There's something fishy here...

Let's start things off with a picture I took yesterday at the All Needs Supermarket.

Wait... what does that say?

This is Mamma G's Special Shito, a spicy sauce typically served on the side of any rice-based dish that you order. You find shito everywhere. Its composition makes it stand apart from other spicy sides. It gets its kick from cayenne pepper, but beyond this kick there is another flavor that can catch you off-guard if you're not careful: fish. While shito is about as common in Ghana as ketchup in the US, every household here prepares their own shito and the result is never the same. If you're like me and you love a good hot dish, then the days when the shito is spicy are a pleasure. The problem for me is that I don't really like it when my chicken tastes like fish, or when rice tastes like fish, or when the air I'm breathing tastes like fish. And that's a fact of life with shito. Some days it just tastes like Long John Silver's underpants.

Shito is hardly the only place where Ghanaians like to sneak in a little fish. I've actually found fish bones in just about every dish I've ordered here. For some (mostly Ghanaians, I imagine) this must be paradise. For me, it can range from just a little confusing to a bit of a meal-destroyer. It all depends the exact strength of the fish.

What it feels like

Some people don't like fish. I've always known that my dad is not particularly keen on it, but I've also recently discovered that my two brothers aren't big fans either. I love fish, or at least I thought I loved fish before I saw just what real love for fish looked like. There is a time and a place for everything, and it seems like the Ghanaian approach to fish is "always" and "everywhere." I just can't keep up.

There are ways around fish-overload. Find the places where the shito is typically more spice and less fish, but even that isn't a definite guarantee. Avoid the dishes where fish typically sneaks in, such as Red Red. (This dish is amazing when it's not too fishy. I'll try to get a photo up soon.) This is also a good place for reflecting upon the quote I used a few posts ago: If you can't stop the waves, so sailing. Little by little, I'm trying out the fishier side of life. With a little more than a month to go, you never know where I'll end up.

Maybe before coming home I'll be on par with the DrPH student working on the same project. On one of his last nights here, I saw him remove a fish head from the body (already dead and cooked, of course) and suck the brains from its skull. Even writing this makes my skin crawl. He also commented on the fine taste of the eyeballs.



Get some more Shito information here: http://www.efiashito.com/whatisshito.html.
The boxing fish picture came from http://www.cardmine.co.uk/list24/a240574.jpg.