10 food items Nigerians
can not afford to miss
The existence of the stores popularly known
as African stores has it possible for
Nigerians abroad to at least have access to
most of the food items usually loved.
Thoughts of these items could make them
yearn to go home every once in a year or
more. Some of these food items usually not
found abroad are often requested for when
getting prepared to get back abroad.
Although the African stores still provide
alternatives, yet, that hunger for the original
persists.
Below are some of the food items:
1. Starch and banga
This is one of the original delicacies from
the Urhobo, Isoko and Ukwuani speaking
communities of Delta state. Starch which is
one of the most cherished swallows among
these people, cannot be found at the various
African stores. For the banga (palm fruit)
usually used for a kind of soup called banga
soup can also not be found. Although, there
are the canned ones but there’s a wide
difference in the tastes. The Deltans use this
soup with any swallow. The Igbos eat the
soup (which they call ofe aku) with rice
basically.
2. Delta/Ijebu garri – Garri (cassava flakes)
This is another household food item most
Nigerians abroad miss. At African stores in
America for example, the kind of garri found
there is like sawdust. Because the ones
found are often ignored by those who reason
know the real garri, they settle for pundo
yam, wheat, semovita etc. But when it
comes to the drinking of garri aspect, they
cannot wait to get to Nigeria.
3. Dodo/fried ripe plantain
That yellowish plantain found in various
Nigerian market is always missed. If you
ever find anyone abroad, you will obviously
see how falsified they are. The unripe ones
are forced to become ripe and eventually
become tasteless.
4. Bush meat
This cannot be found at stores at all.
Remember the bush meat pepper soup! Even
when you try your best possible to smuggle
some pieces of meat from Nigeria, it will
only take a blind custom officer not to see
it. Of course the scanner is there too
to screen it out.
5. Fresh Vegetables
Vegetables are the things almost every
Nigerian cry for every time. The popular
ugwu(pumpkin) is never found. Fresh bitter
leaves are not found but the dried ones. An
igbo man will tell you that for a very good
fresh ofe onugbu, the dried bitter leaves are
not ideal. What about fresh ewedu and fresh
oha leaves? Not seen! The only fresh
vegetable they have in the US for instance,
is spinach, which looks almost like Nigerian
water leaves.
6. Fresh meat and fish
All their meat and fish are frozen. The goat
meat, beef, pork, chicken, fish, all frozen.
There are people who like goat meat or beef
based on the slaughter of the day. Some still
like live chicken, the tastes are very
different. These are some of the items
Nigerians miss abroad.
7. Fresh akamu/pap
There is what they call corn-starch which is
supposed to be the akamu, but it tastes like
the starch used to wash native attire. Even
when pap is seen at the African store, it is
frozen because to avoid spoilage, raw food
items are usually preserved in the deep
freezer.
8. Suya
For fun with friends, suya (grilled or
barbecued meat) is one of things
Nigerians love. It is strongly missed.
9. Boli
It often goes with groundnut. Fresh unripe
giant plantains roasted by the roadside are
always missed.
10. Roasted/boiled corn and plum
Just like boli and groundnut, corn and plum/
pear (called ube in Igbo) is also another kind
that is usually missed. Freshly plucked from
the farm, boiled or roasted to go with the
plum, lunch is set.
can not afford to miss
The existence of the stores popularly known
as African stores has it possible for
Nigerians abroad to at least have access to
most of the food items usually loved.
Thoughts of these items could make them
yearn to go home every once in a year or
more. Some of these food items usually not
found abroad are often requested for when
getting prepared to get back abroad.
Although the African stores still provide
alternatives, yet, that hunger for the original
persists.
Below are some of the food items:
1. Starch and banga
This is one of the original delicacies from
the Urhobo, Isoko and Ukwuani speaking
communities of Delta state. Starch which is
one of the most cherished swallows among
these people, cannot be found at the various
African stores. For the banga (palm fruit)
usually used for a kind of soup called banga
soup can also not be found. Although, there
are the canned ones but there’s a wide
difference in the tastes. The Deltans use this
soup with any swallow. The Igbos eat the
soup (which they call ofe aku) with rice
basically.
2. Delta/Ijebu garri – Garri (cassava flakes)
This is another household food item most
Nigerians abroad miss. At African stores in
America for example, the kind of garri found
there is like sawdust. Because the ones
found are often ignored by those who reason
know the real garri, they settle for pundo
yam, wheat, semovita etc. But when it
comes to the drinking of garri aspect, they
cannot wait to get to Nigeria.
3. Dodo/fried ripe plantain
That yellowish plantain found in various
Nigerian market is always missed. If you
ever find anyone abroad, you will obviously
see how falsified they are. The unripe ones
are forced to become ripe and eventually
become tasteless.
4. Bush meat
This cannot be found at stores at all.
Remember the bush meat pepper soup! Even
when you try your best possible to smuggle
some pieces of meat from Nigeria, it will
only take a blind custom officer not to see
it. Of course the scanner is there too
to screen it out.
5. Fresh Vegetables
Vegetables are the things almost every
Nigerian cry for every time. The popular
ugwu(pumpkin) is never found. Fresh bitter
leaves are not found but the dried ones. An
igbo man will tell you that for a very good
fresh ofe onugbu, the dried bitter leaves are
not ideal. What about fresh ewedu and fresh
oha leaves? Not seen! The only fresh
vegetable they have in the US for instance,
is spinach, which looks almost like Nigerian
water leaves.
6. Fresh meat and fish
All their meat and fish are frozen. The goat
meat, beef, pork, chicken, fish, all frozen.
There are people who like goat meat or beef
based on the slaughter of the day. Some still
like live chicken, the tastes are very
different. These are some of the items
Nigerians miss abroad.
7. Fresh akamu/pap
There is what they call corn-starch which is
supposed to be the akamu, but it tastes like
the starch used to wash native attire. Even
when pap is seen at the African store, it is
frozen because to avoid spoilage, raw food
items are usually preserved in the deep
freezer.
8. Suya
For fun with friends, suya (grilled or
barbecued meat) is one of things
Nigerians love. It is strongly missed.
9. Boli
It often goes with groundnut. Fresh unripe
giant plantains roasted by the roadside are
always missed.
10. Roasted/boiled corn and plum
Just like boli and groundnut, corn and plum/
pear (called ube in Igbo) is also another kind
that is usually missed. Freshly plucked from
the farm, boiled or roasted to go with the
plum, lunch is set.
