What to use instead of dawadawa
Quick answer
The closest option is MSG, rated situational. MSG, or a stock cube, supplies the savouriness of dawadawa and nothing of its aroma. The soup will be savoury and will not taste fermented — which is exactly the change that has happened in many West African kitchens as cubes replaced the ferment.
It will not do for: Efo riro and other dishes where iru’s smell is part of the dish; Anyone cooking to reproduce the traditional flavour.
All recorded options
Ranked by suitability. Ratios are given only where they are defensible, and always with their basis — by weight or by volume — because spice densities differ.
MSG
SituationalMSG, or a stock cube, supplies the savouriness of dawadawa and nothing of its aroma. The soup will be savoury and will not taste fermented — which is exactly the change that has happened in many West African kitchens as cubes replaced the ferment.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| partial | unrelated | different | n/a |
Works for
- Supplying savoury depth in a soup or stew
Does not work for
- Efo riro and other dishes where iru’s smell is part of the dish
- Anyone cooking to reproduce the traditional flavour
Cuisine: A modern substitution many cooks already make; the dish loses its fermented identity.
Where dawadawa stands in for something else
The same substitutions, read in the other direction.
- Instead of Ogiri — good