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ChopJollof
Liberia — Jollof in situ
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Country 06 of 16

Liberia

Jollof /ˈdʒɒl.ɒf/

— The essay · 14 min read

On Liberia: the pot, the patience, the argument.

LLiberian jollof carries a dual passport. The West African base. The American-returnee seasoning. Smoked turkey, bourbon, a story that travels.

The dish arrived at our kitchen the way it arrives at every kitchen — inherited, contested, half-remembered, adjusted. We cooked it the way we were shown, and then we cooked it the way we were corrected, and then we cooked it the way that tasted right. It took us 12 tries before we were willing to print it.

“You cannot see the rice become itself if you are interrupting it.”

— Aunty Nkechi, Surulere

This page is not the final word. It is a footnote on a conversation that has been going on for six hundred years. If we got something wrong, write us a letter. We publish them.

— Keep reading

If you loved Liberia, go to Nigeria next.