Trip to the Fish Market

"Oh hello, Mr. Health Inspector."

During Mr. O's previous stint in Ghana, he kept his meat intake low and his fish intake lower. Now that he has the means to acquire various proteins, the menu has gotten significantly longer. Marina Mart flies in their own fresh meats from Europe (the French butcher is quite knowledgeable), the restaurants have stepped up their culinary game (their secret: Brazilian chicken) and even some enterprising Ghanaians have developed modern farms and abattoirs (high quality local pork is now available).  

This also meant a rediscovery of fish in Ghana as well. At the chop bars, fish is barbecued whole, very crispy and is not particularly appetizing. Now, fresh fish can be ordered at all sorts of restaurants and resorts. There is even a guy that will deliver to your door a variety of fish caught in the morning and prepared during the day - for a price.

Or one can go and get their own fish. While fishing in the Gulf of Guinea is best reserved for the locals, one can take a trip to the Tema Fish Market to inspect and purchase the day's catch. Being something new, the family of course got in the car and drove to the industrial harbour to check it out with friends. It's not every day that one plans a family excursion around driving to a functioning manufacturing district/seaport.

"I don't know how to cook it either."

The fish market is fairly non-descript: off a main industrial road is a driveway surrounded by unmarked stalls where the market ladies store their day's purchase on ice and vie aggressively for the customers that come, including Accra's restauranteurs and other enterprising obrunis. Prices are negotiated, fish are scaled, gutted and cleaned (a word that in this case should not imply a reasonable level of hygiene). The group bought a wide variety of fish: tuna, grouper, cassava, shrimp prawns, calamari and even live lobster.

There are a few drawbacks to the fish market. First, it requires a drive to Accra's industrial satellite Tema on a Saturday morning, where traffic jams are the norm. Second, one needs to have a good idea of a) what they want, b) what they are willing to pay, and c) which market lady is the right one. Third, it smells like fish (surprise!), an odor one takes home with them. Fourth, it means the buyer will need to prepare the fish, unless they have some help.

Mrs. O, being the pragmatic one, invited their fish-purchasing friends for dinner. While there was some significant work involved in preparing the fish, it was all in good fun. Most notable was the group looking up how to kill a lobster on the internet (thanks, youtube). Some high-quality beef kebabs were also procured, so dinner that night was a delicious surf and turf with lots of wine.