· 2 min read
Asaro is yam cooked soft in a pepper and palm oil sauce. What it is, how it’s made and how it fits on the K’s Spice menu.
Asaro, also called yam pottage or yam porridge, is a Yoruba dish of yam cooked in a pepper sauce. It’s in the specials on our menu.
What it is
Asaro is made with African yam, which is quite different from the sweet potato sometimes called “yam” in the UK. African yam has rough brown skin and firm white flesh, and it’s starchy, like potato.
The yam is peeled, cut into chunks and cooked in a sauce of blended peppers, onions and palm oil, with seasoning and often fish or crayfish. As it cooks, some of the yam breaks down and thickens the sauce, and some stays in soft pieces. The result is thick, orange and comforting.
Why it’s called pottage
Pottage is an old English word for a thick stew. Nigerian English uses “pottage” for dishes like asaro, where the starch and the sauce cook together in one pot.
Yam on our menu
Yam turns up in several forms on our menu:
- asaro (yam pottage), in the specials
- fried yam with fish (red bream), in the specials
- grilled fish with yam and plantain, in the specials
- pounded yam, the swallow served with our soups
Our guide to pounded yam explains how that one is made.
Try it
Hungry?
See what’s on our menu, book a table at 13 Pier Road, or order for collection or delivery.