Kpakpo Shito

Kpakpo shito reminds me of this. Unique natural taste. A unique taste that cannot be imitated or acquired. Use other peppers, as flavourful as they may be, and you will miss it. Skip or add non-traditional ingredients and you will miss it too. You will miss the right, the authority and the confidence to label the outcome as Kpakpo Shito.

Our forebears would have used a mortar and pestle to combine the ingredients. A blender does the job without taking away from what our forebears would have tasted all those centuries ago. Kpakpo shito peppers (variety of Capsicum chinense Jacq) generally have a milder or lower heat relative to the likes of African Birds Eye chillies or Scotch bonnet, but pack more of a punch than bell peppers. The name given to these peppers, is also the name given to the sauce or salsa that it is made out of. There is a Liberian version, but this sauce is most popular in Ghana, notably in Accra amongst the Ga people. The popular Ghanaian dish, Kenkey with fried fish and shrimps is not complete until freshly made aromatic, wholesome and that mellow sweet taste of kpakpo shito is made to accompany it.