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Ga Kenkey with Fried Fish and Shito

Name: Ga Kenkey with Fried Fish and Shito
Prep time: 4 h 1 min
Total time: 4 h 41 min
Cuisine: Ghanaian
Ingredients: fermented white corn dough — 1000 g; water — 900 g; salt — 5 g; corn husks — 2400 g; red snapper — 1200 g; peanut oil — 690 g; ground white pepper — 5 g; salt — 10 g; lime juice — 30 g; shito — 250 g; onion — 180 g; tomatoes — 200 g; scotch bonnet chillies — 200 g

Ga Kenkey with Fried Fish and Shito reads sourness 5.7, citrus 5.6 and salinity 4.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Ghanaian main, about 4 hr 41 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.6 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.9 / 10
Sour & Bright — 7.3 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.1 / 10
Rich & Fat — 4.4 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 5.7 · Citrus 5.6 · Salinity 4.8 · Umami 4.3 · Heat 4.2 · Richness 3.6 · Marine & Briny 3.5 · Allium 3.3 · Nutty 2.7 · Fruity 2.5 · Sweetness 1.3 · Warm Spice 1.2 · Floral 1.1 · Bitterness 1.0 · Herbaceous 1.0

What's in it (13)

fermented white corn dough — 1000 g
water — 900 g
salt — 5 g
corn husks — 2400 g
red snapper — 1200 g
peanut oil — 690 g
ground white pepper — 5 g
salt — 10 g
lime juice — 30 g
shito — 250 g
onion — 180 g
tomatoes — 200 g
scotch bonnet chillies — 200 g

Time & effort: about 4 hr 41 min (4 hr 1 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 164.3 kcal, 6.9 g protein, 1.2 g fat, 31.4 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

Soak the corn husks in warm water for 30 minutes so they turn pliable.
Divide the corn dough in half. Put one half in a heavy pot with 700 ml of the water and the 1 teaspoon of salt and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, 15 to 20 minutes, until it stiffens into a smooth, thick paste. This cooked half is the aflata.
Take the aflata off the heat and let it cool 20 minutes, until you can handle it.
Knead the cooled aflata into the raw half of the dough with your hands, about 5 minutes, until the mixture is completely uniform in colour and texture, then divide it into 8 balls.
Drain the husks. Wrap each ball in two or three overlapping husks, fold the ends over and tie the parcel closed with a torn strip of husk.
Stand the parcels upright in a deep pot on a bed of spare husks, add the remaining 200 ml water plus enough boiling water to come a third of the way up the parcels, cover tightly and boil 2 1/2 to 3 hours, topping up with boiling water as it goes. Ga kenkey is not done until the dough is set right through and smells sweet rather than sour.
Meanwhile rub the snapper with the lime juice, white pepper and the 2 teaspoons of salt and leave 20 minutes.
Heat the frying oil to 180 C and fry the fish, one or two at a time, 6 to 7 minutes a side, until the skin is crisp and the fins are stiff. Drain on paper.
Serve each kenkey in its husk with a fried fish, a heap of shito, and a plate of raw sliced onion, tomato and chilli to eat alongside.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Banku with Grilled Tilapia and Pepper Sauce — Ghanaian
Piri-Piri Prawns — Mozambican
Attiéké with Grilled Tilapia — Ivorian
Cod Veracruz with Tomatoes and Olives — Mexican
Cornmeal-Crusted Fried Catfish — Southern

Keep reading: what sourness, citrus, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.