Author, food educator, and food curator Ozozu Sokho has dedicated his career to exploring the common cultural connections between food in Africa and beyond. This is a work that cannot help but be appreciated.
Her cookbook, Chop Chop: Cooking the food of Nigeria, won the prestigious James Beard Award for New Voices in Books, the Nautilus Gold Medal, and was named a New York Times Best Cookbook of 2025.
Soko, who was born in Nigeria, said she hoped the book, which features recipes and stories from six regions in Nigeria, would “give people a basic understanding of Nigerian cuisine and reflect on how similar we are, despite our perceived and real differences.”
From zobo, a hibiscus-based drink similar to sorrel in the Caribbean or agua de jamaica in Mexico, to imoyo, a light fish stew related to mollho, the Portuguese word for sauce, gravy or dressing, there are a number of Nigerian dishes that come in many forms and have connections far beyond the country’s borders, Soko said.
A former geologist who goes by the online name “Kitchen Butterfly,” she studies the food history of Nigeria, West Africa, and the African diaspora and documents her discoveries at FeastAfrique.com, where she curates and presents map-based works that illustrate the history and geographic connections of cuisines.
Nigeria’s music, culture and art have gained global attention and influence in recent years, but the country’s food could be next in the spotlight.
“The next level is a deeper exploration. Nigerian produce and products are on shelves, in pantries, on television (and) radio. Rather than commercializing them without context, we are thoughtfully sharing their beauty and richness,” Soko says.
Here, Soko has selected dishes that demonstrate how Nigeria’s food traditions and culture are connected to the wider world.
A fish stew related to the Brazilian mollho, but spelled differently. Ryogoku has different versions with ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spices.
Nigerian soup made with jute leaves. These greens are found in parts of North Africa and Southeast Asia. Ewedu is a component of the traditional Yoruba dish Abura (consisting of ewedu, obe atta (spicy red stew) and gbegiri (blend bean soup), eaten with amala, a solid food made from yam flour) and is a must-try for food seekers, Soko says.
This staple of Nigerian parties and events consists of a variety of snacks, including puff puffs (fried dough balls), fried chicken, and a blend of fried ripe plantains served in small plates. Many countries have versions of this series of bites.
From Nigeria to Japan, Korea and the American South, there are versions of this dish made with curry powder, a spice mix that originated in South Asia.
A staple of seasoned red rice found throughout West Africa, each country’s versions have been shaped by trade, colonialism, taste preferences, and other unique influences. Despite the “jollof wars” being waged across West Africa, with different countries claiming it’s the best, Sokho says there’s a lot to note about the famous dish.
It is a famous Nigerian street food made of meat skewered over an open flame and seasoned with yaji, a spice blend made with peanuts, dried chili peppers, other aromatics and local spices, and comes in variations such as beef, chicken and lamb mutton. There are several skewered meats around the world that are a symbol of street food.
This popular non-alcoholic Nigerian cocktail was reportedly created by a Nigerian hotelier. It’s made with Angostura bitters, orange soda, lemon-lime soda, and grenadine syrup, and served with cucumber or orange and lemon slices. It contains similar ingredients to drinks from around the world, including Shirley Temple, Roy Rogers and Australian Lemon Lime Bitters.
The drink made from Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers is native to West Africa and has variations around the world, including sorrel (another name for the sabdariffa plant) in the Caribbean, agua de Jamaica in Mexico, and hibiscus tea elsewhere.
