- (laughing) Oh jeez.
- My teeth are not strong enough for this.
- I feel bad for taking another bite,
but I'm just gonna have another bite.
- ♪ (French accordion music) ♪
- (FBE) We are going to visit the continent of Africa today
and try some Nigerian dishes. - Wow, motherland.
Okay, I'm ready.
- I don't know if I've ever had African food just in general,
so I don't even know what to expect.
- I'm very uncultured in that area. I do not know any Nigerian food.
- I don't think I've ever tried anything from Nigeria.
Ooh, I'm excited.
- I'm so excited right now. I've always wanted
to try African food.
- (FBE) So these dishes we're presenting you with today
were made from a local, authentic Nigerian restaurant
here in Los Angeles.
- Yup, yup. I know where it is.
- Okay, always keep it authentic.
- I don't really know what to expect,
but I feel like I'm gonna like them.
- (FBE) Here's your first one.
- Are these bananas?
- It's soft like a fruit or something.
- It's sticky!
Mm hm, I've definitely eaten this before.
My family, we make these a lot.
- I kind of liked it. It kind of tastes like
steamed squash or zucchini with a lot of more flavor.
- I was expecting something super sweet,
almost like a yam. It's still sweet,
but it almost has a little bitter taste to it, too.
- It tastes like something you would get from the county fair.
If you were to dip a hot dog in some waffle batter
and then fry it, that's what it tastes like.
- (FBE) The Nigerian term for this is called "dodo,"
- Okay. - (FBE) Which translates to
"fried plantain." - Okay, yeah, okay.
That's what I was thinking of. Something sort of like a plantain,
banana sort of thing.
- (FBE) It's one of the easiest and fastest Nigerian food recipes.
Dodo is most commonly featured as a breakfast dish,
but it's also served as a side dish.
- I like bananas, but that did not taste like banana.
- My mom does the same thing with plantains and it's so bomb,
so I really liked it.
- If I had this for breakfast, I would be so happy.
- (FBE) Here is your next Nigerian dish.
- This one's in a bowl. What's that black stuff?
- There's meats in here. It doesn't smell that bad.
- Whoa, it's hot, it's hot. I'm kinda getting carne asada vibe.
- It's not bad. A little spicy.
The little touch is amazing.
- Oh, hm mm. Wow, that's spicy.
I don't know what I'm chewing on. This is so weird.
What is it!?
- It has a good amount of spices in there
with the meat, too. That was really good.
- The first initial taste really got my tongue.
Yeah, but it's calming down-- ooh, that's actually nice.
- (FBE) So, this one is called "Nigerian pepper soup."
- Pepper soup? - (FBE) Yes.
It's one of the most sought after Nigerian soups.
It is a broth-like savory and spicy soup
made with assorted meat, fish, poultry, and seasoned
with local spices. - Not bad.
I actually like it.
- This is so good. I'm gonna look up
the recipe for this.
- The broth is really good. I could drink the broth.
Especially that it got beef and fish in it.
I could just drink it all day.
- (FBE) Here is your next dish.
- A kebab.
- Is this chocolate? Nah, it's not chocolate.
- It kind of looks like chocolate, but also, it could be meat.
- Oh, what's that spice? I know this spice.
I hope this is meat under it.
- (grunts) I literally can't eat this.
(laughing) Oh jeez.
- (laughs)
My teeth are not strong enough for this.
- Oh, it's hard. It's hard, it's really hard.
I'm not sure what it is, but I like it.
- It had a lot of flavor. The outside made it
ten times better, to be honest, but it's just super chewy.
- (FBE) So, this one is called "suya."
Suya is a type of seasoning and can be prepared
with any favorite meats, including lamb or pork.
That is actually lamb. - This is lamb?
It's really good. I'm sorry to that lamb.
- (FBE) Once any meat is dabbed in suya pepper
seasoning and grilled, it is just considered suya.
The dish is popular particularly in eastern Nigeria.
- Uh, it's not bad. I feel like there's too much of it.
It's covered in it.
- If it was easier to chew, that would be a delicious dish.
- (FBE) Here's meal number four.
- You got rice and meat. Just looks like El Pollo Loco.
- This is just chicken on rice. I think this is kind of
the universal thing with different cultures.
They just call it something else, or probably season it
with something else.
- It was simple, yet really good.
- (grunts) Nigerian food.
Oh my God, thank you. Oh my God, this is so good!
- That's tasty, yum. It's just got a subtle spiciness,
savoriness. It's great rice.
- (FBE) So this rice is called "jollof."
It's the most popular Nigerian rice recipe.
Sometimes even called "party rice." - Yeah, it's a fiesta.
This is good. That's a party in my mouth.
- This is definitely something I could see myself eating at a party.
The chicken's really good. You know, it just goes together.
- (FBE) All right, here's your last one.
- Another slab of meat. That is like a rock.
- Ooh, that actually smells lovely. It smells like beef, kind of.
- Another hard meat. This is really good.
- It's a little tough, too. Nothing too fancy about this one.
It just kinda tastes like meat.
- I was gonna say it's like burnt pork.
It's really hard, chewy. Not bad.
- What is that taste? I can't distinguish what it is.
It's different. I wanted to say fruity for a second,
but it's not fruity.
- (FBE) So this is called "isi ewu."
Isi ewu translates to "goat head."
As in an entire goat head including the brains.
- Goat head.
- Are you serious? Alyssa, I ate a goat head?
I feel bad for taking another bite but,
I'm just gonna have another bite.
- (FBE) It is seasoned with utazi leaf and ehuru seeds
to give it a distinct flavor and taste.
- I just ate a goat's head and brains?
All right. I don't know how I feel about that.
- The taste was pretty good. I would eat that again.
If someone was like, "Hey, here's some goat head."
I'd be like, "Yeah, sure, all right.
I'll take a bite of that goat head."
- (FBE) So overall, how'd you like trying
Nigerian food today?
- Oh my gosh, it was actually so fun.
- That was fun. It's always fun to try new foods
from places you're unfamiliar with.
- The Nigerian food was pretty different
than a lot of the foods that I've actually had.
A lot of cultures have similar items,
but how often do you eat a goat head?
- Thanks for watching us try Nigerian food on the React Channel.
- Don't forget to subscribe. We have new episodes every week.
- Bye guys!
- Hey guys, Alyssa here, a producer from the React Channel.
I hope you've been enjoying these food episodes.
It's so great seeing all of your suggestions in the comments.
Let us know what we should try next and you might see it
in an upcoming episode.