Ayoyo soup (jute leaves)Another green soup. Ladle it into a deep bowl and dip.
Garden egg stew (eggplant)Thicker than a soup, so scoop it up with a dented piece.
Groundnut soup (peanut soup)Nutty and often spicy. Set the fufu in the bowl and ladle the soup round it.
Kontomire soup (taro leaves)A green soup for the day after a tomato one.
Light soupThin and peppery. Dip each piece, then drink what is left in the bowl.
Palm nut soupRich, so a small piece of fufu carries plenty.
Soups and stews from Nigeria 8
Afang soupLeafy and filling. A small ball of fufu is enough with it.
Edikang ikong (pumpkin leaf and waterleaf soup)A dense, leafy soup. Serve the fufu on a plate of its own.
Efo riro (leafy vegetable stew)Pinch up a little of the greens with each piece.
Egusi soupThick with ground seeds. Press a dent in the fufu to lift more of it.
Nsala soup (ofe nsala)Bring it to the table hot, a bowl for each person.
Ogbono soupSlippery, so twist the piece of fufu as you lift it out.
Oha soup (ofe oha)Ladle it into a wide bowl so there is room to dip.
Onugbu soup (ofe onugbu)Serve the fufu wrapped beside it, so it stays warm and soft.
More soups, stews and a sauce 5
Cassava leaf stewGreens cooked down soft, eaten in pinches with the fufu.
Chicken in palm butter sauce (moambe chicken)Spoon the sauce beside the fufu and pull the chicken off the bone.
Hot pepper sauceA spoonful at the edge of the bowl, for anyone who wants more heat.
Hot pepper soupThin and fiery. Take small pieces of fufu and keep a drink nearby.
Okra soupSlippery, so scoop quickly and lean over the bowl.
Meat and fish in the soup 10
Chicken on the boneCook it in the soup until the meat pulls off easily.
CrabCrack the shells at the table and eat the meat between dips.
Goat meatOn the bone, in the soup. Save the meat for the end of the bowl.
MushroomsFor a pot with no meat. They soak up the soup.
Smoked fishBreak it into the soup in big flakes.
Smoked turkeyOne smoky piece in each bowl is plenty.
SnailsChewy and mild. A few in each bowl.
Stewing beefIn chunks, cooked until soft enough to pull apart by hand.
TripeCut small. It takes on the taste of whatever soup it cooks in.
Whole tilapiaLay it across the bowl and pull the flesh away with your fingers.
Drinks 4
Chilled waterKeep a glass close, most of all with pepper soup.
Hibiscus drinkTart and cold against a spicy soup.
Pineapple and ginger juiceSweet with a bite. Pour it over ice.
Tamarind drinkSour and sweet, served cold.
How it works
What to eat with fufu? A soup or a thick stew to dip it in. These 33 ideas are the soups of Ghana and Nigeria, stews from further afield, the meat and fish cooked in them, and four cold drinks.
Read the full guide
Pinched, rolled and dipped
Fufu is eaten with the fingers of the right hand. A piece is pinched off, rolled into a ball and dipped, often with a thumb dent to hold the sauce, then swallowed without chewing. In Ghana it never comes without a soup, and in Haiti a breadfruit fufu is served with an okra stew.
What to eat fufu with for a first bowl
Start with a thin soup, light soup or groundnut soup, and dip. Egusi soup is thickened with ground seeds, so it is scooped more than dipped. Okra and ogbono soups are slippery, which takes practice. One soup with one or two kinds of meat or fish is a full meal.
Put a bowl of water on the table for washing hands before and after, since nobody needs a spoon.
Questions and answers
What do you eat fufu with?
With soup. In Ghana that means light soup, palm nut soup or groundnut soup; in Nigeria, egusi or ogbono soup. Elsewhere in West and Central Africa it is hot pepper soup, okra soup or another stew.
What can you eat with fufu besides soup?
A thick stew does the same job: garden egg stew, cassava leaf stew, efo riro or chicken in palm butter sauce. Whatever you choose has to be wet enough to dip into.
What can you eat fufu with if you do not eat meat?
Soups built on vegetables: groundnut soup, okra soup, kontomire soup or garden egg stew, cooked without meat or fish. Mushrooms can take the place of goat in the pot.
What meat goes with fufu?
Goat meat and smoked fish in light soup is one Ghanaian bowl. Chicken, beef, tripe, smoked turkey, tilapia, crab and snails go into the soups too, sometimes more than one kind in a pot.
What do you drink with fufu?
Without alcohol: chilled water, a hibiscus drink, pineapple and ginger juice or a tamarind drink, all served cold.