Welcome to Equatorial Guinea! I have to admit, I knew nothing about this country. It's an African country on the west side, close to the equator and in the Guinean area (hence the name!). The country was freed from Spain in the late 1960's; given the Spanish history, Spanish is the national language. It is a country where less than half the population has safe drinking water, and 7.9% of children die before reaching age 5. However, it is one of the top oil-producing countries in Africa. The climate is tropical, but it does not have a strong tourist presence. According to Google, the population of Equatorial Guinea is 1,754,993 people, and the capital is Malabo. Their national dish is...
Succotash!
Another country with their main dish having beans. Bummer that I couldn't try this one. But, to go with the succotash, I made fish with Guinean Peanut Sauce, hot curried okra, and Nkate cake for dessert. It seemed like a lot, and I used almost all my pots and pans to make the dinner, but honestly, it was pretty easy to put together. Here's what I did:
SUCCOTASH
1 cup butter, divided
2 cups frozen lima beans
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons white sugar
4 ears fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob
2 cups frozen lima beans
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons white sugar
4 ears fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob
- Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir in lima beans and salt, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan heat tomatoes, sugar and remaining 1/2 cup butter.
- Cook until tomatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Stir tomatoes into lima beans and add corn.
- Cook 10 minutes more.
- Enjoy!
FISH WITH GUINEAN PEANUT SAUCE
Fish
4 firm fish filets
2 garlic cloves, crushed & finely diced
1 habanero pepper, minced
1 habanero pepper, minced
1 C lime juice
3 tbsp palm oil
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp palm oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Guinean Peanut Sauce
2 C chicken stock
1/2 onion, diced
Pinch of oregano
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 C peanut butter
1/2 habanero chilli, pounded to a paste
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbs oil
Pinch of oregano
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 C peanut butter
1/2 habanero chilli, pounded to a paste
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbs oil
- Rinse the fish then drain and pat dry with paper towels.
- Season the fish liberally with salt & pepper then place in a glass dish.
- Add the garlic and habanero, then pour the lime juice over the top.
- Turn a few times to ensure they’re evenly coated, cover with foil, then place in the fridge to marinate for 1½ hours.
- To prepare the peanut sauce, fry the onion and garlic in the oil until soft.
- Pound the tomato and habanero together into a paste and add to the pan.
- Fry for a few minutes then add all the remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 mins or until desired consistency is reached.
- Heat a grill or barbecue.
- Drain the fish, pat dry and then brush with the palm oil and season with salt & pepper.
- Cook for about 4 mins per side, arrange on a plate and serve with the sauce.
- Enjoy!
HOT CURRIED OKRA
1 lb okra (fresh or frozen), cut in two or three sections
1 tbsp red palm oil
1 onion , chopped
1 habanero pepper , split
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 habanero pepper , split
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
- Heat the red palm oil over medium heat in a pot.
- Add the chopped onion and habanero pepper and mix well.
- Add the curry and chili powder and mix well.
- When the onions are soft and start to get brown, add the okra.
- Then add water up to about 1 inch above the okra.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes (frozen okra will require less cooking time). The mixture should be thick and sticky.
- Serve and enjoy!
NKATE CAKE
1/2 lb peanuts (roasted and salted)
1/2 small lemon
1 1/2 tbsp water
1/2 C sugar
1/2 small lemon
1 1/2 tbsp water
1/2 C sugar
- Preheat the oven to 320 F.
- Spread the peanuts on a cutting board and crush them with a rolling pin.
- Pour the sugar into a non-stick pan and add the water and a few drops of lemon juice.
- Cook the sugar over medium heat and let it dissolve until it reaches a temperature of 320 F on a candy thermometer.
- At this point, the sugar syrup should be light in color.
- Add the crushed peanuts to the sugar syrup.
- Stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes over low heat.
- Spread the mixture between 2 sheets of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten it to a thickness of about ⅓ inch.
- Using a large sharp knife, make slight incisions of 2-inch squares very quickly while the mixture is still hot.
- Once the nkate has cooled, cut the pre-cut pieces along the cut lines.
- Serve and enjoy!
The verdict? This was a mixed-review meal. The fish, by itself, was great. I used a cross between tuna and swordfish (I can't remember the name of the fish) and it was done perfectly. The peanut sauce was weird on the fish, but it was something we couldn't stop eating with the fish. It was a very unique taste together! The sauce was spicy, which added to the flavor profile. The hot curried okra was so bland and didn't taste like anything. It was too bad, because we really like okra. We didn't finish the okra, and tossed the leftovers. the Nkate cake was ok. It wasn't great, but not terrible. It was like peanut brittle, with way more peanuts than brittle. I'll have to let Handsome Husband tell you about the succotash, since I wasn't able to eat it:
The succotash was absolutely delicious! It was funny because I couldn't really taste any of the individual parts in it, they all just combined into one very rich and balanced flavor! I'm sure it had nothing to do with there being a CUP of butter in it... It's a shame my beautiful wife can't eat it, because I would be very happy to have it regularly!
ME
Taste of Succotash (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): NA
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): NA
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): NA
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Succotash (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 9
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8
ME
Taste of Fish with Guinean Peanut Sauce (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 5
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Fish with Guinean Peanut Sauce (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 2
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6
ME
Taste of Hot Curried Okra (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 1
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 6
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 1
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Hot Curried Okra (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 5
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 1
ME
Taste of Nkate Cake (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 2
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 3
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Nkate Cake (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 4
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 3
Thanks for joining us! Next time, we visit Papua New Guinea!
