Fufu is the soul food of Ghana and much of West Africa. Made by pounding boiled cassava and unripe plantain together in a large wooden mortar until it becomes a smooth, elastic, stretchy dough, fufu is always eaten by hand and always eaten with soup — typically light soup, groundnut soup (nkati nkwan), or palm nut soup. It is never eaten alone.

The pounding of fufu is traditionally a communal activity: one person pounds with a heavy wooden pestle while another turns and folds the dough between strokes. The rhythm of fufu pounding — the alternating beats, the turning motion — is one of the most distinctive sounds of a Ghanaian household at mealtime. The result must be completely smooth: a single lump is considered a failure.

Eating fufu is a technique in itself: diners pinch off a small ball, press a hollow into it with the thumb, and use it as a scoop for the soup. Fufu should not be chewed — it is swallowed whole, which is why the texture must be perfectly smooth. "Instant fufu" powder products have become common in modern households, but traditionalists insist only freshly pounded fufu achieves the correct texture and flavor.