How to Eat Fufu (Foo Foo)

Fufu is a traditional West-African staple much the same as potatoes to most Americans, rice to Asians or pasta to Italians. It can be made from cassava, plantain, yams or a combination of these or other similar starchy foods. The starch is boiled and then pounded with a pestle and mortar into a sticky, smooth doughball. The finished fufu is then either placed in a communal bowl for sharing or dished out in grapefruit-sized portions to be served alongside a spicy stew. It can be quite tricky eating fufu for the first time so here are some tips to make eating fufu more enjoyable for beginners.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your choice of stew
• Fufu
• A finger bowl

1. 
    

   Wash your right hand in the finger bowl before and after your meal, but never during. You should only eat with the right hand as a show of respect. Finger bowls usually contain a mixture of water and either lemon or flower petals. Shake the excess water mixture off of your hand over the bowl.

2. Using only your right hand, tear off a walnut-sized portion of the fufu. To do this, there should be a swift, clockwise twist and snap of the wrist. The fufu will be sticky so attempting to tear it too slow will result in the fufu stretching like a piece of bubble gum instead.

3. Roll the torn piece of fufu into a ball between your fingers.

4. Press an indentation with your thumb into the center of the rolled fufu.

5. Scoop up the spicy stew with the fufu boat you have just created. Be careful to not get any of the meat just yet. You will save this to eat last.

6. Place the stew-filled fufu ball into your mouth and swallow it whole. The fufu should absorb some of the stew's spiciness; however, be prepared for the heat content so you won't choke. A quick slurping motion, much the same as when you swallow spaghetti noodles, may be best.

7. Repeat steps two through six savoring the flavor of the stew with each portion until the stew is completely gone from your serving bowl.

8. Once you have completely consumed the stew and fufu, eat the remaining meat. The accompanying meat could be beef, pork, chicken, goat or fish. Fufu and stew can also be a vegetarian meal with with no meat to accompany it.

Tips & Warnings

• Eat slow and completely enjoy your meal.
• Lick your fingers to show that you are enjoying and appreciate your meal.
• Drink water or a palm wine with your meal.
• Only eat with your right hand to show respect.
• Never tear off more than a walnut-sized portion of the fufu at a time. Attempting to swallow too big of a portion could not only be difficult but also be seen as greedy.
• Allergy alert - many African stews have a peanut base. Make sure you specify the type of stew you desire and doublecheck that it does not contain nuts or nut oils.

[pinchy]

on 3/2/2009 great article! i did not know anything about fufu - good to learn! all the best, pinchy http://www.DearPennyPinchingMom.blogspot.com

[toogie2]

on 3/1/2009 I never heard of fufu, but I love starches and stews. I'll be looking for an opportunity.