Exploring the Nigerian Street Food – Sizzling Beef Skewers
Introduction:
Nigerian street food is famous for its mouth-watering taste and aroma. The sizzling beef skewers are one of the most popular street foods in Nigeria, which can be enjoyed as a snack. The following recipe outlines the ingredients and method to prepare this delicious delicacy.
Ingredients:
To prepare the sizzling beef skewers, one needs a kilogram of fillet beef, 500 grams of mixed-color ripe tomatoes, half a red cabbage, half a white cabbage, one red onion, one cucumber, two lemons, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Moreover, for the marinade, one requires ten uda pods, 400 grams of salted roasted peanuts, freshly ground black pepper, onion granules, garlic granules, ground ginger, freshly ground white pepper, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and an organic fish or chicken stock cube. Additionally, one onion, four cloves of garlic, one thumb-sized piece of ginger, one fresh green chili, one fresh Scotch bonnet, and one green pepper and spring onion are needed. For cooking, 32 wooden skewers are required.
Method:
One hour before starting the preparation, soak 32 wooden skewers in plenty of cold water. Then, finely slice the beef and slightly flatten it using the flat side of a knife, and place it on a plate. Cover the plate and refrigerate it until needed.
To make the marinade, use a pestle and mortar to bash the uda pods and discard the seeds. Next, place the pods into a liquidizer with peanuts and spices. Add a crumbled stock cube, then blitz the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes to a rough powder. While stirring the mixture occasionally, transfer the ground spices to a large bowl. Peel and roughly chop onion, garlic, and ginger. Trim and deseed the chilies and peppers and roughly chop them. Add all the chopped ingredients to the liquidizer and blitz until the mixture becomes smooth. Then, transfer the mixture to the bowl containing ground spices and stir well. Turn the beef in the marinade until it is well-coated, and thread 4 to 5 slices of beef onto each soaked skewer. Place the skewers on a tray, cover them, and marinate them in the fridge for approximately three hours.
For the salad, finely slice the tomatoes, shred the cabbage, slice the onion and cucumber, and place them into a large bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the bowl and mix the ingredients well.
Preheat a large griddle pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle a little olive oil over the skewers and place them on the griddle for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they become golden and gnarly. Turn the skewers regularly while cooking. Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil, then serve them with the salad and extra lemon wedges for squeezing over.
Conclusion:
The sizzling beef skewers are a delicious and popular street food in Nigeria. The recipe involves marinating the beef in a flavorful mixture of uda pods, peanuts, and spices, and then grilling it until it is golden and gnarly. The accompanying salad, made with tomatoes, cabbages, onion, cucumber, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil, enhances the taste and nutritional value of this dish.
