Rice Krispies

If only the Beninese knew that the fried rice treats they mix with peanuts are what I can only are guess part of a million dollar enterprise in the United States. This was my thought to myself as I sat in the middle of the chaleur (the heat) on a Wednesday afternoon, next to a skillet with hot oil (oil being one of the major food groups here in Benin). I watched for the tenth time the girl scoop out a few cups full of rice that had been tried out in the run all day on a sleeping mat, and drop it into the oil. Quickly the rice rose to the top, and was promptly removed before thirty seconds were up. The rice no longer was shrivelled and brown, but puffy, pale, and crisp. No matter how many times I watched this simple procedure, which yielded so much food, I could not believe—this snack was like rice krispies. A small plastic sandwich bag of this is sold for 25 CFA here, about five cents in the United States. I went home with a whole pot of the treat.