A Twist on Thanksgiving — Cook-in' Quarantine

Thanksgiving, a traditional American holiday observed on the fourth Thursday of November, celebrates gratitude and the roots of the United States. Nevertheless, Thanksgiving is not exclusive to the US. So this Thanksgiving, I decided to explore the festival of food in a different country, Liberia.

Liberia, a West African country some 5,800 miles (or 9,300 kilometers) away was founded in 1821 for freed US slaves. The story of the creation of Liberia weaves in, in equal parts, the euphoria of freedom with the the agony of slavery. In the mid-1800s, the US began to limit the number of slaves that entered the country, sending many to Liberia, a state specifically created for freed US slaves by the American Colonization Society.

Many southern slave owners were unhappy with the abolition movement and especially the notion that there would be free black men and women living in the US. As a result, they strongly backed the relocation of slaves to Liberia. However, all newly-freed slaves were not necessarily in favor of this. Many wished to return to their countries of origin and others who had no recollection of these countries wished to live in the US as free people.

Still, about 11,000 ended up in Liberia and began their own traditions there. Today, Liberia is an African nation with some connections to its US heritage. Thanksgiving is one example of this.

Liberia, however, has also taken the tradition and made it its own. For one, Liberia observes Thanksgiving on the first Thursday of November. But one of the most interesting distinctions between the holidays is the food.

Like its American cousin, Liberian Thanksgiving also celebrated with family, friends, fun add food. It has obvious American influences but is still distinctly Liberian.

I decided to make three Liberian dishes this month, pepper chicken, rice bread, and sweet potato pone.

PEPPER CHICKEN

Origin

Pepper chicken can be compared to turkey in a Thanksgiving meal, with poultry being an essential aspect of the holiday meal. However, pepper chicken is not only enjoyed during Thanksgiving. Pepper chicken is a traditional Liberian gravied-meat dish that has its own distinct flavor and style of cooking. Pepper chicken is also enjoyed in the neighboring country of Sierra Leone. Interestingly, unlike a lot of other chicken dishes I have had or made, the main ingredient in the gravy was -- black pepper and green and red bell peppers. Thus the name pepper chicken.

Process

I started by pan-frying and seasoning the chicken. I added some paprika, turmeric, salt, and of course pepper onto the chicken thighs I had laid out.

I then added ghee to a pan over medium heat and cooked the seasoned chicken.

While the chicken was cooking I prepared the sauce. I chopped up some red and yellow bell pepper along with onion and garlic and added them to a food processor and blended in with some ground red pepper flakes to add a little kick.

Once the chicken looked crisp and golden, I removed it from heat and cooked the processed vegetables along with some tomato paste, coconut aminos, peanut butter, and garlic seasoning. When the vegetable puree had thickened and most of the liquid had evaporated, I added chicken bone broth and olive oil to the mixture.

Finally, I returned the chicken to the pan with sauce, and then moved the pan to the oven. Every few minutes I made sure to open the oven door and stir the pepper chicken around to prevent burning.

I baked the chicken along with the sauce until the chicken had cooked through andsprinkled the chicken with some cut-up Thai basil.

Taste

The pepper chicken was the star of the meal. I tend to overlook the role of gravy on turkey at American Thanksgiving dinners. The turkey is bland and the gravy makes it tolerable. The seasoning and sauce on this chicken really made the dish. The chicken was tender and the meat had soaked up the delicious flavors of the tomato paste, pepper, onion, garlic, and even the peanut butter. Even with each distinct taste, they all mixed into one delicious sauce and blended perfectly.

RICE BREAD

Origin

Rice is the core of Liberian agriculture. So it is perhaps not surprising that, ricebread is the cornbread of Liberian Thanksgiving -- a little sweet, a little crunchy, and carb-heavy. Rice bread is made up of two main ingredients: rice, or in this case rice flour, and plantains, which I replaced with ripe bananas because we did not have plantain at home. Rice is a common part of every Liberian meal. It's known for its versatility as it can be enjoyed with every meal.

Rice bread is not just a Liberian food but is also popular amongst aboriginal American groups and in Middle-Eastern cuisine. It is popular as a substitute for wheat, rye, and barley bread.

Process

The process of making rice bread is simple, mainly centered around its ingredients. Many breads require a proofing period and a long baking process. This flat, rectangular quick bread was simple in comparison.

I mixed cream of rice cereal (similar to rice flour), ripe bananas, oil, sugar, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and water together in a bowl.

Then I added the dough to a greased pan and cooked the bread at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for half an hour.

Once it had cooked through and it passed the tooth pick test I removed it from the oven and cut up the bread into rectangular pieces to serve.

Taste

Along with the texture and look of it, the taste of the rice bread also reminded me of corn bread. Although it was a little sweeter and didn’t have the same bright yellow color, rice bread was extremely similar in its makeup. The banana did give it a sort of banana bread resemblance as well, however, it was much less sweet. It made me wonder how the taste would have differed if I had used plantains rather than bananas.

SWEET POTATO PONE

Origin

Sweet potato pone probably has the most direct connection to American Thanksgiving. Because of its main ingredient, sweet potato, it can be compared to sweet potato pie, an American Thanksgiving classic. However, the two dishes actually differ greatly.

After making the dish, I discovered that the reason Liberian and American sweet potato pone differ so greatly may have been the recipe I used. My Liberian version ended up being very molasses-heavy and did not resemble a pie. In comparison, the American version has a very different consistency and flavor and is similar to pumpkin pie.

Process

The sweet potato pone process was fairly easy. Like the rice bread, it was made up of a few simple ingredients -- mainly sweet potato, and molasses.

I grated the whole raw sweet potato and then placed it in a bowl.

Just like the rice bread, I started by combining all the ingredients: grated raw sweet potatoes, molasses, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, and oil. I combined them in a large three-quart saucepan and let the ingredients simmer slowly for ten minutes.

I then poured this mixture into a baking pan and baked it for a half an hour, stirring every five minutes like with the pepper chicken.

Taste

The sweet potato pone wasn’t really to my liking because it tasted so much like molasses. It was incredibly sweet and the texture was a little odd as it was mainly baked sweet potato and molasses. My mom on the other hand became an instant pone fanatic because she is a a huge fan of molasses. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dessert was nice to end the meal with a sweet treat!

Conclusion

I enjoyed such an opportunity to make a delicious meal! I was used to the American Thanksgiving dinners that I feasted on each and every year, but this Liberian variation was an interesting twist on a traditional holiday. To make this meal resemble the Thanksgiving dinners I was used to, I included some green beans and set the table as I would during Thanksgiving. Exploring this new culture was an amazing journey for me as I discovered that Liberian and American cultures had more in common than I thought. It was enlightening to draw connections between the two holidays and I will definitely be including pepper chicken in future meals.