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Shito

Name: Shito
Total time: 60 min
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: Ghana
Ingredients: 50g Dried shrimp; 30g Dried sardines; 2 Onion; 2 pieces Ginger; 4 cloves Garlic; 2 tbsp Chili powder; 2 tbsp Tomato paste; 200ml Vegetable Oil; 1 tsp Salt

Side Dish

⏱ 60 min

👥 Serves 10

Difficulty ⭐

Dried shrimp, chili, and ginger cooked slowly in oil — the dark hot paste essential on Ghanaian tables.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Shito is the hot condiment found in every Ghanaian home, made by slowly cooking dried shrimp, dried fish, chili, ginger, garlic, and onion in lots of oil. Dark and savory, it goes with everything — waakye, kenkey, rice, bread. For Ghanaians abroad it's the taste of home, and many carry jars of it with them.

🌆 Where it's eaten: On a Sunday afternoon, a mother cooks down a big pot of shito, the scent of dried shrimp and chili filling the house as jar after jar is filled.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 10)

Dried shrimp 50g
Dried sardines 30g
Onion 2
Ginger 2 pieces
Garlic 4 cloves
Chili powder 2 tbsp
Tomato paste 2 tbsp
Vegetable Oil 200ml
Salt 1 tsp

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Grind the dried shrimp and dried sardines to a fine powder in a food processor.
Blend the onion, ginger, and garlic into a paste.
Heat the oil in a pot, add the paste, and fry on low for 20 minutes until the moisture is gone.
Add the tomato paste and chili powder and fry 5 minutes.
Add the shrimp and sardine powder and cook on low for 20–30 minutes, stirring so it doesn't burn, until dark.
Season with salt, cool, and pack into jars.

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