Shitor Din, commonly called Shito is the word for pepper in the Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

ian native language (Ga) of the capital Accra. Whilst the word for pepper is different for each of the Ghanaian native languages, the word 'Shito' is widely used as the name for the hot black pepper sauce

Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...

 ubiquitous in Ghanaian cuisine.

Shito sauce consists primarily of fish oil

Fish oil

Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid , and docosahexaenoic acid , precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and are thought to have many health benefits.Fish do not...

 and/or vegetable oil, ginger

Ginger

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

, dried fish and/or crustaceans, tomatoes, garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

 and spices. The blend of spices and fish differs between different regions and villages.

In Ghana, shito is used with a variety of dishes. These include kenkey

Kenkey

Kenkey or Dokonu or Komi is a staple dish similar to a sourdough dumpling from the Akan, Ga and Ewe inhabited regions of West Africa, usually served with a soup, stew, or sauce. Areas where Kenkey are eaten are southern Ghana, eastern Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, western Benin and Jamaica. It is usually...

, steamed rice, eba

Eba

Ẹbà is a staple food eaten in West Africa, particularly in the Southern parts of Nigeria made from cassava flour, known in West Africa as gari....

 and waakye (rice and beans). Indeed its uses have been adapted to that of a local ketchup

Ketchup

Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...

 and/or chili oil

Chili oil

Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with dried chili peppers and sometimes also additional ingredients. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, East and Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine, it is used as an ingredient in cooked...

. It is not uncommon to find shito

Shito

Shitor Din, commonly called Shito is the word for pepper in the Ghanaian native language of the capital Accra. Whilst the word for pepper is different for each of the Ghanaian native languages, the word 'Shito' is widely used as the name for the hot black pepper sauce ubiquitous in Ghanaian cuisine...

 being eaten with white bread

White bread

White bread is made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ have been removed through a process known as milling. Milling gives white flour a longer shelf life by removing the bran which contains oil, allowing products made with it, like white bread, the ability to survive storage and...

 or spring rolls. In most Chinese restaurants across Ghana, shito

Shito

Shitor Din, commonly called Shito is the word for pepper in the Ghanaian native language of the capital Accra. Whilst the word for pepper is different for each of the Ghanaian native languages, the word 'Shito' is widely used as the name for the hot black pepper sauce ubiquitous in Ghanaian cuisine...

 replaces hot oil as a condiment to fried rice.