Shito
Non-vegetarian
Ghana's dark, oily hot pepper sauce: onions, ginger and garlic fried slowly in oil with dried shrimp, smoked fish and chilli powder until almost black, smoky and deeply savoury.
Shito is a Ghanaian condiment, ready in about 1 hour 15 minutes and made with onion, cayenne / chilli powder and dried shrimp. It serves 25 and is rated intermediate to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 15 min
- Serves
- 25
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 102
Method
Step 1
Blend the onions (opens in a new tab), ginger and garlic (opens in a new tab) to a smooth paste with as little water as possible.
Step 2
Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan (opens in a new tab), add the paste carefully and fry, stirring regularly, until the water has cooked out and the paste turns deep brown.
- 30 min
- medium-low heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
- Wooden spoon (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Wet paste spits in hot oil — add it slowly and stand back.
Step 4
Add the chilli powder, ground shrimp, smoked fish (opens in a new tab) and salt. Cook on low, stirring constantly, until very dark brown-black and the oil separates.
- 20 min
- low heat
Open the windows — the chilli fumes are strong.
Step 5
Cool completely, then spoon into a clean, dry jar so the oil covers the top.
About this dish
- Origin
- Ghana · Well documentedThe name comes from the Ga word for pepper.More food from Ghana
- Dish
- Lunch · Dinner · Condiments, chutneys & relishes · Sauces
- Cooking method
- Shallow-fried, Slow-cooked
- Taste
- spicy (chilli heat), umami, smoky, savoury
- Diet
- Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Pescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Batch cooking
- Cook more with
- Onion · Cayenne / chilli powder · Dried shrimp · Fresh ginger · Garlic · Tomato paste
- Techniques
- Shallow-frying · Bhunao
Allergens
- Contains: Fishfrom smoked fish
- Contains: Crustaceansfrom dried shrimp
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
102 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 18 g · recipe makes 25
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 8%
- Carbohydrate 8%
- Fat 84%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 102 kcal | 569 kcal |
| Protein | 2.2 g | 12.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 2.1 g | 11.8 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 1.7 g | 9.4 g |
| Sugars | 0.6 g | 3.6 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 0.4 g | 2.5 g |
| Fat | 9.7 g | 53.8 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.8 g | 4.2 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 4 mg | 25 mg |
| Sodium | 275 mg | 1529 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.7 g | 3.8 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 93 mg
- Calcium
- 10 mg
- Iron
- 0.2 mg
- Magnesium
- 7 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 23 µg
- Vitamin C
- 2 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.4 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.3 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 3 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Dried shrimp: Dried salted cod (FDC 174190) used as a stand-in: both are dried, very protein-dense seafood; no dried-shrimp entry exists in FDC SR Legacy.
- Smoked fish: Smoked cisco (FDC 171954) used as a stand-in for hot-smoked African fish such as catfish, mackerel or bonga.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Toast the dried shrimp in a dry pan before grinding for an even deeper flavour.
Common mistakes
- Adding the chilli powder before the onion water has cooked off — it stews instead of frying and won't keep.
Serve with
- With kenkey and fried fish, waakye, jollof, banku or plain rice and eggs.
Storage
- Refrigerate, covered with oil, for up to 1 month; use a dry spoon.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Goes with
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Onion, peeled, roughly chopped2 piece · 220 g
- Tomato paste2 tbsp · 33 g
- Dried shrimp, ground to a powder60 g
- Smoked fish, boned, flaked and ground60 g
Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.
Customise in Sauce & DrizzleReviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
You might also like
Pili-pili sauce
Congolese · 22 min · 46 kcal · VeganAwaze
Ethiopian · 20 min · 42 kcal · Vegan
Jollof rice
West African · 1 h 35 min · 537 kcal
Red red
Ghanaian · 1 h 35 min · 723 kcal · Vegan