I love that Ethan always points out the "idle time" in the recipe for washing up etc. because, to me, it's an essential part of home cooking that other channels don't really mention. Appreciate the great content, as always!
The thing is, I feel like it’s just apparent when you will have idle time, and you can use it to do whatever? If you get what I mean. I mean you will just know when you are idle and waiting, and doing whatever is up to u. There is really no point in emphasizing it.
@@skynchickens300 clearly it's not apparent when the original comment is getting a ton of likes? if it was pointless to emphasize, why would people want to praise the emphasis to that extent? maybe your experience isn't the same as everyone else's
Me too, hearing him talk about cleaning and idle time tells me he's considering practicality in his recipes which gives me a lot more confidence that I'd want to add such recipes to my personal rotation.
Interesting take on jollof! Extra step that many Nigerians/other Africans use in their version: to get the famous deep red color to the rice & rich sweet taste, cook about 2-4 tablespoons of tomato paste with the onions at 3:28 (before all the seasonings). Cook until the tomato paste turns a crumbly texture (about 5+ minutes) and then continue with the rest of the steps. In my version I personally use (sparingly) salt, aromat, curry powder, dried thyme, bayleaf, knorr chicken cubes and extra pepper powder if needed. Jollof rice is a must try!
@@Fahad_ibrahim I'll give it a 6 for getting the basics right, but for me most of the spices used aren't in typical West African jollof (just my opinion). But his method was pretty accurate!
As a Nigerian American who loves some jollof, thank you for featuring African cuisine on your channel, as it's usually forgotten on RUclips by a lot of the bigger food channels!
As a Nigerian I now know his Italians feel when Americans cook their food… All joking aside, this is a decent version of Jollof, we use crawfish powder in other things but I’ve never used it in jollof but I may try it now! You should try to make Efo Riro or Egusi stew next!
As much as I'd love to see it, I doubt he'd make something like Egusi or Okra soup, just cuz the Western palate isn't aligned with those textures but who knows!
I am from Cameroon. Jollof rice not as much as staple for us as it is for our more western neighbors. But here you wouldn't have any type of fried recipe without Maggi Cube. Otoh rarely use cinnamon and nutmeg or butter. I think he started with recipes that are already westernized. But yes recipes are a base and you make it your own. Would a Nigerian or Ghanaian recognize this as jollof rice? I think they would. Edited to add: I commented before watching the full video. Salt and MSG = MAGGI. So yeah he got that right.
@@FutureCommentary1 I’d agree, I’ve never seen cinnamon, nutmeg or butter in Jollof either. And my Mom used Maggi cubes instead of chicken stock as well, which actually provided some msg. However, I do think that this counts as Jollof rice, even if it’s a little extra.
I don't put crayfish in my jollof, but I'm impressed you did. That's advanced level West African seasoning. Lol! Cameroonians also put veggies and meat in our jollof.
Thank you for going over the not commonly used ingredients, telling us what they taste like, and if they are worth it. I hate seeing recipes on youtube that use uncommon ingredients and then don't explain what they are.
I made jollof rice last month for the first time and it has easily taken the first place spot of my favorite rice dishes. I cooked my chicken in the sauce too. Yewande has an amazing recipe. Her video is on here, y’all should check it out also.
It's so cool seeing this 6ake on food I eat so much. The way my family makes it is with a bit more of a drier texture, no butter and in a huge batch that feeds a family of 4 for several days
West African cuisine is super under represented. These chefs in school usually only learn French cooking styles and “white food” if we’re going to be honest.
@@blurryperson2685 not just west african. Most cultures are underrepresented in the west. Prolly cause white people season their food less or dislike spices
@@bd-fb1ul Racist much? "White people" cook fine, thanks. Why even bring race into it? There are white Mexicans, white Africans, white Asians... skin color shouldn't even be brought into the discussion.
As a Nigerian and long time subscriber, this video makes me happy. Thank you for showcasing our food to the world *cough* Nigerian jollof is the best *cough*
I appreciate how you always give credit to the authors and recipes that inspired you, especially with dishes from other cultures and parts of the world. Keep up the great work.
As a Nigerian and a cook myself (and a lover of jollof rice😋), I just want to say a big thank you for trying out the recipe! It looks soo good and I'm all for people making/trying out foods foreign to them. I'm about to start a food RUclips channel (about me basically cooking majorly foreign dishes) and your channel is really encouraging me 🙌🥰
Ethan you totally killed it 👏🏾 as a Nigerian this made me happy to watch. I personally don’t add cinnamon, coriander, crayfish, cupeb pepper or nutmeg to my Jollof rice but now I want to try out of curiosity
@@tru35kill many don't use all the seasoning mixtures either they often use mostly Maggi cubes. I think I have seen 3 different techniques on how to make it in my family and a lot don't really take the time to create the flavour by scratch. They have become Maggi addicts lol.
That is because in your curry powder these spices are part of the ingredient. Check the label of your curry powder you would see coriander, cumin. Some contains cinamon some dont
@Tru3Skill If you are using curry powder then there will be no need for the spices except fresh onion and onion powder,fresh garlic and ginger (I said this because I prefer fresh garlic and ginger to the dried one, however, use very little ginger depending on the portion you are Cook Ng or it would over power it). Everything else this content creator used is ok. (I have used cinnamon) don't like it that much the flavor is over powering. I however use a pinch of cloves powder, it is fantastic.
@@TheMovingEye Honestly the perfect comparison. Just need to add a dash of west African aunties bickering at each other for Jollof supremacy and your golden😩🤌🏿 Edit: Nigeria’s the top of its class btw🤷🏾♂️🇳🇬
I am Nigerian and watching this video made me so happy. Party jollof is a staple and very delicious too. You did a good job cooking it as well...Well done!
I loved your take on this! I'm Sierra Leonean so we use a different technique to make our rice, we essentially make a stew with meat, bell pepper, scallion, onion, thyme, and maggi cubes as the base and then use the sauce from that stew to make the rice. There's a little more too it but this way you don't have to make the chicken as a completely separate dish. Also, a tip for those who want this less spicy, you can leave scotch bonnets out of the blended sauce and let them simmer whole with the rice to infuse the flavor without all of the heat. Another thing that I do if I can't find scotch bonnets is add some scotch bonnet pepper sauce (it's like a hot sauce) to the sauce and rice to get some of that heat and flavor. I actually prefer this method because the acidity of the sauce brightens the dish a bit and it's easier to keep a bottle on hand.
