Malewa Staple · Wild Forest Green
Fumbwa (Wild Spinach with Peanuts)
Photo: Élie Nzuzi / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fumbwa is a wild forest vine, Gnetum africanum, that's foraged rather than farmed — vendors dry and shred it before it ever reaches a Kinshasa market stall.
Dried, shredded Gnetum africanum leaves are simmered with ground peanuts, palm oil and often smoked fish into a rich, slightly bitter sauce, ladled generously over fufu or rice at malewa street canteens across the capital.
Why it's made this way: Because it's gathered from the surrounding forest rather than grown as a crop, fumbwa built a direct supply line between Kinshasa's markets and the Bas-Congo and Bandundu woodlands, keeping a foraged ingredient at the center of the city's everyday cooking.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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Photo credits.