Writing About
Method, sourcing and the occasional argument — written by whoever actually did the work rather than by anyone in marketing.
Why wok hei will not survive a car journey — and what we did about it
The char you get from a wok at 400°C lasts about four minutes in a sealed box. It is the single hardest problem in delivering Asian food, and solving it is the reason this kitchen exists in the shape it does. The answer turned out to be less about the wok and more about the lid.
Read the noteHow the Food
Written by whoever did the work, which is why some of them read like a recipe and some like an argument.
Two trips a week to Tema, and why we will not do three
Buying fish more often sounds like it should mean fresher fish. It does not — it means smaller boxes, worse pick of the catch, and a chef choosing under time pressure at five in the morning.
The broth starts at eleven the night before
Nine hours, three changes of aromatics, and a window of about forty minutes where it is exactly right. Here is what we do with it when service does not line up with that window.
Our chilli oil, written down properly
People ask for this often enough that it seemed rude not to publish it. Two chillies, one of which is grown twenty minutes from here, and a temperature you have to actually measure.
What grows here that we stopped importing
Pak choi, bird's eye chilli, spring onion, lemongrass and ginger all grow well within an hour of Accra. Five things we used to fly in and no longer do, and the two we still cannot replace.
Sushi rice is the whole job
Mei spent her first six months at the counter making nothing but rice. This is what she was actually learning, and why the fish is the easy part.
We changed our boxes four times before this one
Vented lids, separated broth, a base that does not sweat, and a bag that holds temperature for forty minutes. None of it is glamorous and all of it is why the food arrives right.
Enough About
The notes are more fun once you have actually tasted the thing they are about.
New notes go up about twice a month, usually on a Sunday when the kitchen is quiet.
We Deliver
Same kitchen, same chef, same twenty-eight minutes — wherever you are on this list.
Average delivery time
28 minutes