I'll definitely keep this in mind. I'm half Ghanian ethnically however I grew up in South East Asia and never had any contact with my Ghanaian side of my family until I was 18. I never learned food from my country hence why I'm looking up recipes. My family in general don't take heat very well (especially my grandmother) so I'm going to try this dish without scotch bonnet peppers.
@@kurapikakurta3863 if you can, put on or two in but without the seeds because on of the influential flavours is the scotch bonnet, theres something about it
I like that you emphasize the clean as you go aspect of this how to video. It's one of the main reasons people don't bother cooking. Once you learn how to stay in that busy body flow and knock every single task as you go you want have to ponder about it later after you're tired from eating.
I was really curious as to what addictive food even meant, but oh dear me, this dish floored me! It's a journey from the sweet peppers to the spice of Habanero. I am inducting this dish to my favorites! There was a subtle similarity to confit byaldi (The Ratatouille ratatouille?) -- anyone else felt that way?
I love that you advocate cleaning the kitchen as you cook! I wish more people (and here I’m thinking specifically of my husband) knew this is the way to do it.
This sounds not too complicated except for the two unusual spices. Its amazing how many cuisines have adopted tomatoes when they are not native to the eastern hemisphere. Thanks man. Sounds delicious.
The recipe also uses rice and spices native to Asia. Goes to show you how dumb the idea of "respecting tradition cooking" is. This dish barely has any ingredients native to Africa and is now an important part of the diet of millions of Africans. I will never understand why some people will get mad by watching foreigners cooking their dishes "wrong".
@@mateusssssss567 I see your point, however I would critique a recipe if it looked like the person didn't do any research before hand. Not the case here, ofc :)!
@@mateusssssss567 Jellof comes from the Wolof ethnicity in Senegal they are the originators of the rice, as you can guess this group are Islamic and thus have had trade with Asia for a long time, Nigerians and Ghanaians adopted Jellof but their version is nothing like the original which is closer to Indian Biryani. Point is the natrual Jellof used to be made with only african wild rice and ingredients sourced from north africa trade and western Africa, but as Jellof spread with the religion now most of west Africa eats it in their own way with Nigerians and Ghanaians making theirs look like tomato rice. Outside of West Africa the rice is not eaten though
Man, so much respect to you Always wanted to see famous RUclips chefs cook this dish and here you are, you nailed it! Surely everyone has their own recipes even in the same country You did great and I appreciate the effort 🇬🇭🇬🇭🇬🇭
I really like the style of your presentation. In 8 minutes you talked through the ingredients, pointed out and explained the more unusual ones and walked us through the whole process at a nice pace. Appreciate the moments of washing up as you wait too! Excellent video
I have Nigerian coworkers. They pronounce it more like JULL-OFF with the emphasis on "off". For events and potluck lunches people like them to bring coconut-rice, which is also a savory, flavored rice dish cooked with coconut milk. Maybe that would be a future video for our good man Ethan. Thanks for your great content. Please keep up the good work.
I do really love how you factor in people's lifestyle into your videos. Mentioning cleaning time etc, really helps just visualise how I'd have this in my cooking rotation!
I love that the “taste test” section was more like a “let's eat this dish” section. 😂😂😂 Your dish looks amazing! My mom is great at making jollof rice and I love when she makes it every time. 😋
I went to Senegal a few years back and had Jollof rice the version I had more large chucks of vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes, onions, celery. And a whole fish that was scored deeply on the sides and fried that was add to the Jollof towards the end of cooking the rice so the flavors in the rice and vegetables would mend with the whole fish. It was very spicy had lots of flavor depth, and the large pieces of vegetables with the rice and the fish was so good. The served it with a fresh French baguette to sop up all the juicies and wipe the tray clean in front of you as you all ate from the same large tray. It was an experience I will never forget. The trip, the cuisine and the gracious of the people. And like you said everyone has their own family version each with a slight twist or variation that made it their own yet all similar. I remember the most was the scent of magic bouquet browning sauce wafting from the kitchen early in the mornings as they prepared meals for the evening as they used it most of their cooking including their Jollof.
That is where the food originated from. And as I Ghanaian growing up jollof rice was made with chopped carrots and beef in it all together. I have tried the Senegalese and must say it's really good. The Nigerians got to know about jollof rice during the 80s migration of Ghanaians to Nigeria and Nigerians also migrating to Ghana in recent years. Everyone cooks it differently with different spices for preferred tastes.
@@naturalbeauty_abena1230 Did you try it with the fermented shell fish? That's really the secret ingredient. One of the things that makes it very different to the other versions. I've also tried the Ghanian version in Ghana and it was the best I've had outside of Senegal. As it travelled from Senegal, it was definitely simplified. The whole origin argument is crazy to me though, its as if people started saying Banku was from Senegal lol
My dude! We worked together at Deloitte before you left. Keep up the great work with the channel! And love to see my people's food being featured. You did a great job with it!
Gave this a try this morning. As a chef myself, I love exploring new cuisines. Sauce came phenomenal. Rice smells outstanding and the crispy chicken is just top notch. Well done Ethan and well done West Africa for this Creation
This makes me happy. Born in South Africa, but my parents are Ghanaian so I’m more familiar with West African dishes. This and fufu was my favorite growing up. I hope you try fufu!
Made some today and MAN, it's like food equivalent of crack! Picks you right up and is dangerously addictive! For something so good it's really simple, so it'll definitely be a regular in my recipe catalogue.
I gotta say, that was probably the best RUclips video I've seen months, perhaps honestly I have ever seen. It was just so, wholesome and informative and actually effective instructional and chill and relaxed and formal at the same time! Man dude, I have to thank you!
Hi Ethan, just wanted to hop on a recent upload of yours to say I really enjoy your channel! You've taught me so much, I feel like I'm a much better cook thanks to you. Keep it up man!
thanks for bringing attention to this dish. love the enthusiasm to shine a light on dishes from all over the world. your channel has matured incredibly over the years & i think you've really hit your niche now
Crayfish in the spice mix, yes, that works for the West African flavor library. But I was intrigued by the inclusion of cinnamon which is not a traditionally West African spice. That’s more North African. I feel your technique is otherwise textbook. This is the way I have taught others to make jollof for years, right down to the final folding in of the onions and the butter ( and butter is not a traditional Nigerian ingredient either, but it still works😉). Thank you so much for your excellent presentation.
