I am creating this post especially for @AdriansyahPutera who has asked to see what my Ofada looks like after sharing with me his Ketupat. ?
After he shared this post, I told him of how the ‘Ketupat’ reminded me so much of our 'Ofada Rice’ here in Nigeria and he was interested in seeing it.
Dear Adrian, here is your Ofada, enjoy…
Inspired by my darling friend @FalguniP , I am moved to create yet another #Maytopic post; “Eye Catching Bento” by @HiroyukiTakisawa ; our Community Moderator from Japan.
In my Bento, I have;
- Ofada Rice
- Ofada Rice’ Sauce
- Beans
- Fried Plantain
- Offal and Egg
- A Glass of Yogurt
OFADA RICE
Ofada rice is a locally grown rice especially in South-Western Nigeria. Upon harvesting, it is filled with a lot of stones, it also takes a very long time to cook because it is not Parboiled. It is also more expensive than the Rice imported into the Country.
Many Nigerians eat Rice imported from Thailand and other countries, until recently, when our President; Muhammadu Buhari, placed a ban on imported Rice and with the ban came the advent of the Commercially produced ‘Nigerian Rice’ which is not Ofada. Many people love Ofada because of its unique taste.
I don’t know if anyone here ever ate ‘Uncle Ben’s Rice’. Yes, it is still Rice, right? but it has not only a distinguishing taste but also a distinguishing aroma. That’s the kind of distinction Ofada carries.
Often times, Ofada is cooked in these special kind of green leaves that are gotten from shrubs which grow in the swampy areas of Nigeria particularly Lagos State. These leaves compliments in taste and aroma the Ofada rice’s already distinguished taste and aroma.
To get an even more pleasant taste and aroma, cook Ofada Rice over firewood or Charcoal fire. It will take aeons to cook, right? ? but your reward is an even more alluring taste and aroma.
Have you had Ofada? Where did you have it? Ofada Rice is named after the place it is grown; Ofada, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Please ignore that story told about the Ofada Rice being smuggled into Nigeria. I don’t know what that is all about. ? The Ofada belongs to us, no one should take credit for our Ofada. Thank you.
OFADA RICE SAUCE
A special sauce is made for it because the Ofada Rice is special. This sauce is made with green chilli pepper and some other things that makes the stew to be ‘very peppery’ or ‘very spicy’. Often times, what is added into the sauce is the Offals which we call in Nigeria names likes; Abodi, fuku, Edo, Roundabout, etc. ? kai! See Nigerians salivating! Please don’t drool on this special meal I prepared for Hiroyuki.
This sauce is also a great accompaniment for Bread, Rice, Beans and what have you?!
BEANS
Some people call it Cowpeas or Black-eyed Peas. We come in peace, we call it Beans! ?
There are several methods of cooking this beans, the method used here ensures that the beans comes out dry with some of the constituent plastered to it. It is a great source of Protein, so it complements the Ofada well.
FRIED PLANTAIN
How can you even eat Rice without Plantain? ? I don’t know what nutritional value the Plantain adds to my meal or if there is any, I like Rice and Plantain and that’s about it.
YOGHURT OR YOGURT
With every ‘peppery or spicy meal’, I take Yogurt because it is a form of Probiotics and it helps in relieving heartburn that may ensue from eating peppery food.
There you have my Bento, welcome…
. Thank you for asking 
