The market · Fish and seafood · West Africa

Ground crayfish

Called crayfish in Nigeria, though usually small dried, smoked shrimp — ground to a powder that's smoky and deeply savoury, and in most Nigerian soups and stews.

smoky · savoury · briny

What to do with it

Kenji Hara's Sourdough, 100% ryeGround crayfish would give it depthIbu Sari's Beef rendangGround crayfish would give it depthAna Etxarri's ChawanmushiGround crayfish would season itRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleGround crayfish would give it depth
Classics built on it
NigerianAmalaA smooth, brown swallow of yam flour stirred into boiling water, eaten with ewedu, a slippery soup of jute leaves, and gbegiri, a bean soup.No one here has made it yetNigerianEdikang ikongA rich soup of fluted pumpkin leaves and waterleaf cooked almost in their own juices, with meat, stockfish, periwinkles and palm oil.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Whole
Grind it yourself for the freshest flavour.
Ground
Ready to use; buy little and often.

If you can't find it

West African grocers.

  1. 1Dried shrimp
    The same, ground fine
    You lose the smoky depth.

Goes with

palm oilegusiscotch bonnetonion

Knowing it

Where to buy
African grocers.
Worth knowing
Pick out any grit before grinding, and grind small batches — it loses its smell within weeks.

Kitchens that keep it in

Nigeria, West AfricaNigerianBig flavours from a big country: tomato and pepper bases, smoke, groundnut and the scotch bonnet — and party food at a scale all of its own.11 classics · 2 cooked here

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