I was skeptical but I liked how you synthesised two African cooks to come up with your own respectable recipe which turned out leagues better than whatever Jaime Oliver was doing. Good stuff
Most every Food RUclipsr references other chef's writings and videos. Very few credit their source material. Ethan, you give me faith in my species and remind me that doing the right thing is not that hard, and means so much.
As someone who just found out he was gluten intolerant a couple of months ago, I've been begging a coworker for her Jollof Rice recipe since she's from Senegal, but she's been constantly putting off actually giving it to me. This is the perfect timing for you to post this
I made this recipe and it turned out great! But I’m more of a high protein person and try to eat less carbs, so the next day I used this recipe to make Jollof pork (the same way I make carnitas), and it turned out AMAZING! Thank you for this recipe!!
All other versions are simplified versions of the original Senegalese one (Kingdom in Senegal called Wollof or Jollof). It's a shame that it doesn't get the respect it deserves but I'd really recommend you check it out. Its very complex and can take hours which is why others cut corners with technique and ingredients. They use fermented shell fish for the umami and the rice is cooked in the pot that the meat was browned in (among other differences). The name is thieboudienne in Senegal
To get the respect, your people need to showcase it by doing more RUclips videos with English subtitles. So it's your fault for not promoting it yourself. Don't wait for the white man to do it for u!
Thank you for your patronising comment. A simple search would have shown you that there are literally tons videos of black west African cooks demonstrating this exact dish. Not quite sure why you think anyone is waiting for the white man but clearly that’s your racist assumption. What you should question is why many people don’t pay any attention to the authentic cook, until a white man makes it? No hate at Ethan, he is very respectful, unlike this comment.
@@misspiggy3606 Before we react to someone's comment out of displeasure, we should pause and realize that it's not worth it. People are in all types of states of mind. different experiences, different views, different interpretation of things, etc. so take it lightly. don't spend your energy on comments you don't like. don't have a bad day because o f that. Heck some people even turn off comment for their videos. now that's a great idea. if a comment is very important, commenter can find out how to email the youtuber
@@misspiggy3606 a comment can come as praise to one and admonition to another. it's not one size fits all cos we will all interpret things based on our history, experiences, observations, etc. not "waiting for he white man to do for you" is targeting those who belief only the white man can promote, explore, invent etc. there a people who have that inferiority complex. so if they are part of a group where the dish is from, know that the comment is targeting them, to wake them up and not targeting a white man. you will not understand cos everybodys' background is different. it's not patronizing at all but that's your perspective
As a white former farm kid from MN I can attest Jollof is super great but Maafe is even better!! It’s a peanut stew over rice and I’d highly highly recommend anyone interested to try!!
First time I tried to make jollof rice it was all going great until it was time to put it in the oven. You see I had two sets of almost identical lids, one went into the oven, the other not. You can see where this is going. A loud bang came from the oven and my jollof rice was full of glass. In the end I settled for take out. I think it's time I try it once again, sans the glass this time.
The oven thing is quite unorthodox, I've only seen it on American recipe videos like this one. From my experience (I'm Nigerian), the orthodox method is leaving it on the hob until the water/stock has finished boiling through the rice. This is the hardest part cos it's easy to either burn or overcook the rice.
I love it when Ethan introduce an ethnic food with a presentation that doesn't feel too "intimidating". Totally simple once you get all the spices ready!
I appreciate that Ethan takes consideration of how many dishes you may have to clean after you make any of his recipes. I hate making a dish and I have to clean 40 pans.
I have a small suggestion - Char the stuff prior to you adding to the blender. That smoky touch really elevates the dish. And always remember to season well! :) I’m going to give your recipe a try reallly soon..
I would use a regular frozen mixed vegetables and add them with the sauce to the rice before throwing in the oven. Senegalese version uses carrots and cabbage. They cook it kind of separaty and serve on the side.
Omg Ethan! I just left a comment on your kitchen island video, and just saw this one now. As a Nigerian, I appreciate you venturing into this. Very proud of you
Hi Ethan. I am a retired professional cook who discovered your channel a while ago, and I just love it. There is so much trash on RUclips, where I find that people have no idea what they are talking about to the point where it is laughable. I won't mention any names, but some of them are very well known, and honestly I don't know how they got where they are. Your's is so much better and it is so good to see that you do research and actually test your recipes before you enter the spotlight. I am wondering about that burner that you used in this video. I know you bought an induction burner a while ago, but this does not look like it. Can you tell me anything about that burner? I also am experimenting with induction, and I still have not made up my mind whether I like it or not. I can tell you that I warped one perfectly good stainless steel pan on there right off the bat. I should have started on a lower setting. I am anxious to know about this burner you have just used. Please keep up the good work, and ignore any and all negative comments. Cheers to you.
@@airwilliam24 Yes, and I thank you. I did a search and did find it. It's extremely expensive, and I don't have the confidence in induction heating to shell out that much. The one I am using was only a hundred bucks.
I would suggest adding and rice to the pan after you flip the chicken, stir add the sauce and stock and then in the oven. That way the chicken slowly braises briyani style.
Really? What is the connection? Interesting because I thought Paella might be related to something from North Africa or the Middle East, but worth the pepper and tomato base, this makes sense.
Well, it all began when rice started being cultivated in Spain in the 1200's. Rice crops were usually associated with many diseases so many workers on said crops were African slaves. It was then the mixture of how rice dishes were prepared in Spain with meat stocks and seafood with African recipes which contained many spices and pepper what helped to create what it's typical Paella.
@@nonononoway505 I didn’t knew it but I ate paella before and it was really good but I could help to make a comparison with Jollof/tcheboudine and how similar it was now I know why !
I bought the pepper AND crayfish to try this! Thank you Ethan! The smell of the crayfish is very similar to katsuoboshi (smoked dried fish for miso soup). Thoughts?
I worked in Liberia more than 30 years ago before the civil wars. I miss this disk and palm butter and chicken. Wished I had learned how they cooked it when I was living there. But now I will try it thanks to your inspiration.
