Hilda Bih invited me to her home to teach me how to make peanut butter soup, a Cameroonian dish, which is actually known as groundnut soup.  Peanuts, which is also known as groundnuts, are very commonly found in Cameroon.  Unlike in the US, they’re not used as spreads but instead they’re used in different ways such as sauces for pastas, meats and vegetables and as soups.  Hilda Bih and her personal assistant showed me how to prepare it in their home without electricity.  They normally have electricity, but like anywhere in Cameroon, it can go out from time to time and so, lights just so happened to be out and we had to prepare it in the dark.  The soup was very delicious, and it does have the good peanut butter taste that all Americans love to have on their bread or crackers.  Adding chicken to the soup really made it even more filling.  This recipe makes enough soup for four to six people.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of ground peanuts or peanut butter
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup of ground ginger
• 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of chopped onions
• 1 cup of variety of chopped greens such as celery, parsley and water leaves
• 1/4 cup of shredded dry crayfish (other shredded dry fish can be used)
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1 pound chicken

Direction:

1. Cook the chicken if it has not yet been cooked.
2. Grind the peanuts if they’re not ground.
3. Ground the ginger if it’s not grounded.
4. Cut the tomatoes, onions, and greens into small pieces.
5. Put the oil into the pot and turn the stove on to medium heat.
6. Put in chopped onions.
7. Put in chopped tomatoes and stir the tomatoes and onions with oil.
8. Put in chopped greens and stir the vegetables with the oil.
9. Pour in 1 cup of chicken stock and stir.
10. Pour in the ground peanuts into the pot with the vegetables and chicken stock and stir.
11. Pour in the rest of the chicken stock and stir.
12. Put in the chicken into the soup mix and stir.
13. Pour in a few tablespoons of water if the consistency is too thick.
14. Pour in the dry crayfish.
15. Let the pot sit boiling for about five minutes.
16. Stir for a couple of minutes after boiling.
17. Serve and eat the chicken with your fingers, which is customary in Cameroon.

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