10 Kitchen Essentials You Must Have to Make African Cooking Easy
You know that feeling when you're ready to cook, you've got the recipe pulled up, and then you realize you're missing that one ingredient? The one that makes the difference between "this is good" and "this is finger-licking good"?
Here's what nobody tells you about African cooking: it's not complicated, but it requires the right ingredients. You can have all the techniques in the world, but if your pantry isn't stocked with these essentials, you're fighting an uphill battle.
This isn't about having fifty different spices or exotic ingredients you'll use once. This is about the ten things that make cooking easier, faster, and more authentic—the ingredients that work across multiple dishes and actually earn their space in your kitchen.
Also read: How to Make Healthy Zobo (Hibiscus Flower) Drink
1. QUALITY PALM OIL: The Foundation of Flavor
If you only buy one thing from this list, make it good palm oil. Not the refined, pale kind that has been processed until it's essentially flavorless. Real, unrefined red palm oil that smells earthy and rich.
Palm oil is the base for banga soup, native jollof, Nigerian stews, and countless other dishes. It provides that distinctive color, flavor, and richness that no other oil can replicate. One bottle transforms ordinary rice into something that tastes authentic.
Why it makes cooking easier: One oil that works for stews, soups, frying, and traditional dishes. You're not juggling five different oils for different purposes.
What to look for: Deep red color, slightly thick consistency, earthy aroma. 123 Vegetable Oil at L'Afrique Market delivers authentic quality.
2. CURRY POWDER: Your Golden Ticket
Curry powder is what makes jollof rice golden, what gives fried rice that depth, what transforms chicken marinade from basic to memorable. But not all curry powder is equal.
Fresh, properly blended curry powder has complexity—slightly smoky, aromatic, with warmth that builds rather than hits you immediately. Old or cheap curry powder is just yellow dust that does nothing for your food.
Why it makes cooking easier: One spice that instantly elevates rice dishes, marinades, and sauces. It's the difference between restaurant-quality jollof and "nice try" jollof.
What to stock: Asiko Curry Powder blended the traditional way for actual flavor, not just color.
3. SEASONING CUBES
Before anyone gets precious about "natural" cooking, let's be honest: seasoning cubes are in every Nigerian kitchen for a reason. They provide instant depth, that savory umami quality that makes food taste complete.
Are they essential? Technically no. Do they make cooking significantly easier and more consistently flavorful? Absolutely yes. Your grandmother used them. Your mother uses them. They work.
Why it makes cooking easier: Instant flavor base for soups, stews, rice, beans—basically everything. One or two cubes do the work of multiple seasonings.
Pro tip: Combine with other seasonings rather than relying solely on cubes. They enhance, not replace, other flavors.
4. GROUND CRAYFISH
If you're wondering why your soup doesn't taste like your mother's, it's probably the crayfish. This is the ingredient that adds that indescribable "something" to egusi soup, vegetable soup, jollof rice, and stews.
Good ground crayfish smells pungent and fishy in the container, but transforms into pure magic in cooking. It provides depth that you can't name but definitely taste when it's missing.
Why it makes cooking easier: A tablespoon or two instantly adds complexity to dishes without needing multiple ingredients.
Quality matters: Fresh ground crayfish should smell strong (yes, really strong). If it's bland or dusty, it's old and won't do much for your food.
5. STOCKFISH AND DRIED FISH
Stockfish (dried cod) and smoked fish are pantry staples that keep for months and add incredible depth to soups and stews. They're not garnishes—they're integral to authentic flavor.
Unlike fresh fish that you need to buy and use immediately, dried fish waits patiently in your pantry until you need it. Soak it, add it to your pot, and watch it transform your soup.
Why it makes cooking easier: Always available, no shopping trips for fresh fish, longer shelf life, concentrated flavor.
How to use: Soak in warm water for 15-30 minutes before cooking. Add to egusi soup, banga soup, vegetable soup, or any traditional Nigerian soup.
Stock up: Smoked Panla Fish from L'Afrique Market ready when you need it.
6. GROUND EGUSI
If you make Nigerian soups, ground egusi is non-negotiable. These ground melon seeds create the thick, rich base for egusi soup, but they also work in vegetable soup and other dishes for the body and nutrition.
Fresh ground egusi should smell nutty and slightly sweet. Old egusi smells flat or rancid and won't thicken your soup properly.
Why it makes cooking easier: Creates perfect soup consistency without complicated techniques. Add liquid, add egusi, stir, get thick soup.
Quality check: Asiko Ground Egusi is ground to the right texture and stays fresh.
7. DRIED PEPPER AND CHILL
Having dried pepper—whether crushed, ground, or whole—means you control heat levels in every dish. Fresh peppers go bad. Dried pepper waits patiently.