Hey Ethan! I just made this Jollof rice following your recipe (which I had to twist a tiny bit for I didn't have everything in my cupboards) and it was a huge success. We ate it for our iftar (the meal we eat for breaking our Ramadan fast) and all the family enjoyed it very much. Thanks a lot for this recipe and for your show.
Made this tonight after receiving a shipment of shrimp powder and cubeb pepper corns from Amazon. Wow! Very tasty. Made the chicken too, but boneless and skinless. Good accompaniment! Thanks Ethan for another delicious recipe to add to the rotation.
Yewande’s recipe is my go to. It’s more work but it’s worth it. Every time I’ve made it it’s been phenomenal. Going to give yours a try though. Great video!
Thank you for this amazing recipie! I tried it two days ago and it was incredible, though I didn't have cubeb tail pepper and crayfish powder. My friend who has had it before loved it. I'm making more now and with a twist. You got yourself a new sub.
I feel like diced onions would do better here. There's just something off about taking a bite of rice and feeling a string of onion hanging out the side of your mouth lol.
Hey Ethan, I can already smell the spices from here. This seems to be a pretty good recipe but one thing I noticed is you use Indian bay leaves (tej patta) but in your recipe and the way you call them in the video is just bay leaves. I thought your followers might mistake them with laurel, European bay leaf which has nothing to do with what you used. Sorry, I’m just a spice aficionado like yourself and thought it’s worth a mention.
Thanks Ethan for featuring this dish. I made a lot of friends from cooking jollof over in europe. By the way, i would suggest roasting the peppers, tomatoes and onions for 20 minutes in an oven. It gives extra smoky flavor. And also adding the chicken/beef broth to the mixture.
I love that Ethan always points out the "idle time" in the recipe for washing up etc. because, to me, it's an essential part of home cooking that other channels don't really mention.
Appreciate the great content, as always!
The thing is, I feel like it’s just apparent when you will have idle time, and you can use it to do whatever? If you get what I mean. I mean you will just know when you are idle and waiting, and doing whatever is up to u. There is really no point in emphasizing it.
@@skynchickens300 it's a learned skill.
@@skynchickens300 clearly it's not apparent when the original comment is getting a ton of likes? if it was pointless to emphasize, why would people want to praise the emphasis to that extent? maybe your experience isn't the same as everyone else's
You arent done cooking until your kitchen is clean!
Me too, hearing him talk about cleaning and idle time tells me he's considering practicality in his recipes which gives me a lot more confidence that I'd want to add such recipes to my personal rotation.
Interesting take on jollof! Extra step that many Nigerians/other Africans use in their version: to get the famous deep red color to the rice & rich sweet taste, cook about 2-4 tablespoons of tomato paste with the onions at 3:28 (before all the seasonings). Cook until the tomato paste turns a crumbly texture (about 5+ minutes) and then continue with the rest of the steps.
In my version I personally use (sparingly) salt, aromat, curry powder, dried thyme, bayleaf, knorr chicken cubes and extra pepper powder if needed. Jollof rice is a must try!
How authentic is it to char the peppers, onions, etc, before blending them?
@@ziyad1809 I've seen lots of recipes with that step, but it's up to you. It gives the rice a delicious smoky flavor!
Can you rate his recipe out of 10
@@Fahad_ibrahim I'll give it a 6 for getting the basics right, but for me most of the spices used aren't in typical West African jollof (just my opinion). But his method was pretty accurate!
@@faithadogame3534 interesting. I need to try it the way you explain. What are the authentic spices used?
As a Nigerian American who loves some jollof, thank you for featuring African cuisine on your channel, as it's usually forgotten on RUclips by a lot of the bigger food channels!
I very much like that he addressed how valuable the dish can be, the appropriate countries and credited both of his sources
asian rice just so much better
@@jamesfranko1568 thats called subjective
@@jamesfranko1568 I prefer jollof rice thank you. Less sodium filled and more flavorful with a smoky taste.
I noticed in the last 12 months I’ve seen Jollof pop up all over RUclips. It’s starting to catch on among American RUclipsrs
As a Nigerian I now know his Italians feel when Americans cook their food…
All joking aside, this is a decent version of Jollof, we use crawfish powder in other things but I’ve never used it in jollof but I may try it now! You should try to make Efo Riro or Egusi stew next!
As much as I'd love to see it, I doubt he'd make something like Egusi or Okra soup, just cuz the Western palate isn't aligned with those textures but who knows!
I am from Cameroon. Jollof rice not as much as staple for us as it is for our more western neighbors. But here you wouldn't have any type of fried recipe without Maggi Cube. Otoh rarely use cinnamon and nutmeg or butter. I think he started with recipes that are already westernized.
But yes recipes are a base and you make it your own. Would a Nigerian or Ghanaian recognize this as jollof rice? I think they would.
Edited to add: I commented before watching the full video. Salt and MSG = MAGGI. So yeah he got that right.
@@FutureCommentary1 I’d agree, I’ve never seen cinnamon, nutmeg or butter in Jollof either. And my Mom used Maggi cubes instead of chicken stock as well, which actually provided some msg. However, I do think that this counts as Jollof rice, even if it’s a little extra.
@@ezay8694 I’d love to see some Okra soup. I think Southern US eats a lot of okra
@@noxus7462 I’m pretty sure that West African Okra soup is the ur-dish that Gumbo is based from haha
Major props for including 'cleaning as you go' steps. Little adjustments like that make things so much easier for the home cook.
I don't put crayfish in my jollof, but I'm impressed you did. That's advanced level West African seasoning. Lol! Cameroonians also put veggies and meat in our jollof.
Out of curiosity, how does the crayfish compare to bonito? We use bonito A LOT!
Crayfish always give any dish a nice taste and flavour.
I am senegalese and we don't eat Jollof without veggies. Actually we don't even call it ''Jollof''.
@@babsjob8729 What do you call it then?
@@bolanleidowu9435 "Cheb" Jollof is the ancient kingdom of Wollof people
Thank you for going over the not commonly used ingredients, telling us what they taste like, and if they are worth it. I hate seeing recipes on youtube that use uncommon ingredients and then don't explain what they are.
As a Nigerian, this video makes me so happy to see on a Monday. Thank you for making this!
Well, you got the basics figured out 🙌🏾 Jollof is a staple!
Especially with fried meat, plantain, coleslaw and super malt to wash it down!
