Kwacoco is a traditional Cameroonian dish made with cocoyam (a root vegetable also called malanga, yautia, and taro). After peeling, cleaning, and pureeing, the dough is wrapped in banana leaves, steamed, and served with numerous stews or soups.
The tedious part is grating the cocoyams with a grater. But a food processor does an excellent job and has made my job much easier! So you don’t need to dread the process!
My kwacoco version is simple and pairs well with sauces and stews. I made them without the classic banana leaves, but if you can get them, please do so.
Cocoyam and Banana Leaves
How I miss my traditional Cameroonian foods! All those healthy and delicious tubers, tropical fruits, and making things with banana leaves. Cocoyams (malanga, taro, etc.), grated and steamed in banana leaves, have a unique flavor. While we don’t eat the banana leaves, they add a slight sweetness and hold in all that moisture for the best steaming.
Many Caribbean dishes are made even better by steaming them in banana leaves—Puerto Rican pasteles, for example. Besides, African fish and koki corn tamales wouldn’t be the same without them.
Ingredient List
- Cocoyam – Malanga, taro, and yautia are all variations that work. Whatever you have available in your local market. Plus, a little water to make grinding easier and a little salt for flavor. That’s it!
How to Make Kwacoco
- Peel the cocoyams with a sharp knife. Peel away from your body, carefully drawing the paring knife along the body of the cocoyam. Be careful not to remove too much of the vegetable.
- Clean – Look for any bad spots, such as bruising and discoloration, in the cocoyams as you peel. Remove the spots with the tip of the knife.
- Cut into large chunks and rinse immediately to prevent discoloration. Leave them covered in cool water until ready to use.
- Pulse the cocoyam in a food processor until it’s pureed. Add just enough water to facilitate grinding (add salt if desired).
- Wrapper – Traditionally, this is done with banana leaves. However, if you don’t have banana leaves, make a square with aluminum foil and line it with heat-resistant plastic wrap.
- Wrap – Place about a cup of the cocoyam mixture on the plastic wrap. Then, fold the aluminum foil over it and press the sides into a rectangle, pressing inward so the grated cocoyam doesn’t run out. Fold the sides in twice to seal.
- Repeat until all the grated cocoyam has been wrapped and set aside.
- Steam – Line a large pot with aluminum foil, place the packaged kwacoco in the pot, and steam for about an hour.
- Serve with mbanga soup.
What to Serve With Kwacoco
My family usually enjoys this African comfort food with palm nut soup or mbanga. But it’s also delicious with smoked fish and various stews.
More Traditional African Comfort Food Recipes
Kwacoco
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds (1.5k) cocoyam (malanga, taro, yautia)
- ¼ cup (60ml) water
- 1-2 teaspoon (5-10g) salt (I used garlic salt)
Instructions
- Peel the cocoyams with a sharp knife. Peeling away from you, carefully draw the paring knife down the body of the cocoyam, being careful not to remove too much of the yam.
- Look for any bad spots, such as bruising and discoloration, in the cocoyams as you peel. Remove the spots with the tip of the knife.
- Cut into large chunks and rinse immediately to prevent discoloration. Leave them covered in cool water until ready to use.
- Pulse the cocoyam in a food processor until it's pureed. Add just enough water to facilitate grinding. Add garlic salt if desired.
- Traditionally, this is done with banana leaves. However, if you don't have banana leaves, make a square with aluminum foil and line it with heat-resistant plastic wrap.
- Place about a cup of the cocoyam mixture on the plastic wrap. Then, fold the aluminum foil over it and press the sides into a rectangle, pressing inward so the grated cocoyam doesn't run out. Fold the sides in twice to seal.
- Repeat until all the grated cocoyam has been wrapped and set aside.
- Line a large pot with aluminum foil, place the cocoyam packages in the pot, and steam for about an hour.
- Serve with mbanga or palmnut soup.
Tips & Notes:
- If you can wrap and steam kwacoco in banana leaves, it’s even better.
- Make sure the plastic wrap is heat-resistant and won’t melt.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Katherine G says
Hey I’m just wondering how long kwacoco lasts in the fridge? Kind regards and blessings
ImmaculateBites says
It last about 3-5 days . You can always. freeze for later use.
Candice says
Hey Imma could you share the mbanga soup recipe ? It looks divine.
ImmaculateBites says
Of course! Here is the link https://www.africanbites.com/mbangapalmnut-soup/
Manzayila says
hi is this like kwanga Im from the congo and im looking for a recipe. All your food are wonderful i cant wait to make them.
kelsey says
Hi Imma, is there a particular way to blend the cocoyams with a food processor? because my texture is coarse/chaffy not smooth like yours. There is a big difference when i use a grater. Texture using a grater is smoother. I did use a little bit of water and blended for a while. Or is my food processor not strong enough you think? Thanks a lot for your help.
Africanbites says
Kelsey, there isn’t a particular way to blend- pulsing several times usually yields a smooth consistency for me. Try not to overcrowd the food processor, blend a few pieces at a time.
The food processor might be an issue too, I use cuisinart food processor and have never had any problems with the texture of the cocoyams. Hope this helps.
kelsey says
Thanks for the reply. I think my food processor is not strong enough. I have Black and Decker . I did use the pulse button several times but the consistency was still coarse.
Riri says
Can you share the link of the processor please
imma africanbites says
Hi, Riri! Here’s the food processor that I’ve been using >>> https://amzn.to/2Hbgdkr