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Sauce Kplala (Jute Mallow Leaf Stew with Smoked Fish)
A viscous, nutrient-dense jute mallow stew simmered with fragrant smoked catfish, beef chunks, fermented locust beans, and fiery fresh peppers.
The story
Sauce Kplala, made from the tender leaves of jute mallow (*Corchorus olitorius*), is an ancestral pillar of Mandé culinary heritage across northern and central Côte d'Ivoire. Served as a centerpiece family lunch alongside generous bowls of hot steamed local rice or boiled yam, it is celebrated for both its mucilaginous texture and restorative vitality. A crucial technical nuance involves simmering the chopped greens with a pinch of food-grade potash (kanwa) or sodium bicarbonate to maintain a vivid emerald green color and preserve the leaf's signature slippery mouthfeel.
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