COPPERSaka saka recipe
Cassava leaves pounded to a paste and stewed for hours with red palm oil and smoked fish until the oil rises to the top.
Ingredients
- 500 g cassava leaves
- 250 g smoked fish
- 100 ml palm oil
- 3 tbsp ground peanuts
- 1 onion
- 3 clove garlic
- 1 chili pepper
- 1 bouillon cube
- 1 tsp salt
- 1000 ml water
How to make Saka saka
- Pound 500 g of cassava leaves in a mortar until they form a fine paste. Chopped leaves stay fibrous and bitter, so buy frozen pounded leaves if you have no mortar.
- Put the leaves in a pot with 1 litre of water and boil uncovered for 45 minutes, skimming the foam.
- Add 1 chopped onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 bouillon cube and 1 whole chili, then simmer 20 minutes.
- Flake 250 g of smoked fish, remove the bones and stir it in with 100 ml of palm oil.
- Simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so nothing sticks.
- Stir in 3 tbsp of ground peanuts and cook 15 minutes more, until the sauce thickens and the palm oil separates on the surface.
- Salt to taste and serve with rice, plantains or chikwangue.
What is Saka saka?
Saka saka is a traditional dish from Central African Republic, simmered in one pot, and takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes from start to finish. It is built around cassava leaves, smoked fish and palm oil. The recipe below uses 10 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Saka saka take?
At 130 minutes it is slower than 55% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 6 dishes built on cassava leaves. The method runs to 7 steps, the longest being 45 minutes.
Any tips for making Saka saka?
Pound the cassava leaves to a fine paste instead of chopping them, because chopped leaves stay fibrous and bitter.
How Saka saka compares
Hard to find elsewhere: ground peanuts (2) and bouillon cube (2).
Copper documents Central African Republic alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.