I just wish the leftovers lasted longer :)
@@EthanChlebowski 100%
@@stephens2322 Could you please elaborate why you wanted to do that ? And why you didn't after all ?
@@stephens2322 Ahh, food purists and gatekeepers, got to hate them.
I made jollof rice last month for the first time and it has easily taken the first place spot of my favorite rice dishes. I cooked my chicken in the sauce too. Yewande has an amazing recipe. Her video is on here, y’all should check it out also.
I was going to name drop her, too!!!
Just the spices will cost me a fortune
It's so cool seeing this 6ake on food I eat so much. The way my family makes it is with a bit more of a drier texture, no butter and in a huge batch that feeds a family of 4 for several days
Are you from Nigeria? My sister just moved to Abuja and says the rice is amazing. Do you have a favorite recipe?
West African cuisine is super under represented. These chefs in school usually only learn French cooking styles and “white food” if we’re going to be honest.
@Gilgamesh D. Florist yh mine too. If it's moist, there's a likelihood that the food will go bad quickly.
@@blurryperson2685 not just west african. Most cultures are underrepresented in the west. Prolly cause white people season their food less or dislike spices
@@bd-fb1ul Racist much? "White people" cook fine, thanks. Why even bring race into it? There are white Mexicans, white Africans, white Asians... skin color shouldn't even be brought into the discussion.
As a Nigerian and long time subscriber, this video makes me happy. Thank you for showcasing our food to the world
*cough* Nigerian jollof is the best *cough*
Cough nope cough
Senegal (best and original)
Don't start a war😂 @Mikelo
Cough, cough, agree!
And now, the comments section is officially in a state of war 🤣🤣🤣
I appreciate how you always give credit to the authors and recipes that inspired you, especially with dishes from other cultures and parts of the world. Keep up the great work.
As a Nigerian and a cook myself (and a lover of jollof rice😋), I just want to say a big thank you for trying out the recipe! It looks soo good and I'm all for people making/trying out foods foreign to them. I'm about to start a food RUclips channel (about me basically cooking majorly foreign dishes) and your channel is really encouraging me 🙌🥰
I’m Nigerian living in Nigeria and I’m loving this recipe. That Jollof looks DELICIOUS
Ethan you totally killed it 👏🏾 as a Nigerian this made me happy to watch. I personally don’t add cinnamon, coriander, crayfish, cupeb pepper or nutmeg to my Jollof rice but now I want to try out of curiosity
would the dish be fine with everything except those spices? I dont have access to them either!
@@tru35kill Yes totally it would! They actually aren’t used traditionally
@@tru35kill many don't use all the seasoning mixtures either they often use mostly Maggi cubes. I think I have seen 3 different techniques on how to make it in my family and a lot don't really take the time to create the flavour by scratch. They have become Maggi addicts lol.
That is because in your curry powder these spices are part of the ingredient. Check the label of your curry powder you would see coriander, cumin. Some contains cinamon some dont
@Tru3Skill If you are using curry powder then there will be no need for the spices except fresh onion and onion powder,fresh garlic and ginger (I said this because I prefer fresh garlic and ginger to the dried one, however, use very little ginger depending on the portion you are Cook Ng or it would over power it). Everything else this content creator used is ok. (I have used cinnamon) don't like it that much the flavor is over powering. I however use a pinch of cloves powder, it is fantastic.
I love how global this channel is! Keep it up Ethan, love learning about different cuisines!
It's a global dish, too. The ingredients are from Africa, America, Asia and Europe.
Variety is the spice of life!
Jollof is such a contentious dish amongst West Africans lol, bold move to feature it on the channel but you passed with flying colours.
So Jollow is like "italian" pasta recipes when it comes to viewer reactions? XD
@@TheMovingEye exactly, but also because every West African country thinks their version is the best.
@@TheMovingEye Honestly the perfect comparison. Just need to add a dash of west African aunties bickering at each other for Jollof supremacy and your golden😩🤌🏿
Edit: Nigeria’s the top of its class btw🤷🏾♂️🇳🇬
@@africancoast Senegal (original)
@@egusisoup1826 Senegal (original)
To those of you making this for the first time, I highly recommend using a splash guard when cooking down the sauce. This stuff splashes up a lot.
Putting fresh onions when the rice is done is something my mother lovessss to do ♥️ Definitely subscribing after this ♥️
I am Nigerian and watching this video made me so happy.
Party jollof is a staple and very delicious too. You did a good job cooking it as well...Well done!
I loved your take on this! I'm Sierra Leonean so we use a different technique to make our rice, we essentially make a stew with meat, bell pepper, scallion, onion, thyme, and maggi cubes as the base and then use the sauce from that stew to make the rice. There's a little more too it but this way you don't have to make the chicken as a completely separate dish.
Also, a tip for those who want this less spicy, you can leave scotch bonnets out of the blended sauce and let them simmer whole with the rice to infuse the flavor without all of the heat. Another thing that I do if I can't find scotch bonnets is add some scotch bonnet pepper sauce (it's like a hot sauce) to the sauce and rice to get some of that heat and flavor. I actually prefer this method because the acidity of the sauce brightens the dish a bit and it's easier to keep a bottle on hand.
Salone we di best
I'll definitely keep this in mind. I'm half Ghanian ethnically however I grew up in South East Asia and never had any contact with my Ghanaian side of my family until I was 18. I never learned food from my country hence why I'm looking up recipes. My family in general don't take heat very well (especially my grandmother) so I'm going to try this dish without scotch bonnet peppers.
@@kurapikakurta3863 if you can, put on or two in but without the seeds because on of the influential flavours is the scotch bonnet, theres something about it
You are a brave man to enter this place Ethan
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what
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wyte pepol don season der kids
Ethan's chicken and Rice hall of fame:
Jollof ✔️
Biryani ✔️
Kabsa/Machbous - Pending
Here's your next one Ethan!
Would love a collab with middle eats and Ethan!!!
Some kind of chicken jambalaya had got to be up there too
I'm down for my next adventure!
This is the comment I was looking for. Please do Machboos\Kabsa, It varies depending on the region, UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Bahrain etc.
Not to mention Lamb Haneeth!!
Ethan, wow. I’m happy to see you making a video about a staple dish that majority of Africans grew up eating. I eat this every week.
