The Real West African Rice Battle
On my ninth day in Ghana, I went to a restaurant that I’d visited a few times. By this point, I was already obsessed with jollof rice and this spicy fish stew made in a red tomato sauce. There was no need for me to look at the menu.
“I'll have the fish stew with jollof rice please,” I said.
“Sorry, but that was the last order of jollof rice that your friend ordered,” the waitress informed me.
“Ok, I'll have the fish stew with fried rice,” I replied.
A puzzling expression washed over her face as she repeated, ”...fish stew...and fried rice?"
“Yes, please,” I asserted hoping that would be enough to clear up the confusion. “That's what I would like.”
Again perplexed, she replied, “Fish stew...with fried rice. Hmm."
Eager for this combination, I again responded in the affirmative.
As she walked away, I could still she was uncertain about all of this and it was my first indication that while fried rice is found on just about every menu in a Ghanaian restaurant, it was not something that should be eaten with fish stew.
My second indication occurred about twenty minutes later when the order for our table arrived.
Two of my dining mates had ordered the fried rice special of the day (which the server tried to steer me towards after questioning my order). They received their heaping pile of rice.
I on the other hand wasn't so fortunate. As my fish stew arrived, along with it came a bowl of…white rice.
I understood then that not only was she questioning my rationale, but she vehemently disapproved. I pictured a conversation in the kitchen in the native language of Twi where the server told the chef that this American had ordered fish stew and fried rice. I pictured them laughing at the absurdity of it all and together, the co-conspirators decided that this wouldn't happen on their watch.
Little did they understand that what confused me is that fried rice was so readily available in the first place. Before coming to West Africa, I'd long heard of the battle between whose jollof rice in the region is the best. However, I don't recall anyone mentioning anything about fried rice. Yet, I found it everywhere I went. It was on every restaurant menu. It was at the traditional wedding that I attended. It was served at meals in homes where I was a guest. Again, it was everywhere.
I asked a few people how this happened. A couple posited that it could be traced to Ghanaians going to China on business and discovering it there, deciding that they liked it and bringing it back. This seemed reasonable enough. Rice is a staple in the Ghanaian diet so another way to make it would readily be welcome…and fried rice is delicious. However, I’ve decided to dig a little further into this. As I watched roads being built by Chinese investment, I couldn’t help but wonder how this cultural food exchange might continue.