Equatorial Guinea

🇬🇶Bioko (Island / Malabo), Equatorial Guinea

Abalah

Abala

A Bubi dish of crushed taro (malanga) dough mixed with palm oil, wrapped in banana leaves, and cooked; a hearty base for daily meals on Bioko Island.

🇬🇭Ghana

Akara

Àkàrà

Peeled black-eyed beans ground with onion and pepper, whipped until airy and deep-fried in balls, eaten hot for breakfast with pap or bread.

🇨🇫Central African Republic

Akpakpa

Protein-rich seeds from certain cucurbits, ground into a thickening paste for soups and stews; known as akpakpa in the Central African Republic and used much like egusi across West Africa.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Akwadu

Baked bananas or plantains doused in melted butter, baked until golden, drizzled with orange or lemon juice, brown sugar, and honey, then topped with shredded coconut; a common breakfast or dessert.

🇬🇶Río Muni Interior (Kie-Ntem / Wele-Nzas / Centro Sur), Equatorial Guinea

Bambucha

Fang signature stew of crushed cassava leaves simmered with palm kernel juice, palm oil, spices, chili, and often smoked fish or meat; the leaves are toxic when raw and must be thoroughly cooked.

🇬🇶Bioko (Island / Malabo), Equatorial Guinea

Bilola

Large sea snails grilled on skewers or cooked in garlic-chili oil; more popular on Bioko Island than on the mainland; a coastal delicacy.

🇬🇶Bioko (Island / Malabo), Equatorial Guinea

Bokao

A Bioko Island traditional dish of grin/watalif leaves, spinach, chard, eggplant or djakato, smoked fish, sardines, and palm oil; high in nutritional value, especially for pregnant women.

🇨🇲Cameroon

Bush Mango

Ndo'o

The dried and ground kernel of the wild mango, used as a thickener that turns sauces glossy and slightly stretchy.

🇦🇴Angola

Calulu

Dried fish and fresh fish cooked together with okra, sweet potato leaves, gimboa, tomato, onion and palm oil into a dense stew.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Congolese Fufu

Fufu

The staple food of the Congo — a smooth, dense, slightly elastic dough made from cassava flour, corn flour, or sometimes plantains; rolled into golf-ball-sized balls and dipped into stews; the proper way to eat it is to pinch off a piece with the right hand, indent with the thumb, and scoop up sauce; present on all Congolese tables from north to south; the universal accompaniment.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Congolese Hot Sauce

Pili pili

A very hot chili pepper sauce served with nearly everything in the Congo; made from pili-pili peppers, onions, garlic, and oil; occasionally dried and sprinkled on fruit; the Congolese condiment that adds fire to any dish; listed in Wikipedia's Congolese cuisine; the heat of Central African cuisine; found at every table and street stall.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Congolese Palm Wine

Malafu

Palm wine made from the sap of a wild palm tree, fermented by natural yeasts; has an alcohol content of between five and seven percent; listed in Wikipedia's Congolese cuisine; a traditional beverage across Central Africa; the sap is collected from cut palm flower stems and ferments naturally; a refreshing, slightly sweet drink; the traditional alcohol of the Congo.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Egusi Seed Omelette

Tortilla de calabaza

A Spanish-style omelette fusion with African egusi (pumpkin) seeds in the batter, cooked in groundnut or palm oil with onion; a uniquely Equatoguinean fusion dish.

🇳🇬Nigeria

Egusi Soup

Egusi

Ground melon seeds cooked in palm oil with pepper, leafy greens and assorted meat or fish until the seed sets into soft lumps in the oil.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Envueltos

Starchy doughs from cassava or plantain, sometimes mixed with ground fish and chili, shaped into oblongs, wrapped in banana leaves, and boiled; a portable accompaniment to sauces and stews.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Equatoguinean Bacalao

Bacalao

Salted and dried cod, a Spanish colonial legacy; soaked to desalinate then used in stews, soups, and with vegetables; a common ingredient in Equatoguinean kitchens.

🇬🇶Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

Equatoguinean Pinchos

Pinchos

Grilled skewers of chicken, beef, or fish on sticks over open flames, served with a spicy dipping sauce; the Spanish-African street grill of Equatorial Guinea.

🇬🇶Annobón (Island), Equatorial Guinea

Fish with Three Sauces

Sopa de pescado con tres salsas

Fish (mackerel, tuna, or swordfish) served with three sauces: spinach sauce, avocado sauce, and peanut sauce; a specialty of Annobón Island; a TasteAtlas-listed dish.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Guineafowl Paella

Paella de pintada

A one-pot rice dish with guineafowl breasts, chicken stock, tomato sauce, black-eyed peas, oregano, paprika, cayenne, and turmeric; a Spanish-African fusion unique to Equatorial Guinea.

🇬🇲The Gambia

Hibiscus Juice

Bissap

Dried hibiscus calyces steeped with sugar, mint and sometimes orange-blossom water into a deep red drink served ice-cold.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Kansiye

A stew of lamb or beef browned in oil then simmered in a sauce of water, peanut butter, and tomato; served with white rice; a hearty Equatoguinean comfort dish.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Konkoe Ture Gbeli

Smoked catfish in a spicy sauce; the fish is soaked or boiled first, then cooked in a fiery preparation with peppers, onions, and palm oil; a Fang dish.

🇨🇲Cameroon

Kwacoco

Grated cocoyam mixed with palm oil, wrapped tightly in banana leaves and steamed into a firm loaf, sliced to eat with mbanga soup.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Malamba

A traditional alcoholic beverage made by fermenting sugarcane juice for about two weeks; similar to Latin American guarapo; sometimes Garcinia kola bark or corn is added to accelerate fermentation.

🇨🇲Cameroon

Ndolé

Ndole

Bitterleaf boiled and washed repeatedly to draw out the bitterness, then cooked with ground peanuts, crayfish, beef, smoked fish and pork rind into a thick green stew.

🇬🇶Bioko (Island / Malabo), Equatorial Guinea

Ocro Soup

Ocrosoup

A viscous okra soup typical of Bioko Island, with palm oil, onions, chili, and fish or meat; served with boiled cassava, rice, taro, yam, or plantain.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Pepper Soup

Pepesup

The national signature dish of Equatorial Guinea: a spicy fish soup with white fish, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, Scotch bonnet peppers, and palm oil; the broth is fiery and aromatic.

🇱🇷Liberia

Pepper Soup

Thin, fiery broth of goat, catfish or chicken spiced with uda, uziza seed and calabash nutmeg, drunk as much as eaten.

🇬🇶Annobón (Island), Equatorial Guinea

Pissoj

Annobonese bread made from grated yam or cassava mixed with coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves, and baked or steamed; variants include white, red (with palm oil), and coconut.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Pondu

Saka saka

The beloved national staple of the Congo — cassava leaves pounded into a fine paste and slow-cooked for hours with palm oil, onions, garlic, and often smoked fish or beef; rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals; the palm oil gives a characteristic reddish-brown color and nutty flavor; served with fufu, chikwangue, or plantains; the backbone of daily Congolese dining.

🇨🇬Republic of the Congo

Safou

A purple-black oily fruit roasted or dipped in hot water until the flesh softens into something between avocado and olive, eaten with maize.

🇳🇪Niger

Suya

Thin strips of beef threaded on sticks, coated in yaji — a groundnut, chilli and spice rub — and grilled over open coals, then dusted with more yaji.

🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea

Yetisse

Stewed fish with vegetables (carrots, eggplants), ginger, hot peppers, and chicken bouillon; served on white rice mixed with mashed okra; variations use beef or chicken.