I like that you emphasize the clean as you go aspect of this how to video. It's one of the main reasons people don't bother cooking. Once you learn how to stay in that busy body flow and knock every single task as you go you want have to ponder about it later after you're tired from eating.
I was really curious as to what addictive food even meant, but oh dear me, this dish floored me! It's a journey from the sweet peppers to the spice of Habanero. I am inducting this dish to my favorites! There was a subtle similarity to confit byaldi (The Ratatouille ratatouille?) -- anyone else felt that way?
I love that you advocate cleaning the kitchen as you cook! I wish more people (and here I’m thinking specifically of my husband) knew this is the way to do it.
This sounds not too complicated except for the two unusual spices. Its amazing how many cuisines have adopted tomatoes when they are not native to the eastern hemisphere. Thanks man. Sounds delicious.
The recipe also uses rice and spices native to Asia. Goes to show you how dumb the idea of "respecting tradition cooking" is. This dish barely has any ingredients native to Africa and is now an important part of the diet of millions of Africans. I will never understand why some people will get mad by watching foreigners cooking their dishes "wrong".
@@mateusssssss567 I see your point, however I would critique a recipe if it looked like the person didn't do any research before hand. Not the case here, ofc :)!
@@tacefairy That would be fair, for sure
@@mateusssssss567 Jellof comes from the Wolof ethnicity in Senegal they are the originators of the rice, as you can guess this group are Islamic and thus have had trade with Asia for a long time, Nigerians and Ghanaians adopted Jellof but their version is nothing like the original which is closer to Indian Biryani. Point is the natrual Jellof used to be made with only african wild rice and ingredients sourced from north africa trade and western Africa, but as Jellof spread with the religion now most of west Africa eats it in their own way with Nigerians and Ghanaians making theirs look like tomato rice. Outside of West Africa the rice is not eaten though
You could use some fishsauce and maybe liquidsmoke to subsidize the crayfishpowder, bonitoflakes might work as well
Man, so much respect to you
Always wanted to see famous RUclips chefs cook this dish and here you are, you nailed it!
Surely everyone has their own recipes even in the same country
You did great and I appreciate the effort
🇬🇭🇬🇭🇬🇭
I know absolutely nothing about West African cuisine but I would love to see more of it!
Love how you incorporate opportunities for kitchen clean-up. Because, that's the reality.
I really like the style of your presentation. In 8 minutes you talked through the ingredients, pointed out and explained the more unusual ones and walked us through the whole process at a nice pace. Appreciate the moments of washing up as you wait too! Excellent video
Love that you give credit to where you get recipes from! Shows confidence and integrity. Cheers
I have Nigerian coworkers. They pronounce it more like JULL-OFF with the emphasis on "off". For events and potluck lunches people like them to bring coconut-rice, which is also a savory, flavored rice dish cooked with coconut milk. Maybe that would be a future video for our good man Ethan. Thanks for your great content. Please keep up the good work.
I do really love how you factor in people's lifestyle into your videos. Mentioning cleaning time etc, really helps just visualise how I'd have this in my cooking rotation!
I grew up eating this dish and I still make it from time to time. This is a really nice version of it.
I love that the “taste test” section was more like a “let's eat this dish” section. 😂😂😂 Your dish looks amazing! My mom is great at making jollof rice and I love when she makes it every time. 😋
I was like that is one hell of a taste test. Half the food is already finished!
Ethan is introducing us so many dishes from every continent and country! Keep it going Ethan!!!
I went to Senegal a few years back and had Jollof rice the version I had more large chucks of vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes, onions, celery. And a whole fish that was scored deeply on the sides and fried that was add to the Jollof towards the end of cooking the rice so the flavors in the rice and vegetables would mend with the whole fish. It was very spicy had lots of flavor depth, and the large pieces of vegetables with the rice and the fish was so good. The served it with a fresh French baguette to sop up all the juicies and wipe the tray clean in front of you as you all ate from the same large tray. It was an experience I will never forget. The trip, the cuisine and the gracious of the people. And like you said everyone has their own family version each with a slight twist or variation that made it their own yet all similar. I remember the most was the scent of magic bouquet browning sauce wafting from the kitchen early in the mornings as they prepared meals for the evening as they used it most of their cooking including their Jollof.
Senegal's the original
Thieboudienne! The queen of rice dishes :)
That is where the food originated from. And as I Ghanaian growing up jollof rice was made with chopped carrots and beef in it all together. I have tried the Senegalese and must say it's really good. The Nigerians got to know about jollof rice during the 80s migration of Ghanaians to Nigeria and Nigerians also migrating to Ghana in recent years. Everyone cooks it differently with different spices for preferred tastes.
@@naturalbeauty_abena1230 Did you try it with the fermented shell fish? That's really the secret ingredient. One of the things that makes it very different to the other versions. I've also tried the Ghanian version in Ghana and it was the best I've had outside of Senegal. As it travelled from Senegal, it was definitely simplified. The whole origin argument is crazy to me though, its as if people started saying Banku was from Senegal lol
My dude! We worked together at Deloitte before you left. Keep up the great work with the channel! And love to see my people's food being featured. You did a great job with it!
I love the way he cleans everything during the cooking time, tidy kitchen I like.
I had a Nigerian friend and she cooked this amazing tender peppery beef and rice dish...she would never tell me how to cook it myself.
Imagine having a friend
> she would never tell me how to cook it myself
> *had* a Nigerian friend
If the rice and sauce were served separately, then it's most likely rice and beef stew.
@@strawberrydaddy8704 yeah I think it was, but it was really delicious
What happened to your friend
Gave this a try this morning. As a chef myself, I love exploring new cuisines. Sauce came phenomenal. Rice smells outstanding and the crispy chicken is just top notch. Well done Ethan and well done West Africa for this Creation
Cooking jollof rice with crayfish is the best thing ever for me. Well done chef. 👍
THIS CULTURAL APPRECIATION DONE RIGHT. I LOVE THAT YOU SHOUT YOUR SOURCES. To up the ante add in some history too. I LOVE your content even more now.
This makes me happy. Born in South Africa, but my parents are Ghanaian so I’m more familiar with West African dishes. This and fufu was my favorite growing up.
I hope you try fufu!
Made some today and MAN, it's like food equivalent of crack! Picks you right up and is dangerously addictive!
For something so good it's really simple, so it'll definitely be a regular in my recipe catalogue.
