GHANA: Cook And Enjoy Jollof Rice Ghanaian Style

Jollof (jol-ôf) rice is a popular dish that is enjoyed by Ghanaians, Nigerians, and other West Africans.

Ghana is one of the several coastal countries of West Africa. Jollof has many variations; the dish can be made with meat, vegetables, or tofu.

The uniquely colored rice is often enjoyed at dinnertime, but is also eaten at various parties and weddings.

The origins of this dish stem from the Wolof people, an ethnic group found in the Senegambian region (Senegal and Gambia).

Although most people know this dish as jollof, another name is benachin, which means “one pot” in the Wolof language.

No matter the name, people from all over West Africa and now by emigration the world revel in this dish, whether it be at parties or in the comfort of their own homes.

Ingredients

Ghanaian jollof rice 1
Cooking oil
Onion
Chili pepper
Green pepper (bell pepper/capsicum pepper)
Fresh/ canned chopped tomatoes
Tomato puree
Stock cube
Salt
Water
Any other spice of your choice
Any other vegetable of your choice
Rice

Ghanaian jollof rice 2

Meat Preparation:
1 ½ jumbo onion, diced
1 habanero pepper, de-stemmed
3 lbs smoked turkey
7 cups water
¾ tablespoon salt
Creating the Stew:
2 cans Hunt’s tomato sauce
½ jumbo onion, diced
1 habanero pepper, diced and de-stemmed
¼ cup of oil
¾ tablespoon salt
Meat broth (from meat preparation step):
½ clove garlic
Adding the rice:
6 cups jasmine rice
½ clove garlic
2 cups water
¼ tablespoon salt

Method 1

Ghanaian Jollof Rice 1

1 - Blend chili pepper and fresh/canned chopped tomatoes. Chop the onion, green pepper and any other vegetables into small pieces.

2 - Pour the cooking oil of your choice in a saucepan and heat it. Add the chopped onions and green pepper pieces. Leave on the fire till you start smelling the green pepper.

3 - Pour in the blended chili pepper and allow to simmer till it just begins to fry. Pour in the blended fresh/canned chopped tomatoes. Add the tomato puree. Allow to simmer.

4 - When the stew thickens, add the stock cube and any other spice. Taste before adding salt to know if the salt already added is sufficient. Keep stirring to ensure that the stew does not burn.

5 - Pour in the rice and stir, ensuring the rice has properly mixed with the stew. Keep stirring till you feel the rice has soaked up the flavours of the stew.

6 - Add enough water to cook the rice. Taste to check the salt content again and cover the saucepan. Allow to boil.

7 - Keep checking the progress to ensure that the rice cooks properly. Once the water drains from the rice and its softness or hardness pleases you, it is ready to be served.

Method 2

Ghanaian Jollof Rice 2

Preparing the meat

1 - Add 1 diced jumbo onion, 1 habanero pepper, 3 lbs smoked turkey, and ¾ tablespoons salt to a large pot.

2 - Add 7 cups water, or just enough water to cover the top of the meat in the pot.

3 - Cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes on medium-high heat. Or, cook until the broth in the pot is an inch (2.5cm) from the bottom. Be sure to watch the broth level! Make sure that the broth does not fall too low.

4 - Turn off the stove. Set aside the meat and broth.

Creating the stew

1 - Add ¼ cup oil to another pot. Turn the heat on medium-high.

2 - When the oil gets hot, add ½ diced jumbo onion to oil and spoon on the cooked smoked turkey into oil and onions.


1 - Sauté the onions and turkey for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

2 - Let simmer for 1 hour on medium heat. Stir every 10 to 15 minutes.

3 - After simmering for 1 hour, add the broth (from the meat preparation section), ¾ tablespoon salt, and ½ clove of garlic to the pot.

4 - Stir and let simmer for 1 more hour. Stir every 10 minutes.

Watch the stew level. If the stew level gets below the halfway mark of the pot, add the water and salt as needed, to keep the levels high enough.

Adding the Rice
1 - Add 6 cups jasmine rice to a bowl and wash the rice. Add the rice to the stew by the spoonful, then add a quarter tablespoon of salt.

Be sure that enough rice is added. Also, do not add too much rice, or the dish will not cook well.

The rice level should stay 1- 1 ½ inches below the stew level, to avoid dryness.

2 - Cover and let cook for 20 minutes on low heat. If, after 20 minutes, the rice is still hard or grainy, then mix a ½ a teaspoon of salt and 1 cup of water together and sprinkle over the rice.

3 - Cook for 15 more minutes on low heat. Keep adding water on rice until rice is soft.

4 - Check the texture. The rice should now have a characteristic orange color. Add the ½ a clove of garlic to the rice. Let it cook for 10 more minutes.

