Liberia

A thick, dark-green West and Central African stew built on thoroughly pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked in palm oil with meat, dried or smoked fish, and aromatics until the leaf mass collapses into a cohesive, deeply savory sauce.

A Liberian everyday staple of parboiled rice cooked in one pot with red palm oil and okra until the okra's mucilage coats every grain, finished with smoked fish or smoked meat that seasons the dish from within.

A Liberian everyday stew of collard greens or wild leafy greens slowly braised in palm oil with smoked fish, hot pepper, and onion until the oil is fully absorbed and the greens are deeply tender.

A plain, dry‑steamed short‑grain rice dish cooked with minimal water and served as a staple alongside stews in Liberia.

A Liberian staple of boiled cassava pounded in a mortar until it forms a dense, smooth, elastic mass, eaten by hand as a neutral starch vehicle for soups and stews.

Whole river or sea fish seasoned with hot peppers and salt and deep-fried crisp, a ubiquitous Liberian street and home staple.

A smooth, stretchy, elastic dough made by pounding boiled starchy staples — typically cassava and unripe plantain — into a cohesive, lump-free mass, served warm alongside soup or stew and eaten by hand.

A West African non-alcoholic refresher of freshly grated ginger steeped with pineapple, lime and sugar in water.

A Liberian stew of finely chopped bitter greens or collards simmered with palm oil, smoked fish or meat, onion and chili until thick.

A rich, slow-simmered West African soup in which roasted groundnut paste dissolves into a thick, savory body around bone-in meat or poultry, anchored by fresh tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers.

A West African one-pot dish in which parboiled long-grain rice is cooked entirely inside a blended, fried tomato-onion-pepper base until the liquid is fully absorbed and the bottom layer caramelizes into a smoky crust.

A West African street snack of mashed ripe banana or plantain mixed into a lightly sweetened batter and deep-fried into small fritters.

A West African stew of sliced or grated okra cooked with smoked or dried fish, meat and palm oil into a thick, characteristically mucilaginous soup.

A rich, intensely savory West African soup built on a thick orange-red broth extracted from boiled and pounded palm fruit pulp, simmered with meat or fish, dried crayfish, hot pepper, and often bitter leafy greens.

A fiery, thin, aromatic West African broth built on a signature blend of indigenous spices — principally ehuru, grains of selim, and uziza — in which meat, fish, or offal is simmered until deeply infused.

A Liberian everyday stew of sweet potato leaves (Ipomoea batatas) simmered in red palm oil with dried fish and smoked meat, served over white rice.

A Liberian sweetened rice porridge slow-cooked with coconut and warm spices, eaten as a dessert or breakfast.

Dry-roasted peanuts sold by the cup as a salted or plain street snack across West Africa.