Dumpling Atlas

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Bobolo

DSDated textFamily H · Leaf-wrapped grain parcels (separate inventions)

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History

Documented: Oyono's Une vie de boy (1956) used "bâton de manioc" for it (Echu)

Sources

This entry is drawn from the World Dumpling Atlas, §5.1, the project's source report. Its grade, D dated text, says how far that has been checked against a primary source. How grading works.

Related

  • Kwanga/chikwangue · already covered
  • Miondo

Bobolo (fermented cassava sticks in leaves)

about 6 sticks of 15 cmPrep 60 min · Cook 90 minhardFold: leaf wrap

How to fold: Leaf wrap

  1. Step 1: Lay out a softened leaf or husk

    1 Lay out a softened leaf or husk

  2. Step 2: Spread the dough or batter in the middle

    2 Spread the dough or batter in the middle

  3. Step 3: Fold in the long sides, then the ends

    3 Fold in the long sides, then the ends

  4. Step 4: Tie the parcel and steam or boil it

    4 Tie the parcel and steam or boil it

Placeholder diagram. The atlas's illustrated fold animations will replace it.

Ingredients for 4

Paste

Wrapping

To serve

Method

  1. Peel the cassava completely, cut it into large chunks and wash well.
  2. Put the chunks in a large pot or bucket, cover with lukewarm water and a lid, and leave at room temperature to ret (ferment) until the pieces are soft enough to crush between your fingers and smell sour. This takes 3 days for a mild bobolo and up to 5 for a sharper one; traditional village processes can run longer. · wait 3 days
  3. Lift out the cassava and rinse it in several changes of clean water.
  4. Pull out the tough central fibres from each piece.
  5. Press the pulp in a clean cloth to squeeze out as much water as you can.
  6. Pound the pulp in a mortar, or pass it through a grinder, until it is a smooth, elastic paste with no lumps. Knead in the salt if using.
  7. Pass the leaves briefly over a flame or dip them in hot water so they turn supple, and cut them into rectangles.
  8. Lay a portion of paste along one side of a leaf, shape it into a log about 15 cm long and 3 cm thick, roll the leaf tightly around it and tie the ends and the middle with string.
  9. Line the bottom of a large pot with leaf ribs or scraps, stack the sticks on top and add water to about a third of their height.
  10. Cover and cook over medium heat, topping up the water as it evaporates, until the sticks are firm, translucent and slightly elastic. · timer 90 min
  11. Let the sticks cool a little, unwrap and slice. They keep, wrapped, for several days.

Notes. Bobolo is a Beti-Pahuin staple of Centre and South Cameroon, also eaten in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. It is a fermented food first: the multi-day soak (rouissage) softens the roots, gives the sour taste and, importantly, helps break down the cyanogenic compounds in cassava, so do not skip or shorten it. Some traditional producers ferment far longer (up to about two weeks), and some part-cook the paste in leaves, pound it again and then wrap and cook a second time for a finer texture. Miondo is the thinner, more supple Douala relative; chikwangue (kwanga) is the Congolese cousin. Outside Central Africa, banana leaves or foil-lined baking paper can stand in for marantaceae leaves, but the leaves add flavour. Ready-made bobolo is widely sold in African grocers.

Written for the atlas from several sources, cross-checked: Bâton de manioc || Bobolo, Camerdish; Bobolo camerounais : recette de bâton de manioc fermenté, Nkosi Agro; Chikwangue (kwanga): Congolese cassava recipe, Nkosi Agro. Not yet kitchen-tested.

Bobolo (fermented cassava sticks in leaves) ·

History sources are from the atlas and not yet independently checked.

Family H

Kin: more leaf-wrapped grain parcels (separate inventions)