Food

I arrived in Ghana with what I thought was an open mind about food. I was keen to try anything that was served on a plate, a plastic bag (as it is here) or in a banana leaf.

By the second week I had declared a ban against Ghanaian food.

Fortunately, six weeks into our stay my stomach and palate are slowly starting to come around to the local cuisine. The bowl of porridge I’d quickly gobbled up this the morning was not enough and my stomach was already grumbling by the time I’d arrived to work. So I headed to the friendly street vendor just outside my office who sells the local breakfast option for $1. This consists of rice boiled with kidney beans topped with spaghetti, chicken (or beef or fish) and hardboiled egg cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. You can ask for a dash of spicy fish paste if you need that extra kick in the morning. So I indulged in a bowl full of ‘waakye’ (pronounced waache) and of course regretted my choice as soon I felt my entire blood supply rush to my tummy in an attempt to digest it. It left me a little lethargic but satisfied.

Lunch options consist of a sour, sticky, dough-like ball served in a watery, oily and spicy stew with cow, goat, chicken or fish. Or I could indulge in more carbohydrates and meat by eating rice with fried chicken or fried fish. For lack of what locals call ‘leaves’ or vegetarian dishes, most foreigners here opt for roadside stands selling barbecued plantain (banana-like fruit) or deep-fried yams (potato-like root vegetable). There’s also the fruitarian’s diet of a whole pineapple or six bananas (Torsten’s daily average) which will get you by until you get home for dinner.

Luckily, the local vegetable produce is cheap and plentiful and we have been cooking up a storm at home. Coconuts, papaya, avocado, cabbage and tomatoes have been the basis of our cooking and we are convinced that we can now open our own Thai inspired street stall. Not sure we’d be willing to sell our hard labour for $1 per serve though...

Abena