Characteristic products
Traditional Guinean cuisine is largely composed of cereals and tubers, to which are added a multitude of vegetables, meats and fish. Cultivated in several West African countries, white fonio, for example, is a starch widely grown in Fouta. Highly digestible, especially for gluten-intolerant people, it is a cereal particularly cultivated in the Fouta-Djalon region of northwest Guinea. Its water-efficient cultivation makes it a popular crop, well-suited to the steep slopes of the foutan mountains. Rice and, to a lesser extent, maize, are abundantly present on Guinean tables, not forgetting of course cassava, whose leaves and tubers are widely consumed, and yams, taro, sweet potatoes and potatoes, notably the "belle de Guinée" variety, grown in Fouta and consumed throughout the country. Plantain, widely grown in Guinée forestière, is also consumed everywhere.
Vegetables, of course, are important in a wide variety of recipes: cabbage, tomatoes, squash, peppers, carrots, as well as many green vegetables such as sweet potato leaves, cassava, taro... Also known as okra, okra is a green chili-shaped vegetable with a slight eggplant taste and a very viscous juice appreciated for thickening dishes in sauce. Diakatou or African eggplant, green and bumpy with a bitter taste, is also eaten, as are more classic purple or white eggplants.
Onion, garlic, pepper, bay leaf and ginger are used generously as condiments, as is the extremely hot tyzon pepper (also known as habanero pepper), which can make Guinean cuisine very spicy. Peanuts, whole or in paste form, are very popular. It's also worth noting that, as in the rest of West Africa, the locals make daily use of palm oil, whose plant originated in the Gulf of Guinea. Particularly decried in the West, unrefined red palm oil is extremely rich in beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, and in antioxidants.
In this 85% Muslim country, pork is rarely eaten. Instead, you'll find plenty of chicken and, to a lesser extent, beef, goat and mutton. The fish-filled coasts offer a wide variety of fish, including gilthead bream, tuna, skipjack and mackerel, not to mention a variety of seafood and shellfish, including commando (a small lobster). In the many estuaries, marshes and rivers, tilapia and carp abound and are highly prized. Fish and seafood, often dried and smoked, are used as condiments in sauces and stews.
Highly affected by the Ebola virus, Guinea - like Sierra Leone and Liberia - has banned the consumption and sale of bushmeat, of which certain mammals are transmission vectors. On the ground, however, it is difficult for the authorities to control the sale of this meat, and some restaurants still offer it. While some adventurous travellers may be curious, it is strongly inadvisable to attempt this. The supply chains for such products are sometimes rather obscure, and some of the meat sold in markets and specialized restaurants comes from endangered species, not to mention the viral risk.
In rural areas, food is generally served in a large dish and eaten by hand, often outdoors. In Conakry, you'll find a variety of restaurants serving both local and foreign cuisine. Lovers of authenticity will go to the maquis, very popular and rustic establishments where locals gather to eat simple food and, above all, to socialize. You can chat, have a drink and listen to the latest hits in the background. Prices for both food and drink are generally very affordable.
The classics of Guinean cuisine
Meat, fish and vegetables are generally accompanied by tô, a dense, nourishing paste made from cassava flour, cooked and kneaded for a long time. More rarely, it can also be made with corn. It is commonly served with what are known as sauces, sometimes more akin to a stew. The best known is peanut sauce, also called tigadèguèna or maffé tiga depending on the region, which is made from peanut paste in a broth with tomatoes, onions and condiments. Chicken is usually added, sometimes beef.
Leaf sauce (bourakhè) is a sort of compote of local leafy vegetables, which may contain sweet potato leaves (wouré bourakhè), baobab leaves (lalo bourakhè), cassava or taro, sautéed with dried shrimp, onion, garlic and chili pepper. There's also gombo sauce. Konkoé sauce is a spicy sauce made from smoked fish topped with tomato, pumpkin, carrot and potato, flavored with palm oil. Mango sauce, very common during the rainy season, consists of mangoes preserved in a chili sauce with onion and dried fish.
But there are also other more classic dishes in sauce, such as kedjennou. Originally from Côte d'Ivoire, but very popular in Guinea, it consists of chicken simmered in an onion and tomato-based sauce. Typically Guinean, on the other hand, yétinsé de Guinée maritime is a fish or beef stew cooked with okra, carrots, tomatoes and chillies. Soupou tehou is the local equivalent of beef with carrots, sometimes with cabbage. Finally, maganyi is a dish based on eggplant, fish, shrimp and soumbara (fermented néré bean paste). It is very similar to foutti or soumbara lafidi, a very popular recipe based on smoked fish, okra, eggplants, chillies and soumbara. The whole thing is puréed and usually served with chicken or meatballs. These five dishes are usually accompanied by rice, a very popular accompaniment for Guineans.
There's also rice au gras, cooked in a highly aromatic meat broth, then garnished with chicken and vegetables. Kétoun (fouta) is a mixture of tubers (manioc, potato and taro) accompanied by smoked fish and/or mangoes in season. Foutti fognè, most commonly found in Fouta, is made from fonio and served with a finely spiced eggplant and okra compote. Tapalapa bread, a French heritage, is made from wheat. Modernity obliges, and you'll find restaurants offering hamburgers, although it's worth noting that most Guinean hamburgers are actually a meat ball (without a bun) with an egg in the middle, served with fries or salad.
Desserts and drinks
Desserts and sweets in general are not traditional in Guinea, although there are a few sweets, not to mention the more Western pastries that are gradually appearing in the country. These include akassa (or kagna) balls, a kind of pastry made from peanut paste and cornmeal mixed with powdered sugar. The whole thing is kneaded and eaten with plenty of water. Lakiri kossan is a recipe for couscous made from corn and curdled milk, originally from Fouta, also known as cabissé. You'll also find a multitude of sun-drenched fruits on the markets: mango, of course, but also orange, pineapple, banana, papaya, coconut and more. Not forgetting lesser-known fruits such as bôttô and baobab fruit, both used to make juices and infusions.
Other fresh beverages include bissap, a juice made from Guinea sorrel flowers (actually hibiscus), tamarind juice (to be drunk chilled) and djindjian (ginger juice), a refreshing, thirst-quenching drink, especially popular during the dry season. It's on sale at railway stations, school exits and sports stadiums. Available in small bottles or sachets, it looks rather like bissap. Street vendors also sell local yoghurts in pots, or khamsa, a yoghurt mixed with sorghum in ice-cold sachets.
Throughout the country, you can drink Guinean Skol beer, sold in individual 500 ml bottles for consumption on the premises, as well as Guilux, also Guinean. And don't forget sodas and pressed fruit juices. In the forest, you won't want to miss the traditional palm wine in the villages, with its strong smell of fermentation. Finally, every bar will offer you Nescafé (beware, Guineans drink it very sweet and with milk) or black coffee, often very strong, or Lipton (by which is meant a tea bag, which is not always of this brand).
