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Cooking & Travel Talks: How to Make Nigerian Suya
Last week I had my first Cooking and Travel and Talks Live where I made suya. I have to say despite all the nerves I think it went very well. I shared stories of when I have visited Nigeria, had the afrobeats in the background and engaged with all my audience. All in all, it was an hour of just good vibes.
What is Suya?
I would say that Suya is a spicy meat skewer, like an English Kebab (but spicey and sexier). It originates from the North of Nigeria and is a popular dish in the West of Africa. Suya is usually thinly sliced meat marinated in various spices and then grilled or barbecued. The dish is served with extra helpings of dried pepper mixed with tomatoes and sliced onions in a newspaper.
I was impressed to see how many people joined in with me to cook on my first live! Many people missed the first live and have asked for the recipe, so I have jotted down the ingredients and instructions with some clips of the live on how to make suya.
When did I first have Suya?
Believe it or not, the first time I tried Nigerian Suya was when I was a vegetarian. Yes, some vegetarian. I travelled to Nigeria as an adult and was constantly looked down on for not eating meat, but for some reason, I was swayed by the smells of Suya and ever since I never went back again.
Ingredients you need for Nigerian Suya
- 1kg Beef or chicken
- 1tsp Paprika
- 2tsp Salt
- 2 Maggie Cubes
- 2tsp Garlic Salt
- 15 Wooden Skewers
- 2 Tomato
- 1 Onion
- 3tsp Oil
You can buy your suya spice (suya pepper) in an African food store. I would always suggest washing and seasoning your meat with paprika, salt Maggie and garlic salt overnight. Below you can watch how I prep to make my suya.
The next day…
First things first:
- Pre-heat your grill for about 180 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit)
- Soak your wooden skewers in cold water (this ensures that the sticks do not burn during the roasting of the Suya)
- Add your oil and massage into your meat (this ensures that the meat doesn’t burn during roasting).
- You may want to cut your meat if it’s too big. I would suggest to cut them into small pieces so that when you thread them on the sticks, they will not flap too much.
- You will then need to thread the fillets of beef onto the skewer sticks.
- Add your suya pepper/mix into a wide dish and dab the threaded fillets of beef into the spice so that the beef takes up as much of the spice as possible. Note: If you’re not keen on spice only add a little bit.
- Place all the now spiced beef onto the oven rack and put in the grill to roast. As you will see in the clip below.
- You will then need to twist your meet regularly to ensure it doesn’t burn. The meat should take around 20-30 minutes to cook but do bear in mind that this depends on how thick your beef meet is.
- While your suya is roasting, cut your onions and tomatoes and place them into the newspaper.
- Remove meat from sticks and add to the newspaper
- Finish off with adding some more suya spice to the meal and enjoy!
Below are some pictures of people that cooked with me on my first Cooking and Travel Talks Live! I would like to thank everyone that joined in and cooked with me!
I hope you enjoy your suya – if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me! And if you would like to cook with me on my next live then follow me on Instagram where I will be sharing what I will be cooking next!
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