloves ( pepreh)
2 bayleaf
1 cup semi smooth fish powder
1 cup shrimp powder
Salt
4 tablespoon tomato paste
1 liter veg oil
1 finely diced onion
To make the purée, blend the ingredient with small amount of water, pulsing in between until it blends into a not so smooth mixture.
Kpakpo shito is a type of green chili indigenous to Ghana and some parts of Africa. It is tiny and quite fragrant more than it is hot. If you can’t find it, substitute with scotch bonnets or petite belle peppers.
If you prefer your Shito smooth, blend everything into a smooth paste.
You can decide to skip the toasting of the spices and just ground it directly. If you do, you’d need to add it when you add the diced onions.
I tend to divide my shito making process into two days so the flavours settle better. It also makes adjusting seasoning quite easy.
The trick to making a really good Shito is not letting it burn and most importantly cooking it really gently. A gentle simmer is your friend.
You may need to add more oil as you cook. You need a healthy ( 😂) amount of oil as it acts as a preservative.
Directions
Toast the dried spices (except the bay leaf) over low heat until fragrant and grind in a spice grinder until smooth.
Place a large heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat. Add the oil and allow to heat up the add the diced onions and bay leaf. Fry until onion turns golden brown the add the tomato paste and ground spices. Fry the tomato paste for 15 mins stirring occasionally. Add the ginger, garlic, pepper and onion purées and 1/2 tablespoon salt. Turn heat to low and fry in oil stirring regularly for about about 2 -3 hrs. It should be darker at this point and it shouldn’t be bubbling as much. If it is, keep cooking. Taste and adjust salt. You can take it off the heat at this step and continue the next day. The flavours should have developed fully by then and it’ll be easier to taste and adjust seasoning at that point.
Otherwise add the fish, chili powder, and shrimp powder. Reduce heat and cook further until shito stops bubbling, about 45 mins to an hour. It burns quickly at this point so pay attention. You can take it even further at this step if your preferred texture is a tad bit crunchy. That is also dependent on how smooth your ingredients were blended. That said, it burns really fast at this point so watch it carefully. You can always turn it off and come back to it later to continue cooking if it isn’t desired texture.
Stir regularly to ensure the bottom isn’t burning. When it cools down scoop into mason jars and store at room temperature or in the fridge. Make sure there’s enough oil in the jar. It acts as a preservative. Only use a dry fork when scooping shito.
Serve with my waakye or really anything. It pairs well with everything