Ingredients
Cassava
- 3 kgbitter cassava root
- clean water, for soaking and rinsing
Wrapping
- marantaceae or banana leaves
- raffia strips or kitchen string
Directions
- Peel the cassava, taking off the brown bark and the pink layer beneath it, and cut out the woody cord running through the centre of each root.
- Cut into chunks, cover completely with cold water in a plastic or earthenware vessel, and leave at room temperature for 3 to 5 days, until a piece crushes easily between finger and thumb.
- That soak is the detoxification and not a softening step. Bitter cassava holds cyanogenic glycosides, and the days of soaking and fermenting are what break them down and carry them off in the water.
- Drain and discard every drop of the soaking water, then rinse the cassava through three or four changes of clean water. Never cook in it and never reuse it.
- Pound or mash the softened root into a paste, then press it through a sieve or wring it in a cloth to take out the fibres.
- Cook the sieved paste in a dry pot over a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it stiffens and pulls away from the sides.
- This first cooking is what separates chikwangue from the simpler wrapped cassava breads. It gelatinises the starch, so the second cooking sets it into a dense sliceable loaf rather than a crumbly one.
- Turn the hot paste out and knead it while it is as hot as you can bear, which makes it smooth and elastic.
- Soften the leaves briefly over a flame, then wrap portions into tight parcels about 15 cm long, tying them firmly at both ends.
- Steam or boil the parcels for 1 hour, keeping them fully submerged if you are boiling them.
- Cool completely in the wrappers, where they firm up and keep for several days without refrigeration, which is exactly why they travelled.
- Serve sliced, with grilled fish, saka-saka or a groundnut sauce.
Technique
- Soak, sieve, cook twice. The double cooking is the distinguishing step and it is what gives the loaf its density.
- The paste should smell distinctly sour before it is wrapped. That sourness is the fermentation having done its work.
- Cooked and wrapped, it was the travelling bread of the Congo basin long before refrigeration existed.
Substitutions
- Ready-made cassava paste from an African grocer, already soaked and sieved, which removes the four-day wait.
- Baking parchment inside foil if leaves cannot be found, at the cost of the leaf scent.
Variations
- Bobolo, the Cameroonian version, rolled thinner and cooked once.
- Miondo, thinner again and boiled briefly.
- Water fufu, the unwrapped version eaten straight from the pot.
History
Cassava soaked for days until fermentation removes its cyanogenic compounds, then pounded, wrapped in leaves and steamed into a keeping loaf.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chikwangue?
Chikwangue is a salad & side from Republic of the Congo: tangy fermented cassava loaf steamed in leaves. Cassava soaked for days until fermentation removes its cyanogenic compounds, then pounded, wrapped in leaves and steamed into a keeping loaf.
How long does Chikwangue take to make?
Chikwangue takes 1 hr plus 4 days soaking of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 loaves. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Chikwangue?
Yes, within limits. Ready-made cassava paste from an African grocer, already soaked and sieved, which removes the four-day wait. Baking parchment inside foil if leaves cannot be found, at the cost of the leaf scent.
What is the most important thing to get right in Chikwangue?
Drain and discard every drop of the soaking water, then rinse the cassava through three or four changes of clean water. Never cook in it and never reuse it.
