Whole GUINEA FOWL Stew in Africa!! MOST REMOTE Village Food in Côte d'Ivoire!! 🇨🇮

I'm in very Northwestern Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa and today we are visiting some extremely remote villages to taste some of the lesser-known foods oh that chili is the real deal hey everyone hope you're having an amazing day it's Mark Wiens I'm in Cote d'Ivoire also known as Ivory Coast and if you're just joining me on this journey we are traveling all the way around the country eating some of the most unique and delicious Local Foods so tasty and they put everything once it's cooked they put it here on the roof keeps hot in the sun yesterday we made our way up the west side of the country we had some incredible food we saw the remarkable once in a lifetime stilt dances and then we had a feast in ojine for dinner oh yeah today we are in the very remote and really unexplored extreme North Western corner of the country and we're visiting two Villages today to eat some extremely unique dishes some of the Specialties of the region you're not going to want to miss any of it [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] I haven't seen in over 30 years since I was well I was a young guy so today we are in San Jose my father's Village and uh that's north of Virginia where we're gonna have some Village food we're starting in San Jose and then the next stop will be uh kotula which is my mother's Village good to be back home [Music] tomorrow [Applause] yeah wow this is incredible this is the welcome welcome song and dance to just walk across to the Village it's so special wow what a celebration entrance that was that was extraordinary and they're pounding some of the Locust means with that yellow pulp pounding off that yellow pulp to get to the beans the seeds on the inside I think the little village is coming here thank you wow more dancers have arrived I don't think they get a lot of visitors in this area so this is something that they hold of such high regard and high respect the way they treat visitors the hospitality is remarkable [Applause] this is this is an overdose of senses so much going on fascinating so they could like sing they might sing all day yeah they can sing for me they're singing all day because you're you're like you've been gone for so long Yeah well yeah the last I think my mother told me that the last time you came here was like when I was like two or three wow yeah so it's been a while all right all right yeah yeah man yeah welcome what a welcome you are welcome what a culture we're stepping into this hunt here to get started cooking there's some fish it looks like tilapia but one of the main things they're making is local guinea fowl which is fresh I think the entire Community has gathered what a welcome [Music] they're gonna start removing the feathers with hot water [Music] thank you so she's making this like porridge over here with perfect beads okay here's the guinea fowl outside they're just burning off the the feather tips now man this is about as authentic and as real as you can get it's so special such an honor to be here and for a lot of the kids for a lot of the people in this area I mean they don't get visitors very often especially visitors that are filming like this and so it's really uh um something that they're they're curious about and that's why there's so many kids their curiosity they're just beautiful [Music] [Applause] so when she has those perfect little pellets everything is even sized then she drops them into hot boiling water to boil oh so this is all going to go into the porridge limes tamarind oh yeah okay the lime juice goes in okay Tamarind goes in [Applause] thank you the weather is heating up the sun is intense here um but the guinea fowl goes on and she's chopping up some Tomatoes some eggplants and some onions to go in it oh she puts everything in whole without slicing them actually [Music] [Applause] oh you can help him out in the kitchen the fish is fried gumbo okay that's uh okra and eggplant in there okay what is that that's it oh it just made into a paste or something a little bit of salt this is another form and shape of the locust bean I think it's been already pounded into a paste and in these little little logs she adds in dried salt and dried fish goes in and pounding that down that's going to be for the phonio and that's the main Foundation the starch that we're going to be eating for lunch along with uh the guinea fowl and now she has this vegetable stock that comes from the boiled okra and eggplant and she's getting ready to eat it add the phonio green into that vegetable stock yeah and they put everything once it's cooked they put it here on the roof keeps hot in the Sun Oh What A Move mashing up that okra you can see all of the the gooiness coming out of it and the seeds so this is the locust bean and that that dried fish goes into the the phonio okay pound it into a powder foreign oh and that gumbo is the okra it goes into the the Millet oh and you can smell the aroma of the the locust bean and that dried fish in there as well folds it in with that that okra paste that smells so good and we were doing a little bit more research fonio is a type of local Millet that comes it's a little green from grass and so that's one of the the Staples in this region that's so aromatic and the way they've cooked it down with so many ingredients to create that Aroma and that fragrance and flavor and nutrition as well so from the chicken they they take out all of the whole onions and uh tomatoes and the garlic and the chilies and then she mashes that up into a paste and I think they're gonna re-add that back into the guinea fowl okay foreign okay and so that needs to boil for another 10 minutes I think and then we're gonna be ready to eat oh so first of all Mercy to Mariam for preparing this incredible meal and the guinea fowl is still cooking it's still boiling because she said it's quite tough it needs to boil for a long time in the meantime we're gonna get started on that porridge with the the little pellets with Tamarind and with sugar in here and lime juice as well and you eat it with this like a scooper a Dipper okay um and so this would typically be a breakfast though yes a breakfast dish yes oh man that's