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Welcome to the fourth country of the 195 Country Cooking Challenge - where I cook a popular dish from all 195 countries around the world! If you missed the first three countries, check them out on my blog. Along the journey, I will be sharing these recipes with you plus some interesting facts about each country. My goal is to teach you a bit about each country while you eat or cook their cuisine! Today, I will be cooking a popular dish of Equatorial Guinea - a small country in Africa.
The National Dish of Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea's National dish is succotash, but I decided to go for another popular recipe instead. I stumbled upon a recipe for 'Pick a Pepper Soup', which is a spicy fish stew. It was the only recipe for this dish and I am very interested to know if it is legitimately Equatoguinean.
I am unsure of the official origins of this stew because there is no official record of it anywhere. The mysterious stew seems to have come from one website and spread to many others. If anyone has any information on this, please comment!
Although this recipe may not be legitimate, it was still delicious. I will go through the recipe below, but if you would like a more streamlined approach, you can check out the official recipe here.
Facts About Equatorial Guinea
What is it about this country that makes it so unique?
This tropical country is located on the western coast of the African continent. Equatorial Guinea has a continental territory of the country as well as five inhabited islands.
Modern Equatorial Guinea was likely inhabited by Pygmy ethnic groups prior to the migration of Bantu-speaking ethnic groups. Pygmy is an anthropological term that describes ethnic groups with adult men who are unusually short - usually around 4ft 11in (150c cm). Bantu is a group of Niger–Congo languages spoken in central and southern Africa, including Swahili, Xhosa, and Zulu. The migration of these Bantu-speaking ethnic groups likely happened around the second millennium BC.
In the early 1470s, Portuguese explorers arrived on Bioko Island, home to the capitol of present-day Equatorial Guinea. They soon established control of the island. In 1778, Portugal surrendered Equatorial Guinea to Spain in the Treaty of El Pardo. In 1968, Equatorial Guinea was granted independence from Spain.
The flag of Equatorial Guinea is green, white, red, and blue. Green represents the country's natural resources. White represents peace. Red represents the bloodshed of those who fought for independence. The blue triangle represents the water that connects the country's mainland to the five islands. The flag also has a gray shield in the middle with a silk cotton tree and six stars which represent the mainland and five islands. The national motto is also represented on the flag, translated to "Unity, Peace, Justice."
Equatorial Guinea is 11,000 square miles of land. The most popular jobs in the country are in oil and gas, agriculture, fishing, and forestry.
The official language of Equatorial Guinea is Spanish, but French is also a popular language closer to the borders. There are also many different indigenous languages spoken in the country. Christianity is the most common religion in the country with an estimated 88% of the population following these religious beliefs.
Cooking a Popular Meal in Equatorial Guinea
Ingredients:
6 cups water
1 pound red snapper fillets
3 medium yellow onions
2 tomatoes
1 bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 habanero chili
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground guinea pepper
Pinch of dried rosemary
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Steps:
Step 1:
Prep vegetables. Peel and chop onions. Wash and dice tomatoes. Wash, deseed and dice bell pepper. Wash bay leaf. If using fresh lemon juice (which I recommend, wash and cut lemon in half).
Step 2:
Wash, deseed, and mash habanero chili. I used this tool to grind the pepper up instead of mashing it. I recommend using gloves for this!
Step 3:
Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add all ingredients and let simmer on low heat for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally. You do not have to cover the stew. This will allow some of the water to boil out and lock in the flavor.
Step 4:
Salt to taste. Serve over rice of your choice!
Which country should I do next?
Follow @thatcountrycook on Instagram to see a video of me making this recipe!
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