The market · Fats and oils · West Africa, East Asia
Groundnut oil
Peanut oil. High smoke point, and the workhorse frying oil across West Africa.
nutty · neutral
What to do with it
Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleGroundnut oil would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoGroundnut oil would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaGroundnut oil would soften its edge
CantoneseSteamed fish with ginger and spring onionA whole very fresh fish, steamed just to the bone, then dressed with seasoned soy and ginger and spring onion scalded with smoking oil.No one here has made it yetGujaratiUndhiyuA winter medley of flat beans, purple yam, sweet potato, baby aubergine and plantain, slow-cooked with fenugreek dumplings and a green masala of coconut and coriander.No one here has made it yet
NigerianJollof riceRice cooked in a fried-down base of tomato, pepper and scotch bonnet, until each grain is red and separate.1 version hereNigerianMoi moiA steamed pudding of peeled black-eyed beans blended with red pepper, onion and oil, set soft in leaves or tins.No one here has made it yetNigerianMiyan kukaA dark green, gently slippery soup of powdered dried baobab leaves, with meat or dried fish and daddawa, eaten with tuwo.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Refined
- Neutral, for high heat.
- Unrefined / cold-pressed
- Nutty, and burns sooner.
Goes with
Cooked with, here
How much, here
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- African grocers and supermarkets.
- Worth knowing
- Worth flagging to guests: it's a peanut product.
Kitchens that keep it in
Gujarat — western India, on the Arabian SeaGujaratiSweet, sour and gently hot: a largely vegetarian kitchen of gram flour, jaggery and buttermilk, of steamed and fried snacks, and a thali with a little of everything.9 classicsNigeria, 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