You did good, and I love that you got inspo from both Nigerian and Ghanaian versions 😍
I gotta say, that was probably the best RUclips video I've seen months, perhaps honestly I have ever seen. It was just so, wholesome and informative and actually effective instructional and chill and relaxed and formal at the same time! Man dude, I have to thank you!
Hi Ethan, just wanted to hop on a recent upload of yours to say I really enjoy your channel! You've taught me so much, I feel like I'm a much better cook thanks to you.
Keep it up man!
Agreed! He has saved me so many times when I didn't know what to cook. :)
Glad to hear it, thank you!
thanks for bringing attention to this dish. love the enthusiasm to shine a light on dishes from all over the world. your channel has matured incredibly over the years & i think you've really hit your niche now
Crayfish in the spice mix, yes, that works for the West African flavor library. But I was intrigued by the inclusion of cinnamon which is not a traditionally West African spice. That’s more North African. I feel your technique is otherwise textbook. This is the way I have taught others to make jollof for years, right down to the final folding in of the onions and the butter ( and butter is not a traditional Nigerian ingredient either, but it still works😉). Thank you so much for your excellent presentation.
A lot of Nigerian cooks online have been adding butter to their jollof rice lately to add richness to their Jollof.
My American husband has jollof rice figured out too. Thanks for honoring our dish. Very ingenious.
I was skeptical but I liked how you synthesised two African cooks to come up with your own respectable recipe which turned out leagues better than whatever Jaime Oliver was doing. Good stuff
I love his sincere enthusiasm and open-minded approach!
I love how he was low-key sweating from the spice at the end there. 😆
Concisely and respectfully done sir. 👍🏻
I see what you did right there 😂😂😂 , a blend of Nigerian and Ghanaian styles, so you don't get called out.
Well done, you nailed it
Love seeing the variation in the cuisines you cover
Jollof rice was the first West African dish I ever cooked and it is seriously incredible.
Considering how much I love biriyani and jambalaya, this is next on my list to make! I think NYT just did a Jollof Rice recipe too.
You won’t be disappointed!!
I love that you feature a variety of cuisines. Too many channels only mostly feature Italian and European foods.
As a Ghanaian, I approve this recipe🔥
Most every Food RUclipsr references other chef's writings and videos. Very few credit their source material. Ethan, you give me faith in my species and remind me that doing the right thing is not that hard, and means so much.
As someone who just found out he was gluten intolerant a couple of months ago, I've been begging a coworker for her Jollof Rice recipe since she's from Senegal, but she's been constantly putting off actually giving it to me.
This is the perfect timing for you to post this
She would cook it completely differently to this being from Senegal
@@suddieparry3940 Probably, and it would probably be absolutely delicious
But a recipe I have access to is much better than one I don't
Even though you’re almost at a million subscribers, your channel is so incredibly underrated. Love everything you do man!
As a foodie you always had my attention.
But as a West African now you have my attention!
🧐🤪🧐🤪
I made this recipe and it turned out great! But I’m more of a high protein person and try to eat less carbs, so the next day I used this recipe to make Jollof pork (the same way I make carnitas), and it turned out AMAZING! Thank you for this recipe!!
All other versions are simplified versions of the original Senegalese one (Kingdom in Senegal called Wollof or Jollof). It's a shame that it doesn't get the respect it deserves but I'd really recommend you check it out. Its very complex and can take hours which is why others cut corners with technique and ingredients. They use fermented shell fish for the umami and the rice is cooked in the pot that the meat was browned in (among other differences). The name is thieboudienne in Senegal
To get the respect, your people need to showcase it by doing more RUclips videos with English subtitles. So it's your fault for not promoting it yourself. Don't wait for the white man to do it for u!
Thank you for your patronising comment. A simple search would have shown you that there are literally tons videos of black west African cooks demonstrating this exact dish. Not quite sure why you think anyone is waiting for the white man but clearly that’s your racist assumption. What you should question is why many people don’t pay any attention to the authentic cook, until a white man makes it? No hate at Ethan, he is very respectful, unlike this comment.
@@misspiggy3606 Before we react to someone's comment out of displeasure, we should pause and realize that it's not worth it. People are in all types of states of mind. different experiences, different views, different interpretation of things, etc. so take it lightly. don't spend your energy on comments you don't like. don't have a bad day because o f that. Heck some people even turn off comment for their videos. now that's a great idea. if a comment is very important, commenter can find out how to email the youtuber
@@misspiggy3606 a comment can come as praise to one and admonition to another. it's not one size fits all cos we will all interpret things based on our history, experiences, observations, etc. not "waiting for he white man to do for you" is targeting those who belief only the white man can promote, explore, invent etc. there a people who have that inferiority complex. so if they are part of a group where the dish is from, know that the comment is targeting them, to wake them up and not targeting a white man. you will not understand cos everybodys' background is different. it's not patronizing at all but that's your perspective
As a white former farm kid from MN I can attest Jollof is super great but Maafe is even better!! It’s a peanut stew over rice and I’d highly highly recommend anyone interested to try!!
First time I tried to make jollof rice it was all going great until it was time to put it in the oven. You see I had two sets of almost identical lids, one went into the oven, the other not. You can see where this is going. A loud bang came from the oven and my jollof rice was full of glass. In the end I settled for take out. I think it's time I try it once again, sans the glass this time.
I feel your pain. Not jollof, but I've had this happen to me once before, such a bummer!
The oven thing is quite unorthodox, I've only seen it on American recipe videos like this one. From my experience (I'm Nigerian), the orthodox method is leaving it on the hob until the water/stock has finished boiling through the rice. This is the hardest part cos it's easy to either burn or overcook the rice.
@@africancoast Is there a trick to knowing when the water finished evaporating, so I catch it before it starts burning? 😅
@@Lior621 Just trust the ancestors and you should be fine
As a Nigerian-American, this makes me so happy!
I love it when Ethan introduce an ethnic food with a presentation that doesn't feel too "intimidating". Totally simple once you get all the spices ready!
You shouldn’t be eating a thing foods if their authentic presentation is “intimidating”
What is ethnic is a matter of perspective. For Africans, hot dog is an American ethnic food. All foreign food is ethnic to a native :)
Hey thanks for spreading the word about jollof rice. Finishing it off in the oven is a great method of cooking the rice evenly
Ghanaians and Nigerians have entered the chat
I appreciate that Ethan takes consideration of how many dishes you may have to clean after you make any of his recipes. I hate making a dish and I have to clean 40 pans.
