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Vegan Shito

Spicy Ghanaian hot sauce made with aromatics and spices that pairs with everything!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Ghanaian
Keyword: hot sauce, shito

Ingredients

  • 8 onions
  • 1.5 cup garlic cloves (roughly 6 bulbs of garlic)
  • 1 cup ginger peeled and roughly chopped (roughly 2 medium-sized ginger roots)
  • 5 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 can tomato paste ( I got the 156ml can)
  • 2 nori sheets
  • 1/4 dried wakame (small dried kelp) (any kelp works here)
  • 1/2 cup dried mushrooms
  • 2.5 tbsp bouillon powder I used the Go natural brands
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp anise seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp cloves
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 cup red chilli powder I used birds eye chillis but cayenne works well
  • 1/4 cup red chilli flakes

Instructions

  • Blend the onions with 1/4 cup of oil till smooth
  • Blend the garlic and ginger together (you can use a little bit of the onion mixture to blend so that you do not add extra water)
  • In a deep pot at medium heat, heat up the rest of the oil. Make sure to not over heat the oil. To check if the oil is hot enough, put the tip of a wooden spoon in the pot and watch for soft bubbles
  • Add in your tomato paste and 2 tbsp of water (the water allows the tomato paste to dissolve well)
  • Once the tomato paste is evenly dispersed, add in the blended onion and mix well
  • When the onion is well incorporated, add in the ginger and garlic mixture. Mix well and let it simmer at medium heat for 45 minutes
  • While the shito is simmering, blend the mushroom and seaweed mix into a powder and set aside. Also blend your whole spices and set aside.
  • As the mixture is cooking, the colour will start to darken
  • After the 45 minutes, mix in the chilli powder, the mushroom and seaweed mix and mix well.
  • Let everything cook for another 10 minutes then add your spices.
  • Once everything has been added, continue to cook the shito at medium heat for another hour
  • You know the shito is ready when it gets easier to stir (i.e the water has evaporated to the shito feels lighter). Also when you hold the spoon up, you will not see little bubbles where the water and oil are mixing.
  • Serve as a hot sauce. PLEASE ALWAYS USE A CLEAN SPOON to take a portion to reduce the risk of spoilage.

Notes

This recipe makes a lot of shito, which usually lasts my family half a year. You are welcome to half or even quarter the number of ingredients for your use. I also have a recipe video for a personal quantity you can check out. It has an adjusted recipe in the description box (click here).