The archive · Techniques

The craft
before the recipe

Four films and eighteen more in the archive. Every technique shot once, edited only to remove dead air. No voiceover — hands, fire, and the sound of the pot.

A white enamel bowl of parboiled long-grain rice at the drain stage, still wet, grains separating.

5:12

Nigeria

Parboiling long-grain rice the Nigerian way

Why we rinse, parboil, and drain — then build the pot. The single step most imported recipes get wrong.

Hands lifting a cast-iron lid off a pot of rice, steam rising against dusk.

8:07

Nigeria

Building the smoke: open-fire vs. stovetop

The crust is the point. Here is how to get it without a backyard, and how to get it better with one.

A wide pan of sliced onions going from white to deep amber under low heat.

10:24

Senegal

Breaking down yassa onions

Three pounds of onions, two hours, one sauce. The slow collapse that defines thieboudienne's cousin.

A stone mortar and pestle mid-crush with habaneros, garlic, and ginger.

4:04

Ghana

Grinding the pepper: pestle vs. blender

The texture of your pepper base changes the dish. A mortar gives you rag; a blender gives you silk.