Shito – Ghanaian Hot Pepper Sauce

Shito is a Ghanaian hot pepper sauce made from blended spices, fish, and other seafood. It can be eaten with almost any meal. This makes it a necessity for students as it is easy to store.

how to prepare shito
photo credit @leana_tchamdja

How to preserve shito

Once it is prepared, it can be stored in a jar and doesn’t need refrigeration or reheating to preserve it. Although for it to last longer, you have to make sure there is always enough oil in it. Because oil is what preserves shito.

Also you must not put a wet spoon in it. Always make sure you use a dry spoon. Putting a wet spoon in it can make it go bad sooner than expected. Shito can last for about 3 months if preserved well.

What to eat with shito

Some meals you can eat with shito include, kenkey, waakye, fried rice, jollof rice, gari and others. It makes a great dip for fried foods like spring rolls, fried yam etc.

shito ghanaian hot pepper sauce
photo by @mulunda

How to make shito

Shito is made by blending together some spices, seafood and other ingredients. These include pepper, garlic, onions, chilli powder, powdered shrimp and powdered herrings.

You can add in more pepper if you really want your sauce to be very hot. If you dont want it to be very hot, you can double the tomato paste.

Some people also add some meat and fish to their shito. If you want to add meat or fish, cut them into very small pieces and fry them until they are crunchy and have no water or moisture in them.

When your shito is about done, you can add in your fried meat and fish and keep it on the fire for about 10 more minutes.

Shito requires a lot of oil, so please make sure there is enough oil in your sauce. Once it has cooled, you can transfer the sauce into a jar and store it.

The best Ghana shito recipe

Begin by blending the onions, peppers, ginger, garlic, rosemary, and aniseed all together with just a little water.

Now pour the cooking oil in a pot and give it a few minutes to get hot. Add in your blended ingredients and let it fry till there’s no moisture in it. Moisture in shito makes it go bad early. So fry it till there’s no moisture at all.

Add your tomato paste too and let it fry for about 8 to 10 minutes till there’s no more moisture in it. Add salt and your preferred seasoning to taste.

Now add the chilli powder, shrimp powder, and herring powder and leave it to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. Once it is done, let it cool and then transfer to your jar.

Shito – Ghanaian Hot Pepper Sauce

Shito is a ghanaian hot pepper sauce made from blended spices, fish and other seafood.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Ghanaian
Keyword: ghana hot chilli sauce, ghana shito, hot pepper sauce, shito
Servings: 2 jars

Ingredients

  • 3 cups vegetable oil
  • 3 big onions
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 70 g tomato paste 
  • 1 cup powdered shrimp
  • 1 cup powdered herrings
  • t cup chilli powder
  • 10 scotch bonnet peppers
  • 60 g ginger peeled
  • 1 tbs rosemary
  • 1 tbs aniseed
  • 1 tbs salt

Instructions

  • Blend the onions, peppers, ginger, garlic, rosemary and aniseed all together with just a little water.
  • Pour the cooking oil in a pot and give it a few minutes to get hot. 
  • Add in your blended ingredients and let it fry till there's no moisture in it. 
  • Add your tomato paste too and let it fry for about 8 to 10 minutes till there's no more moisture in it.
  • Add salt and your preferred seasoning to taste.
  • Now add the chilli powder, shrimp powder and herring powder and leave it to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Once it is done, let it cool and then transfer to your jar.

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