Top Traditional Asante Cooking Techniques

What is the Traditional Method of Cooking?

As an Asante born and bred, who has lived my whole life in Kumasi; the capital of the Ashanti region,  I have seen many ways that food is made here.

Some are more traditional, others are modern and the rest are a mix of both. I took a traditional Asante cooking class recently, and here are a few things that stood out to me. These are also things I’ve seen my mom who has been a cook for 30 years do a lot in her cooking. 

In my experience, Asante cooking techniques are very simple.  It uses very simple but flavourful ingredients to achieve the right taste and aroma. 

Let’s Take a Look at a Few

1. The use of Prekese or Aidan fruit: this is one of the best flavour enhancers in traditional Asante cooking. It is roasted to release its flavours and used in making soups like light soup, palm nut soup, Abunabunu and other local soups. It has amazing health benefits and can even be used in soap production. It is also taken as a tea etc. It is the go-to flavour enhancer in almost of Asante soups. 

1. Asante traditional soups consist of a lot of dry, smoked and salted fish and meat. There are several factors to this. First, these methods were primarily used for preservation, particularly for fish. Since the Ashanti region lacks access to the sea the concept of using fresh fish in local cuisine is a relatively new concept. Most fish are frozen and not freshly caught. So most fish used in cooking are either smoked, salted or dried. If someone tells you of a typical Asante Nkrankra, that person is most likely referring to dried fish or smoked fish soup.

1. Traditional Asante cooking uses little to no spices and seasoning. In fact, we used only salt in making all the food in this cooking class.  It ended up so flavourful. and delicious. As long as you know which ingredients to pair, your food will taste good! The use of spices and excessive seasoning is a foreign concept in Asante cuisine. As mentioned earlier, a lot of the processes are very simple but delicious nonetheless.

Traditional Cooking Items

• A lot of traditional cooking items like utensils, cookware, serving plates, etc were made of wood, clay and stone. It’s a beautiful way to connect to Mother Nature, a more sustainable way of living, and a healthier alternative to plastic. For example, some of the most popular items like mortar, pestle, and earthenware bowls are still made of wood and clay to this day. During my visit to the Prempeh the second museum, I learnt that most of the cookware used back in the day for cooking and eating were made of clay, wood and stone. The king ate in beautiful clay bowls and his food was made in wooden bowls called Kodo.

• Etor is considered a sacred food in Asante culture and was eaten on special occasions. It is made during happy occasions like puberty rites, when a woman gives birth and even during festivals. It is basically mashed plantain with palm oil and other ingredients. It is a meal enjoyed by a lot of Asantes and a personal favourite of mine. 

• Asantes do not play about their fufu! Go into every major household on a Sunday and it’s a fufu party. Fufu is the most popular food in the Ashanti region and rightly so. It is a mixture of cassava and plantain or cocoyam, cooked and pounded in a mortar and pestle known as woma and Waduro. It can be paired with any soup of choice: light soup, palm nut soup, wrewre soup, Abunabunu, etc. 

What are some Asante cooking techniques that stand out to you?

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