It's interesting how some women still believe that most men are bad cooks or that the majority can't cook at all. Some believe men hardly enter the kitchen to help their women. I want to tell these women that the narrative has changed. Today, there are men who can cook even better than some women. There are some men who help their wives in the kitchen. As an example, today, I joined my wife in the kitchen to help us prepare a quick meal.
Before I show you what we made, I must say I'm a good cook. I learned how to cook local dishes by observing my mum and big sister when I was a little boy. So, I can cook almost all Ghanaian dishes, and not just cook, but cook very well. Today's meal was yam, egg and veg stew (which we'll call Ampesie), one of my favorite delicacies.
It's one of the simplest Ghanaian foods that I know, and it's easy to prepare. This time around, I joined my wife in the kitchen to cook together. It was more of a romantic cooking session we had. Women usually love it when you do these little things to help out. That's a tip for those who want to marry.
To prepare this meal, you need Yam and all the ingredients to make a stew to complement it. Some people even enjoy their yams with stew. We had a tuber of yam and only a few ingredients, such as spring onions, white onions, eggs, chopped tomatoes. We also had chicken.
This was something we hadn't planned for but was more of an unexpected, craving-inspired dish that arose spontaneously. Anyway, I was the one who had the cravings, and my wife decided to make it. Since I was the one craving it, I knew I had to help her cook quickly.
The first thing to do when cooking yam is to peel off the outer skin with a knife, and this has to be carefully done in order not to peel away more food than necessary. For those who love potatoes, yam shares similar characteristics, but African yams have a distinct starchy and slightly sweet flavor with a firmer, denser texture compared to potatoes. I love yams more than potatoes; I'm a yam lover and would say yams are the best.
After paring the yam, you cut it into any sizable shapes depending on your preference. Once the cutting is done, you thoroughly wash it with water to clear any debris. Like potatoes, yams can be cooked raw without peeling off the outer skin, provided you wash them very well.
The chopped yams were placed in the pot, and salt was added.
Yams take less time to boil and be ready to eat, typically about 15 to 30 minutes until they are tender. Since they cook quickly, any stew you would like to eat with them should be prepared beforehand. Our egg and vegetable stew was something that didn't take much time since it was also one of the simplest stews to prepare. With all the ingredients at hand, it was just a matter of following the steps below and yam and stew was ready.
We began cooking the stew before the yams, and everything was ready at the same time using two burners. Our meal was ready in no time and was delicious. This is one of the savory dishes we prepare at least four times a week, but usually with yams, we pair it with a different stew. The food was delicious, and my wife did a great job cooking, with my assistance, of course.