really good it's just lightly sweet but it has the nice sourness of The Tamarind and the lime juice and it's thick it's starchy really hearty I like that like combination of mostly sour and a little bit sweet um oh man that's just so easy to eat and so warming and comforting and thick so somebody they had to go get it from the house but typically you'd eat this with a gourd yes so now the gourd has come okay now this is the best way to eat it yeah [Music] oh that's the way oh there's nothing more satisfying than eating from a giant Gordon spoon oh and then the eggplants go on top okay so this is the one with okra oh and the pilipili oh yes oh wow the whole fish so we're gonna begin with the phonio and this is the special fonio that she mixed it in the gumbo which is the the okra with the eggplant with chilies and served with the fish on the side she said like grab a bite first and then you start to mix in with the eggplant and you kind of squeeze it the squeeze technique oh that works great um oh yes that's so crumbly mmm and I think the okra is kind of holding it together otherwise it'd be even like drier but the flavor oh you taste that the locust bean yes that has like a little bit of a fermented soybean almost flavor to it almost a little bit of a Cheesy flavor to it and then the dried fish also adds that kind of depth of flavor as well you can mix in with the eggplant oh that's fried to a absolute crispiness with some of that mashed Mash in with that eggplant squeeze delicious that extra depth of like texture from the eggplant which is so creamy um the crispiness of the fish the Lucas Bean that's what's like powering the whole flavor this is so unique so good I'm gonna go for another bite of that extremely crispy fish this time I'm gonna bite that chili oh yeah oh that is spicy extremely spicy all that chili is the real deal remote local Chili Pepper okay we're moving on to the guineafowl and you can kind of like squeeze a bite squeeze and then dip it into that I'll kind of mix it in with that gravy you want it to be a little bit soupy I think that's hot oh yes oh that's delicious it's spicy it's tomatoey the onion puree all of the seasonings were boiled and then pounded to make that sauce oh man yes that is tasty and it really like absorbs into the phonio I'm gonna go in for the guinea fowl now yeah that is so tasty oh it's tender but it has this bounciness to it um like it's definitely if it wasn't cooked for a long time it would definitely be rubbery because this is natural this is free running around um but that since it's been cooked for so long it's tender but it still kind of bounces back but the flavor oh that's so rich and dark succulent that is a really natural tasting bird almost like a whale like pigeon is so dark and yet it's so natural tasting well that's more of those chilies this is so good yeah thank you thank you for coming thank you for appreciating oh thank you very much extreme Hospitality what a welcome what a what a incredibly special meal the village is like where are they well because they have that Village had so much plan too fonio is great yeah phone your country this is country yeah I love it here mm-hmm merci beaucoup merciful oh that was a an incredibly special meal so unique the ingredients the locust bean and the hospitality the friendliness that was superb thank you Mo and his family for hosting us from here we're moving on to the next Village [Music] oh let's see oh thank you yeah Okay so we've arrived to Moe's mother's Village greeted with some cold water oh that's so refreshing and we're just greeting his family what's the name of this Village yeah yeah and look at all these Puffs they have ready for you wow we're gonna do some beauty beautiful things that's gonna be a lot of food wow look at all the okra all the chilies okay [Music] yes man they're so amazing how they keep the Rhythm and then switch even yeah whoa and they can clap too oh that's incredible just the way they're able to keep the Rhythm and even clap as they pound s mule for dinner tonight it's going to be based on corn so they've got the kernels according which they're just they're smashing it into a powder [Music] as we're cooking some entertainment [Music] for the drummers the drummers have just arrived [Music] again this is just extremely an honor a privilege to be here I think the entire Village has come out there's just so many people here now the kitchen is over here um some of the men are sitting behind here and some of the elders are sitting under that covering over there water what a spectacular experience so all of that chopped okra and look at how many chilies have gone in there that is impressive it's like half ocher half chilies so cool to see the entire Community come together for this meal where everyone is going to eat that was the the corn flour that they pounded into like a very fine powder she mixes it into water almost looks like milky and then pours it into hot water and immediately starts to thicken thank you [Laughter] that looks like palm oil I think [Music] just extremely impressive everything takes a team effort [Music] it's like dried fish I think [Music] yes and everyone's dancing too dancing while cooking [Music] oh I think these are looks like Black Eyed Peas yes so another dish that they're going to be making is they have some bush meat it's a wild rabbit which has been smoked and they're gonna make it with peanuts they do a peanut stew [Music] [Music] going out of jail you know to have been roasted and then they peel the skins [Music] foreign [Music] roasted fresh logo [Music] so the peanuts are pounded the same way until they're I mean it turns into peanut butter the oils come out and then that goes directly she adds water and then it goes directly into the peanut stew and that goes in oh that's gonna be so good man for the peanuts too it's one of my favorite dishes she boils some palm oil onions tomatoes chilies go in and then they freshly roasted the peanuts and then they're pounding them um until it becomes the oils come out because until it becomes a peanut butter and then that goes in [Music] [Applause] that was the most thrilling yeah man that was awesome one of the most beautiful dances I've ever seen thrilling this is thrilling yes oh skills [Music] this is the cassava the cassava dough which is ready now [Music] five dances later back to the okra and she's hand blending it into a sauce and okra sauce foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] they're serving everything out it's time for the feast this is one of the the greatest cultural celebrations of food culture dance people that I have ever seen oh man dinner is served and I've been dressed in the local clothing for the feast all the food is laid out this is a celebration of a meal so we're sitting down check out the audience we have for this meal oh and a huge thank you to Moe's mother and the entire Community for coming together for this unbelievable celebration okay let's start with the first dish okay so this one is the pounded corn okay oh it's so smooth all right and this is a Baobab Leaf stew [Music] [Laughter] oh it's so smooth yes and the flavor of that smoked fish and then it's sticky I think from the bad leaf powder that makes it sticky and has this green Aroma to it oh we go for that smoked fish okay this is a awesome catfish oh that's a whole head yeah [Music] let's move on to the okra so this is the same this is the pounded corn yes I'm gonna grab a grab a bite as well oh this one is like kind of firm yes almost like jelly and then you kind of make it into a kind of conform it yeah and then you dip it into the the gumbo this one is the the okra stew with lots of chilies in there yeah oh okay so oh that's so warm oh oh wow that one is good oh that is so tasty the texture of the okra like gooey sliminess the Chili's in there the onions oh it's delicious and I love that corn it just like goes down so easily it's very smooth yeah some of that smoked smoked fish as well yes oh oh and the chili and the chili Pima yes oh oh it feels so good in the fingers [Music] oh that's wonderful but they're smoked fish let's try the next dish sweet potato oh and this is the wild rabbit with the onion sauce yes okay awesome okay I'll just taste that onion the onion tomato mixture first those onions melt in your mouth oh they're so tender the flavor of that palm oil the smokiness of the meat and I love it with that sweet potato too the sweet potatoes will just melt in your mouth now you're gonna taste okay let's move into that rabbit oh yeah okay thank you the smokiness of it yeah it's a little bit like hard and chewy almost like a jerky but as you chew the flavor keeps on coming out the smokiness oh that's natural oh that's really good and that's giving the entire stew so much flavor as well on that smokiness and you washed it down with this okay yeah so this is the old-fashioned water yeah water served in a gourd the traditional way yes okay hahaha [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] [Laughter] oh man because it's they're all laughing at me because I spilled it all over my mouth oh that takes that takes some practice though because it's because it's you have to know when to how hard to turn it yeah [Music] [Laughter] oh that's the most satisfying drink of water ever so this is the same stew with the wild rabbit but served instead with black eyed peas yes all right so we go in again yes mm-hmm I love that version the the fibrousness of those beans are so creamy they've been cooked down until they're just gonna melt well with some more of that rabbit it was smoked that's why the it's kind of hard yeah yeah the rabbit is awesome yes and I love it with those beans those black eyed peas are delicious simple but delicious and that onion sauce just again it just melts in your mouth okay so the next dish this is the futu this is made from the yams right the yams which were boiled yes then pounded and then you eat that together with the peanut stew so thickened there's so much peanuts in here oh wow yeah that's one of the best dishes right there yeah so thick from the peanuts it's spicy the onions the tomatoes in there and the nuttiness of the palm oil as well so thick so rich oh and then you taste the fresh roast of those peanuts which I roasted like over the fire giving them such a intense Smoky flavor yeah dude see that thing okay yeah and grab the chili yeah the chili oh man yeah oh yellow these chilies are dangerous yeah oh yeah those chilies are they're the real deal spicy but so much flavor in them as well they will warm you up that's without a doubt grab a little piece of that rabbit there we go oh wow that's one of the best dishes it's so good put that in there oh they're gonna pour them more palm oil on okay chili powder goes on to the cassava it's another way to eat cassava if we'll go for some of the the cassava next this is the cassava palm oil oh man it's just simple good the real flavor of the palm oil the thick starchiness of the cassava oh sure yeah sure oh man which is quite a scene now everyone joining in for the meal that sweet potato is incredible he's one of the best sweet potatoes I've ever had with that onion palm oil sauce is delicious now everybody wants to show their their eating skills yes Mercy Mercy we've wrapped up today that was one of the most thrilling and educational just cultural food celebrations that I've ever had in my life it was so much going on truly a special memory that I will never forget I want to say a huge thank you to my friend MO from Belco Dubois for arranging everything we went to his parents Villages I'll have his Link in the description box below and also remember to check out all the videos in this series where we are traveling around eating the best food and the most unique dishes in Cote d'Ivoire so thanks again for watching please remember to give this video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it leave a comment below I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed make sure you subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos

Channel: Mark Wiens

Views: 759,702

Keywords: Ivorian food, Ivory Coast, West Africa, African food, West African food, village food, African village food, village in West Africa, West African village food, Ivory Coast village food, Côte d'Ivoire, Africa, best African food, Ivorian street food, street food, food videos

Id: ckLjKz33qao

Length: 36min 40sec (2200 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 15 2023