For someone who frequents super markets just to get an eyeful of the day’s fresh fish, it is a wonder why this post didn’t come sooner.

I love eating fish, and I love making it. When cooked to fluffy perfection and coupled with the right richness of sauce, you might just pick up on the faint and distant sound of heavenly harps and violins.

Seeing as I’ve been craving and obsessing over suya a lot lately, writing up my attempt to reproduce it seemed like the next logical thing to do.

In case you wondered, suya is a West African kebab-esque treat made by grilling thinly sliced skewered meat that has been rubbed with a nutty spice blend. It’s usually then served with a few diced tomatoes, maybe some onion slices, and a generous serving of suya pepper.

I don’t know what you spent your Christmas break eating, but I ate egg stew. Bowls and bowls of egg stew. Honestly, I blame Mr. Gebert (a.k.a Chef). Not only did he give in to my repetitive egg stew requests, but he did so so delectably, with each egg more succulent than the last – he was practically begging me to want more.

Then he’d go on to serve it with fried (baked on healthy days) plantain – you see what I mean? Beg-ging-me.

It’s been a while since my last post, but what better way to bounce back than with a few puffy bites?

Puff puff, another popular Nigerian snack, is what’s on the table. Fluffy on the inside and a tad bit crispy on the outside – provided you get it straight out of the oil – it’s a beignet-esque treat that is usually coated in sugar at the final stage of its preparation for added sweetness. But not today. Today we’ll be finishing up this little snack with a lot more sweetness and a delightful dose of je ne sais quoi.

I like stuffing things. Foodwise. Perhaps it’s the excitement of knowing that there’s a little treat tucked away in the center of something that already looked yummy to begin with. Or perhaps it’s the greed in me that just wants to gobble up anything rocking that swollen look. (Hmm. Probably the latter).

Either way, whenever there’s an opportunity to stuff, I get stuffin’. Which is why today’s dish excites me so…

So my sister called me out last time for describing a succulent oxtail component to my Stuffed Plantain Nuggets and never actually making it. For those of you who may have shared her thoughts – and her insults – I have a ludicrously tender peace offering.

Oxtail – in case you missed the bold header – is on the menu today. Slowly cooked until it comes sliding off the bone. And to coat this luscious meat, I’ve come up with a very creamy and very spicy tomato stew.

Chin chin – a popular fried dough snack in Nigeria – is one of those things I’ve been shoveling down since I was old enough to replace Cerelac with oxtail stew. And although in its original state it’s pretty darn satisfying, I’ve often felt that as great a snack as it is, there’s got to be something that can be done to boost its awesomeness.

Now before I’m bashed from all sides by Chin Chin Anonymous, let me make this clear. I’m not saying that chin chin isn’t great. I’m simply trying to see if it can be greater.

Who doesn’t love nuggets? I mean really. Whether stuffed with chicken, beef, or that thing you found in your fridge (I don’t judge), we just can’t seem to get enough of the stuff. But what if you could shake things up a bit? Say you could replace that breaded outer layer with something a little more sweet and suave…like a plantain? I think we might be on to something – but hold on. I’m not quite finished. Now imagine that sweet plantain layer wrapped around something as juicy and tender as little chunks of slowly cooked and perfectly seasoned oxtail. Yup.

As tender as you’re thinking. Next, dip that golden ball of goodness into a portion of spicy stewed tomatoes. Now take a bite…did you get that? The contrast between the sweetness of the plantain and the spiciness of the sauce? The increase in tenderness as you sunk deeper into the bite, from plantain to fall-off-the-bone oxtail? What’s life without a pleasure like that, right?