South African · main

Pap with Shisa Nyama

Pap with Shisa Nyama reads richness 7.4, umami 6.3 and salinity 5.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a South African main, about 3 hr 35 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.1 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.2 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 5.0 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 7.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 7.4 · Umami 6.3 · Salinity 5.1 · Sourness 4.7 · Allium 3.3 · Funk & Ferment 2.6 · Sweetness 2.5 · Fruity 2.4 · Warm Spice 1.7 · Herbaceous 1.5 · Nutty 1.2 · Smoke 1.1 · Citrus 1.0 · Bitterness 0.8 · Earthy 0.8 · Heat 0.6

What's in it (15)

• water — 1000 g
• salt — 5 g
• white cornmeal — 500 g
• butter — 30 g
• short ribs — 1200 g
• boerewors — 500 g
• sunflower oil — 28 g
• coarse salt — 15 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 10 g
• braai spice — 15 g
• garlic — 12 g
• wine vinegar — 60 g
• tomato sauce — 60 g
• worcestershire sauce — 30 g
• butter — 30 g

Time & effort: about 3 hr 35 min (1 hr 35 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 155.6 kcal, 7.5 g protein, 8.8 g fat, 11.6 g carbs

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

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Rub the short ribs with the crushed garlic, coarse salt, black pepper and braai spice and leave them to take the seasoning for 2 hours in the fridge.
2. For the pap, bring the water and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy pot.
3. Rain the maize meal into the boiling water in a steady stream while stirring hard with a wooden spoon, so no lumps form. It will stiffen almost at once.
4. Cover and cook 40 minutes over the lowest heat, stirring every 10 minutes and breaking up any crust that forms on the bottom, until the pap tastes cooked rather than chalky. Stir in the butter at the end for a stywe pap that holds its shape.
5. Build a fire and let it burn down to grey-hot coals. Oil the grid.
6. Grill the short ribs 25 minutes over high coals, turning every 5 minutes so the fat renders and the outside chars without burning.
7. Lay the boerewors coil on a cooler part of the grid and grill it 12 minutes, turning once. Never prick it - the fat is what keeps it juicy.
8. Simmer the vinegar, tomato sauce, Worcestershire and butter together for 5 minutes and baste the ribs with it over the last 5 minutes of grilling. Serve the meat straight off the fire with the pap.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Poulet au Vinaigre — French · Lyon
• Pastitsio — Greek
• Jókai Bableves (Jókai Bean Soup with Smoked Knuckle and Csipetke) — Hungarian
• Tamales de Chipilín en Hoja de Maíz — Mexican · Chiapas
• Tarhana Çorbası (Fermented Wheat and Yoghurt Soup) — Turkish

Keep reading: what richness, umami, 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.