A celebration and exploration of Nigerian cuisine through the eyes of a culinary anthropologist.

In her debut cookbook, Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria, Ozoz Sokoh invites readers to join her on a journey of exploration and discovery of Nigerian home cooking. She’s on a mission to make Nigerian food more accessible, showing that although some ingredients and flavour profiles might be unfamiliar, many dishes and techniques are similar to those of other cultures.

“I’m fascinated by the geography of foodways — exploring the ways that we as human beings are connected across cultures and cuisines through the dishes and techniques that we have in common,” says Sokoh, who has spent years working on an atlas of shared foodways on her Feast Afrique website. “I don’t think we realize how similar and, in many ways, the same we are.”

She also wants the world to recognize Nigeria’s distinctive culinary identity. “It’s delicious and it’s vibrant. It has a medley of textures and flavours that are somewhat unusual,” says Sokoh, who references how stews are often served with soft doughs known as swallows (think of them as boiled dumplings). “There’s a lot of depth and deliciousness in the ways ingredients are combined.”

Nigeria’s food culture is as rich and diverse as the people who call it home. Known as the “Giant of Africa,” Nigeria is one of the largest countries with an estimated population of more than 227 million people, with 50 nationally recognized languages and more than 250 ethnicities. The country is split into six regions, each with its own unique and regional offerings of soups, stews, sauces and swallows as well as rice and bean dishes. Nigerians also eat a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, as well as dried and preserved ingredients.

“There’s a lot of diversity and I think of it as a type of cuisine that when you get into it, it can meet so many different needs,” Sokoh says. It also has a rich, fascinating and layered history that even after 16 years of exploring it as a cuisine, I’m still deeply taken with it.”

In Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria, Ozoz Sokoh, top right, celebrates the depth and diversity of Nigerian cuisine. Pictured here: the country’s “mother sauce,” classic tomatoand- pepper stew, and àkàrà — crisp bean fritters with creamy centers, often enjoyed for breakfast with soft Agege bread.

Sokoh, who was born in Warri on Nigeria’s southern coast, didn’t always have the best relationship with food. This was a cause for great concern in her family, as Nigerians show a lot of love through food.

“I don’t understand it and my mom still doesn’t understand it,” Sokoh says. “I just didn’t like food; I wasn’t interested in it.”

It wasn’t until she was nine years old on a family trip to Edinburgh that everything inexplicably seemed to change after eating a hamburger. From that moment on, she began to enjoy her meals and spending time eating and cooking with her family.

Despite her initial rocky start, Sokoh now sees herself as a “Nigerian food explorer, culinary anthropologist and food historian passionate about food in its entirety — cooking, eating, dreaming, researching, writing, photographing and styling it.”

Her journey took a few more twists and turns as she worked for twenty years as an exploration geologist and ended up living and working in the Netherlands. It was there that she began writing her blog, the Kitchen Butterfly in 2008, to document her life abroad. At the time, she was unhappy and didn’t feel fulfilled with her career. Writing the blog provided a lifeline to something better, while reconnecting with her Nigerian roots.

“My children were four, two and zero at the time,” Sokoh says. “I thought they were young and might not remember all the things we’ve done. I wanted to preserve those memories. So, I started writing about things I was learning, people I was meeting and foods I was encountering. I then started cooking Nigerian food.”

This eventually led her to write detailed recipes, as she wanted to ensure she had the correct ratios and timing, since she found that familiar ingredients had different properties and cooking times outside of Nigeria. Along the way, she became smitten with every step of preparing those recipes.

“What I loved about it was that it was layered,” Sokoh says. “I would dream up a recipe, and it would have a story. Then I would plan the shopping, which was always exciting for me. I love grocery shopping. I would write the recipe, often knowing the story before I went into the kitchen. I would then cook and do the photography.”

Sokoh also enjoyed styling the food and often found herself on the hunt for props and treasures, to the extent that she now has a garage full of items that she has been collecting for more than 16 years.

“I was obsessed with the process,” she says. “I wasn’t getting much sleep because I would wait until my children had gone to bed. Then I would start.”

Because she had a full-time job, it meant that one recipe could take a few weeks to complete. However, it was well worth the effort as these tasks were in direct contrast to her job as a geologist. “What I liked,” she says, “was that at the end of this process there was evidence that I had done work. I could see that there was visual evidence. There was belly evidence. And I think it really highlighted for me why I didn’t enjoy my job where you can work on something and put your heart and soul into it and really not see results for 20 years.”

Sokoh named her blog the Kitchen Butterfly to reflect her personal metamorphosis in her relationship with food. “I’ve gone from not eating to eating, to discovery and now this phase of exploration,” she says.

After quitting her day job, Sokoh moved back to Nigeria briefly before deciding to relocate her family to Canada. She continued to write the blog after settling in Ontario and now teaches food and tourism studies at Centennial College. She has also expanded her mission by producing three short films as part of her ongoing research, tracing the histories and edible trails of West Africa and its diaspora through Nigerian ingredients and commodities such as rice, beans, palm oil, okro [okra] and sugar cane. Sokoh, a budding curator who studied Museum and Cultural Management at Centennial College, hopes to have the films installed as part of a museum exhibit.

She also began writing and developing recipes for various social media platforms and food publications. And in 2019, she put all her passion, research and expertise into writing a cookbook that would celebrate everything she loved about Nigerian cuisine.

Chop Chop was released in March 2025 and includes more than 100 classic and traditional Nigerian recipes. But it’s so much more than just a cookbook as Sokoh takes the time to curate the beauty and complexity of Nigeria’s history and food culture. With stunning photography and compelling stories, she takes readers on a fascinating journey that is informative and likely to make them want to “chop” (i.e., eat).

