A traditional street food in Nigeria, these skewers of beef, chicken, and shrimp are highly seasoned with a spice mix of ground peanuts, cayenne, ginger, and more. While they're most often served simply with shaved onions and sliced tomato, here a tomato-cream dipping sauce quells the fiery heat.
Recipe information
Yield
4–6 servings
Ingredients
For the suya spice blend:
For the suya:
For the roasted tomato soubise:
Preparation
Make the spice blend:
Step 1
In a small bowl, combine all the spice blend ingredients until incorporated.
Prepare the suya:
Step 2
In three separate bowls, place the shrimp, beef, and chicken. Divide the spice blend equally among the bowls and mix well to coat the meats. Cover each bowl in plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to marinate for 1 hour.
Make the soubise:
Step 3
Preheat oven to 400°F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and salt. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes, then remove and let cool.
Step 4
In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they have fully broken down, 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and bring to a light simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream has reduced and become thick. Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth. Season with salt and set aside.
To finish:
Step 5
Light a grill or place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Skewer the shrimp, rib eye, and chicken on soaked 12-inch bamboo skewers. Grill, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes for the shrimp, 2 to 3 minutes for the rib eye, and 6 to 8 minutes for the chicken. Serve alongside the roasted tomato soubise.
For even more punch, prepare extra spice rub and reserve it to sprinkle over the grilled skewers.
Leave a Review
Reviews (6)
Back to TopAmazing recipe. I love spicy food and I'm sick of almost every recipe in English claiming to be "spicy" and being super bland. We love that this dish is ACTUALLY spicy. Cayenne is my favorite spice to work with because of its neutral profile. The sauce is also very good and we use the leftover sauce (There's never any leftover meat) on sandwiches and stuff. We make this fairly often and it's always gone within seconds of coming off the grill
Ariane
Pittsburgh, PA
1/4/2023
Love this. The spices are strong and vibrant, but the tomato-cream sauce cools everything down. Tried it with each of the proteins recommended and shrimp was probably my favorite.
Kearney
Tennessee
7/15/2020
Honestly, this spice mix is AWFUL. Google any other Suya spice recipe and it has 1/4 if not an 1/8 the amount of cayenne. I love spicy food, Indian Vindaloo come to mind; but this is so much cayenne that you literally lose every other flavor in the dish including the peanut sauce to a burning mouth and throat.
risarae23
New York, NY
6/25/2020
I made the spice mix, but not a full batch. Lessened the cayenne. Ground it in a mortar and pestle. Sprinkled it on popcorn. AMAZING.
1wayin
NJ
6/5/2020
Spicy Hot. We're not adverse to spicy food- we eat Szechuan, Sicilian, Mexican and other spicy dishes. But, this dish, despite cutting the cayenne back by 3/4 was all heat. The other spices were lost. The sauce cuts the heat, but what's the point? Might try it again with less pepper, but realize this wouldn't be true to the recipe.
r124911
North Carolina
3/20/2020
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