Whether it's crushed red pepper for stews, ground pepper for marinades, or whole dried chili for soups, having heat available transforms your cooking flexibility.
Why it makes cooking easier: Always available, consistent heat levels, no emergency store runs for fresh peppers.
Essential: Asiko Crushed Hot Pepper delivers reliable heat without guessing.
8. DRIED THYME
Thyme appears in almost every Nigerian dish—rice, stews, soups, and marinades. It's not flashy, but its absence is noticeable. The subtle earthiness rounds out flavors and adds depth without overwhelming.
Fresh thyme is lovely but inconvenient. Dried thyme sits in your spice cabinet ready to go, maintaining flavor for months when stored properly.
Why it makes cooking easier: Goes in everything, keeps forever, small amount makes big difference.
Storage tip: Keep in a cool, dark place. If it stops smelling like thyme, replace it.
9. QUALITY RICE: Because Everything Starts Here
You can't make great jollof rice, fried rice, or white rice with subpar rice. The grain quality, how it cooks, whether it gets mushy or stays firm—this all matters.
Long-grain parboiled rice is the standard for Nigerian cooking. It holds up to the cooking methods, absorbs flavors beautifully, and maintains texture.
Why it makes cooking easier: Good rice forgives small cooking errors. Bad rice gets mushy no matter what you do.
What to buy: Look for long-grain parboiled rice that's not broken or chalky.
10. ONIONS (FRESH AND GRANULATED)
Fresh onions are obvious—they're in everything. But granulated onions are the secret weapon. They provide onion flavor without the moisture, perfect for dry rubs, spice blends, or when you need onion flavor without fresh onion texture.
Fresh onions cook down and caramelize. Granulated onions season and flavor without changing dish consistency.
Why it makes cooking easier: Fresh onions for cooking, granulated for seasoning. Asiko Granulated Onion adds onion flavor to rubs and marinades instantly.
Bonus: Specialized Seasonings That Save Time
Once you have the basics covered, specialized seasonings make specific dishes foolproof:
- Asiko Jollof Rice Seasoning takes the guesswork out of balancing jollof spices. Everything you need in one blend.
- Asiko Fried Rice Seasoning ensures consistent fried rice without measuring five different spices.
- Asiko Chicken Seasoning makes marinating chicken faster and more reliable.
Are these essential? No. Do they make weeknight cooking significantly easier? Absolutely.
Why Quality Ingredients Matter More Than You Think
Here's what happens with cheap or old ingredients: you add more trying to get flavor. You compensate with extra salt or seasoning cubes. The dish still doesn't taste right, you're frustrated, and you end up ordering takeout.
Quality ingredients work at normal quantities. You use what the recipe says, and it tastes right. This isn't about being fancy—it's about efficiency and results.
L'Afrique Market understands this. Their ingredients aren't marked up because they're "ethnic" or "specialty"—they're priced fairly because they're everyday essentials. The palm oil is properly stored so it hasn't gone rancid. The spices are fresh enough to actually smell like something. The dried fish hasn't been sitting in a warehouse for two years.
How to Stock Your Kitchen Without Breaking the Bank
You don't need to buy everything at once. Start with these three:
- Palm oil (you'll use it constantly)
- Curry powder (transforms multiple dishes)
- Seasoning cubes (instant flavor base)
Then add: 4. Ground crayfish (that missing "something" in your soups) 5. Dried fish (pantry protein that lasts)
Finally, complete with: 6. Ground egusi (if you make Nigerian soups) 7. Dried pepper (heat on demand) 8. Dried thyme (goes in everything) 9. Quality rice (foundation of many meals) 10. Granulated onions (seasoning shortcut)
Buy quality versions as you can afford them. One bottle of good palm oil beats three bottles of cheap, flavorless oil.
The Real Difference These Make
With these essentials stocked, weeknight cooking stops being stressful. You come home tired, you want jollof rice—you have curry powder, thyme, seasoning cubes, and good rice. Done in 30 minutes.
You want egusi soup—you have egusi, crayfish, palm oil, dried fish. Everything's ready.
You're not making emergency store runs. You're not substituting and hoping for the best. You're cooking with confidence because you have what you need.
This is what "easy cooking" actually means: having the right ingredients ready so technique and effort produce results. Not shortcuts that compromise flavor, but smart stocking that makes good cooking achievable on a Tuesday night.
Where to Get Them
Visit L'Afrique Market for all these essentials at prices that reflect their everyday status, not manufactured scarcity. They stock:
- Authentic palm oil that actually tastes right
- Fresh, aromatic curry powder
- Quality ground egusi that thickens properly
- Properly stored dried fish and stockfish
- All the spices and seasonings that make African cooking work
Stock your kitchen once, properly, and make every meal easier. That's the real kitchen essential—having what you need when you need it.