Sokoh has also learned not to use absolutes when it comes to this process. “I know Nigerian cuisine in-depth, but there were many things I learned not to state as blanket ‘all Nigerians do this’ kind of statements,” she says. “That kind of call to care, call to honour and respect deepened this journey.”

She also offers helpful advice on how to approach the recipes in her book. “You should always read the recipe in totality before you begin, familiarize yourself with anything that isn’t clear, and I always do a lot of meal prep to help me along the journey.” These are important tips, as most recipes involve several steps, and advanced preparation — such as making curry powder and tomato stew base — will make all the difference, especially since many recipes use the same foundational spices and sauces.

Readers should also take the time to review the first few chapters of the book, which offer a detailed overview of Nigerian cookery and guidance around techniques and ingredients. The chapter titled “The Store,” which refers to the Nigerian pantry, will be particularly helpful, as it explains staple ingredients and suggests local substitutions. At the back of the book, Sokoh lists several specialty shops and online marketplaces that carry specific Nigerian ingredients and products.

As for what’s next for Sokoh, she laughs and hints that she has a few ideas for other potential cookbooks, but plans to continue her own journey of exploration and discovery while elevating awareness and appreciation for Nigerian cuisine. And as an avid stamp collector and someone who enjoys photography and painting, one of her dreams is to create a series of watercolour paintings of Nigerian fruits and vegetables that will end up as stamps.

Beef Sūya

Sūya is Nigerian street food at its finest — think flamegrilled, nutty, spicy meat cradled in paper with a side of fresh tomatoes, sliced red onions, sometimes fresh Scotch bonnets or habaneros, cabbage, and some extra yajin kuli for dipping.

The dish originated with the Hausa in the north, where the knowledge and mastery of meat is unparalleled. Though sūya is often thought to be meat skewers, it is an umbrella name for grilled or roasted meat. There are two common types: tsire, yaji-seasoned skewered meat cooked over a glowing fire or on a charcoal grill; and balangu (or balango), long strips of meat, often ram, roasted in wet, thick butcher’s paper in a confit of oil, such as groundnut oil. Some popular cuts of beef for sūya include tenderloin (fillet), flank steak, sirloin, blade steak (also known as top blade), round, round top, and, in Nigeria, tozo, a fatty-tender marbled cut from the hump of a zebu (a relative of the American Brahman cattle breed). It is soft, chewy and utterly delicious.

I recently learned — thanks to my friend Hauwa — that sūya is prepared with basic or “normal” yaji and, once grilled, served with a different blend, yajin kuli (also known as yajin tsire, sūya spice or sūya pepper). Growing up in the south of Nigeria, all I knew was yajin kuli and, until recently, I used it both to season and to serve with sūya, but there’s a risk of burning the meat as a result.

Mai sūya typically grill the meat, allow it to rest for a few hours, and reheat it once people are ready to buy; this twice-cooked process intensifies the flavours.

The combination of sūya with Māsā is a favourite.

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Course Main Course

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 pound (450 g) beef fillet, sirloin, or blade steak
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more for the grate
• ⅓ cup (35 g) basic yaji*, plus more as needed

For serving

• ½ cup (88 g) yajin kuli*
• Thinly sliced red onions
• Sliced tomatoes

Instructions

 

• If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling so they don’t burn on the grill.
• Wrap the beef tightly in plastic wrap and place on a plate or small baking sheet. Freeze for 15 to 30 minutes, until the beef is partially frozen and firm to the touch.
• Unwrap the meat. With a sharp chef ’s knife, slice the meat against the grain into strips that are 2 inches (5 cm) long, 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, and ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. The easiest and most efficient way to do this is to start by portioning the beef into pieces that are 2 inches (5 cm) wide and 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, and then cutting those pieces crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick (3 mm) strips.
• Put the strips of meat in a large bowl and drizzle the oil over them, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the yaji. Carefully toss and massage the yaji into the beef until the meat is evenly coated. Season with another 2 tablespoons of the yaji.
• Working with one piece of beef at a time, thread it onto a metal or wooden skewer, piercing each piece through twice to secure it, then spread the meat out on the skewer so it will cook evenly.
• Leave 2 inches (5 cm) of the skewer exposed at either end. Place the completed skewer on a platter and repeat with the remaining beef. Once all skewers are assembled, sprinkle the remaining yaji on both sides. Cover and refrigerate the skewers for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours before grilling.
• If using a charcoal grill, light a chimney starter full of charcoal. When the coals are hot and covered with gray ash, carefully spread them onto one side of the grill. If using a gas grill, set the burners on one side of the grill to high (leave the other side off ). Cover and preheat for 5 to 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.
• Place the skewers on the grill over direct heat and cook for about 8 minutes, turning them over once, until charred on both sides and cooked through. Transfer to a serving platter and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes before serving. (Alternatively, let the skewers rest for 1 to 2 hours, then reheat as needed.)
• Serve the skewers with the yajin kuli, onion and tomatoes.

Notes

*Editor’s note: This excerpted recipe includes the core dish only. References to other recipes from Chop Chop, such as basic yaji and yajin kuli, have been retained for context but are not included here. Ready-made versions of these spice blends are often available at African or Nigerian grocers.

Excerpted from Chop Chop by Ozoz Sokoh. Copyright © 2025 by Ozoz Sokoh. Photographs copyright © 2025 by James Ransom. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Keyword beef, Nigerian