Suya is one of my favourite Nigerian street food- it is thinly sliced beef well marinated in yaji and grilled, usually served in outdated newspaper wraps with fresh onions and sometimes other fresh vegetables like cabbage, carrots and tomatoes. In fact, it remains the sole reason I ate raw onions as a child- I was that child that handpicked onion slices from any meal served me.
I grew up- lol- yes, and now I eat onions with joy. Recently, I have tried experimenting ‘suya’ with other types of meat like chicken, pork, lamb, goat, and shrimps. At a time like this when everyone is working/staying at home, enjoying comfort flavours using available ingredients is simply beautiful. This recipe uses our minced suya in conjunction with shrimps and pork sausages to make this flavourful gorgeous meal. Are you ready?!
Suya dirty rice is derived from the colour of the yaji; yaji contains grounded peanuts which make the spice colour look like earth/mud/brownish red. The flavour from the yaji infused with the rice peppers, onions and meats would bring your tastebuds all the joy and comfort it’s been craving.
Let’s get dirty!
INGREDIENTS 8 Servings
- White Rice 4 cups (parboiled rice)
- Mince beef suya 300g
- Bell peppers 1 each (green and red- fine diced)
- Onions 1 big (fine diced)
- Oil 2 tbsps (olive/rapeseed oil)
- Yaji spice 3 tbsps (+some extra for serving)
- Leek 1/2 stalk (fine diced- optional)
- Shrimps 100g
- Sausages 4
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 230°C. Spread out sliced sausages and minced beef in a baking tray. Cook using the minced suya recipe. Set aside.
Add 4 cups of water to a pot with the rice to cook. (Steam rice till al dente this means well cooked, but with a bite- not soggy/mushy).
Step 2
In a large frying pan/ wok, fry onions on medium heat in 2 tablespoons of heated oil till onions look transparent and soft; about 4 minutes. Add diced peppers and leek to cook; stir intermittently. Add in the shrimps, salt, seasoning and 2 tablespoons of yaji to cook for 3 minutes; flipping each shrimp halfway to cook on both sides. Stir in the minced & sausage suya mix till to blend with the stirfry before adding the rice. Stir the rice well to combine all the ingredients (use a wooden spoon to avoid scratching the pan or breaking the rice).
Step 3
Serve hot! Top with extra yaji if you so please 😉
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