Shito (Ghanaian Hot Pepper Sauce)
This is my mom's recipe for shito. Shito is a hot pepper sauce that is popular among Ghanaians. It is used as a seasoning and as a condiment in Ghanaian cuisine.
Servings: 50 tablespoons
Calories: 113kcal
Ingredients
- 8 fresh or frozen sardines
- 120 g whole dried chili peppers
- 2 medium onions (roughly chopped)
- 2 medium tomatoes (roughly chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2¼ cups water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 500 ml vegetable or canola oil (plus extra, if required)
Instructions
- If you purchased frozen sardines, let them completely thaw. Clean and remove the scales from the sardines; here's a YouTube video on how to clean sardines.
- Place the sardines on a lightly greased baking pan and bake them in a preheated oven (350°F/175°C) for 1 hour or until the sardines are dried out.
- Remove the sardines from the oven once they’re done and let them completely cool. Using a knife and a cutting board, cut the heads from the sardines and discard them. Cut the sardines lengthwise and use a fork or your fingers to remove the bones from them. Discard the bones and break the sardines into smaller pieces.
- Pour the sardines in a blender with 1 cup of water and blend them into a puree. Pour the fish puree into a bowl and set aside.
- Put the chili peppers into a blender. Add 1 cup of water to the chili peppers and blend the chilies until they turn into flakes. Pour the blended chilies into a bowl and set aside.
- Place the onions, tomatoes, and garlic into the blender. Add the remaining cup of water and blend everything into a puree.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil with the stove at medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Pour the blended chili peppers into the saucepan. Add the onion and tomato mixture as well as the blended sardines, salt, and black pepper to the oil. Mix everything together using a large spoon.
- Let the mixture cook for 1 hour or until the colour turns very dark brown. Stir the sauce occasionally as it is cooking so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Remove the pan from the stove and let the sauce cool completely.
- Can the sauce in sterilized mason jars. There should be at least ½ inch layer of oil on top of the sauce in the mason jars. Cover the jars with lids and store the sauce in the fridge.
Notes
- I find that the shito will usually last for 3 months when it’s properly canned.
Nutrition
Calories: 113kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 690IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg