Monday, June 29, 2015

Suya - An Appetizer That Leaves You Wanting More...


Growing up, my cousin and I will always look for ways to run out of the house at night just to buy Suya. If we are unable to sneak out, we become very creative with our lies just so we can buy suya that night.

Suya is a popular appetizer/snack in Nigeria. It is usually made from Beef, however, you can substitute the red meat (Beef) for white meat like Chicken. If buying from the Mallams alog the road, they serve Suya with lots of onions and then sprinkle the Suya spice. It is also wrapped in a newspaper or any paper they have. Suya restaurants serve differently from the way the Mallams serve it along the road side. At the restaurant, the Suya is garnished with tomatoes and onions and the spice is sprinkled on the suya meat. It is paired with Palm wine, Red wine or Beer. Trust me, you can never go wrong if served in this manner.

Now that we know a little history about Suya, Get your aprons ready because we are about the have fun.


Suya Recipe


  • 21/2 lbs of Beef 
  • 1/2 lbs of Chicken 
  • 1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice
  • 15 Wooden Skewer 
  • 1 Large Foil Pan
  • 2 Onion Bulb
  • 1 Large Red Bell Pepper
  • 1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper
  • 1 Large Orange Bell Pepper
  • 1 Large Green Bell Pepper
  • 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Cup of Suya Spice


  1. Soak the wooden skewer in water for about 30 minutes. Cut the Beef into thin fillets. Wash the Beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Put the meat in a bowl, sprinkle salt  and add the lemon juice. Use your wooden spoon and mix evenly so that the lemon juice and salt is evenly distributed to all the meat. 
  2. Now use the skewer to thread each beef and chicken fillet as seen on the picture below. Put the threaded beef and chicken in a foil pan and cover with foil sheet. You can put in the foil pan in the freezer or you can leave it out on the kitchen counter to marinate. Either way, the fillet still gets marinated. Leave for 3 hours. 
     
  3. Heat up the grill. Take 3 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and add knorr for taste and using a glazing brush to mix thoroughly. Glaze each fillet that you are about to grill with the lemon sauce. After glazing, put the glazed fillet on the grill. 
  4. After 15 minutes, flip the fillet to roast the underside as well. The length of time you'll roast each side depends on how thick the fillets are. So total roasting time for both sides of the beef is 45 minutes for the Chicken and 50 minutes for the beef fillet. Turn the fillet every ten minutes, so it so not burn.
  5. Chop the bell peppers and onions and set aside. Take the properly grilled fillet and chop it up on a chopping board. Garnish with bell peppers and onions and dont forget to sprinkle the sprinkle the spice on the suya. Serve with a Glass of wine or a bottle of beer. 
  6. A picture of my sister. Chioma Nwogu, enjoyng the suya. She was really impressed and wanted more. LOL. Her facial expression though.

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