I have a small suggestion - Char the stuff prior to you adding to the blender. That smoky touch really elevates the dish. And always remember to season well! :)
I’m going to give your recipe a try reallly soon..
I would use a regular frozen mixed vegetables and add them with the sauce to the rice before throwing in the oven.
Senegalese version uses carrots and cabbage. They cook it kind of separaty and serve on the side.
Omg Ethan! I just left a comment on your kitchen island video, and just saw this one now. As a Nigerian, I appreciate you venturing into this.
Very proud of you
Hi Ethan. I am a retired professional cook who discovered your channel a while ago, and I just love it. There is so much trash on RUclips, where I find that people have no idea what they are talking about to the point where it is laughable. I won't mention any names, but some of them are very well known, and honestly I don't know how they got where they are. Your's is so much better and it is so good to see that you do research and actually test your recipes before you enter the spotlight.
I am wondering about that burner that you used in this video. I know you bought an induction burner a while ago, but this does not look like it. Can you tell me anything about that burner? I also am experimenting with induction, and I still have not made up my mind whether I like it or not. I can tell you that I warped one perfectly good stainless steel pan on there right off the bat. I should have started on a lower setting. I am anxious to know about this burner you have just used.
Please keep up the good work, and ignore any and all negative comments. Cheers to you.
Looks like he's using the Breville|Polyscience control freak.
@@airwilliam24 Yes, and I thank you. I did a search and did find it. It's extremely expensive, and I don't have the confidence in induction heating to shell out that much. The one I am using was only a hundred bucks.
I would suggest adding and rice to the pan after you flip the chicken, stir add the sauce and stock and then in the oven. That way the chicken slowly braises briyani style.
Fun fact, thanks to Jollof, we have paella in Spain
Really? What is the connection? Interesting because I thought Paella might be related to something from North Africa or the Middle East, but worth the pepper and tomato base, this makes sense.
Well, it all began when rice started being cultivated in Spain in the 1200's. Rice crops were usually associated with many diseases so many workers on said crops were African slaves.
It was then the mixture of how rice dishes were prepared in Spain with meat stocks and seafood with African recipes which contained many spices and pepper what helped to create what it's typical Paella.
@@nonononoway505 thank you for the information.
Oh wow 😲
@@nonononoway505 I didn’t knew it but I ate paella before and it was really good but I could help to make a comparison with Jollof/tcheboudine and how similar it was now I know why !
Starting to become one of my favorite food channels. I’m glad you’re about to hit that mil!
I bought the pepper AND crayfish to try this! Thank you Ethan! The smell of the crayfish is very similar to katsuoboshi (smoked dried fish for miso soup). Thoughts?
I worked in Liberia more than 30 years ago before the civil wars. I miss this disk and palm butter and chicken.
Wished I had learned how they cooked it when I was living there.
But now I will try it thanks to your inspiration.
I never thought I would see the day that you cooked jollof rice! Looks good too! haha wow.
Hey Ethan! I just made this Jollof rice following your recipe (which I had to twist a tiny bit for I didn't have everything in my cupboards) and it was a huge success. We ate it for our iftar (the meal we eat for breaking our Ramadan fast) and all the family enjoyed it very much. Thanks a lot for this recipe and for your show.
Love your take on the best of world cuisine. You should try Moroccan couscous and beef & prune tagine :)
Prune tagine! That sounds so interesting; I'd love to find a recipe and try that!
P.S. couscous and beef absolutely rocks!
Made this tonight after receiving a shipment of shrimp powder and cubeb pepper corns from Amazon. Wow! Very tasty. Made the chicken too, but boneless and skinless. Good accompaniment! Thanks Ethan for another delicious recipe to add to the rotation.
Try East Africa
PILAU dish it's Delicious served it with (Tomato and onion salad)
💙
As a Nigerian lol
You nailed it 💯
I also add a pinch of crayfish powder to my Jollof recipe. Thanks for featuring this on your channel
Never heard of that, but would totally want to eat a ton of it!
Well that's because it's African
Your channel specialises in eastern European dishes
@@woodonfire7406 Yeah I guess. :D
Yewande’s recipe is my go to. It’s more work but it’s worth it. Every time I’ve made it it’s been phenomenal. Going to give yours a try though. Great video!
If you want your jollof to taste even bette go get some maggi seasoning cubes.
MSG.
@@FutureCommentary1 you can balance it out with a big pot of rice… this isn’t really a single serving dish
@@newfury8078 I meant he used MSG which is the same flavorwise as using Maggi (Salt + MSG). I guess he doesn't want to promote a specific brand.
@@FutureCommentary1 ahh okay! Ty for clearing that up
Thank you for this amazing recipie! I tried it two days ago and it was incredible, though I didn't have cubeb tail pepper and crayfish powder. My friend who has had it before loved it. I'm making more now and with a twist. You got yourself a new sub.
Ngl - I pretty much eat Jollof rice cold when I am at my parent's house
The best version of jollof rice is the ones at African party’s don’t matter where you from they all delicious
I feel like diced onions would do better here. There's just something off about taking a bite of rice and feeling a string of onion hanging out the side of your mouth lol.
The amount of work you put into your video (with the description, research, etc) is truly remarkable. Kudos to you sir you gained a fan!
Hey Ethan, I can already smell the spices from here. This seems to be a pretty good recipe but one thing I noticed is you use Indian bay leaves (tej patta) but in your recipe and the way you call them in the video is just bay leaves. I thought your followers might mistake them with laurel, European bay leaf which has nothing to do with what you used. Sorry, I’m just a spice aficionado like yourself and thought it’s worth a mention.
I typically use laurel bay leaves in my jollof rice, so the type of bay leaf doesn't make a huge difference in this recipe.
@@mizbisi true, it’s up to personal taste I guess. Indian bay leaves would have a stronger cinnamon aroma.
Thanks Ethan for featuring this dish. I made a lot of friends from cooking jollof over in europe. By the way, i would suggest roasting the peppers, tomatoes and onions for 20 minutes in an oven. It gives extra smoky flavor. And also adding the chicken/beef broth to the mixture.