Tips
Remember, its other name "Benachin" means "one pot", therefore anything goes, so long as you are comfortable with it.

Jollof rice can be served with chicken. In this instance, the chicken stock can be added to the stew in step 4 of Method One.

Cook any vegetables that needs to be cooked ahead of time (carrots, beans etc) and add in step 5 of Method One.

Jollof rice can also be served with meat cut into small pieces and added in step 5 of Method One, so that it ends up mixed with the rice.

TAIWAN: Taiwan Indicts Two Businessmen In Latest Food Scandal

Two Taiwanese businessmen have been charged with using banned industrial dyes to adulterate food products, a case which prompted mass recalls in the island's latest food safety scandal, prosecutors said yesterday.

They sought a 20-year jail term for Lu Tien-jung on charges of food safety violations and fraud. His son and business partner Lu Chia-chien may face an 18-year jail term on the same charges, in addition to a fine of Tw$20 million ($666,000) for each man.

The pair, who run the Chien Hsin company at the centre of the scandal, were charged with manufacturing and selling soybean emulsifiers tainted with dimethyl yellow and diethyl yellow dyes which have been banned from food products since late 2008, said the Changhua district prosecutor's office.

"The defendants caused public health hazards that are difficult to estimate and seriously damaged the national image. Their crimes are severe but they have denied their intention to commit the crimes and shown no remorse," it said in a statement.

As of December 24, around 80 tonnes of tainted products ranging from flavoured dried tofu to instant noodles had been removed from shelves, according to health authorities.

Taiwan is reeling from a string of food safety scandals this year, which triggered public outrage and contributed to the ruling party's massive defeat in last month's local elections.

Hundreds of tonnes of products made with "gutter oil" were recalled in a scandal that surfaced in September. The scandal brought down the island's health minister.

That was followed by a mass recall one month later when Taiwanese food giant Ting Hsin group was accused of selling for human consumption oil intended for animal food.

Wei Ying-chung, a former Ting Hsin executive and one of Taiwan's richest men, was taken into custody during the government investigation into the scandal. He was later hit with nearly 140 fraud charges and faces a 30-year-jail term if convicted.

Chicken In Orange Sauce

This is one of those dishes that makes you feel quite pleased with yourself. Fast, easy, healthy, and more delicious than Chinese takeout – a series of winning propositions. You can prep pretty much all the ingredients ahead of time, making this a fantastic last-minute weeknight dinner.

The sweetness in the sauce makes this a dish that normally picky eaters will lean into. There’s plenty of sauce, too, which you’ll be happy about as you spoon it over hot rice or quinoa.

When you are feeding a group with one or more vegetarians in the mix, this kind of recipe makes life so much easier. Essentially you sauté up some chicken in one pan, some tofu in another, then divide up the simple sauce between the two.

Serve this meal with:

Clean & Spicy Asian Greens
Rice or quinoa

Chicken in Orange Sauce

Serves 6

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice, preferably fresh
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, or 1/4 cup regular soy sauce plus 2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon finely minced peeled fresh ginger
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (see Recipe Notes below for a tofu alternative)
Kosher or coarse salt
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
4 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced
Hot cooked rice (brown or white) or quinoa, for serving

Toasted sesame seeds, for serving (optional)

Whisk together the garlic, honey, orange zest and juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, ginger, and pepper in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.

Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a very large skillet or a wok over high heat. Add the chicken and sauté until it starts to turn white, 3 minutes. Add the sauce and scallions and cook until 
the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes more.
Serve over hot rice or quinoa, with the sesame seeds sprinkled over if desired.
Recipe Notes

Tofu in orange sauce: Replace the chicken with 2 pounds extra-firm tofu, blotted dry and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. To get the tofu nicely browned, in Step 2, heat the oil in the skillet over high heat, and when very hot, add the cubes, which should sizzle and sear (watch for splattering). Cook the tofu, not moving it for at least 3 minutes, so it has a chance to brown on the bottom. Flip the cubes using a thin metal spatula (knowing some cubes will break) and continue to cook to brown the bottoms, 3 minutes more. Add the sauce and scallions and continue with the recipe.
If you want to make the dish half chicken and half tofu, use a pound of each, sauté them separately in two large skillets with a tablespoon of oil in each, and divide the sauce and scallions evenly between the pans. The cooking times are the same.
What the kids can do: Zest the orange and juice it (if you are using fresh juice). Kids of the right age can cut up the chicken (younger ones can tackle the tofu) with an age-appropriate knife.
Make ahead: The chicken or tofu can be cut up a couple of days ahead of time, and the sauce can be combined a couple of days ahead, and refrigerated, too.