There’s no better introduction to Nigerian cuisine than Jollof Rice, according to Oreoluwa Sofolahan.

She is an international student at the University of Wisconsin-Superior studying premed. But she took a break from her studies to make a classic African dish.

“Jollof rice is basically a dish that you have in every single Nigerian household. Like there is no house without some sort of Jollof rice in the mix. So you have it at weddings, birthday parties, funerals,” she said. “There is Jollof rice everywhere.”

Food is integral to the culture in her home country. She described cooking as a love language.

“If someone comes to your house, they leave with food. If you go for a wedding, you leave with food,” Sofolahan said. “So yeah, there’s a lot of food in the family fridge that is just like from different events.”

But there is some “beef” (not the meat kind) over Jollof Rice.

“The countries that make Jollof rice include Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon. So there’s always this like inner beef like whose Jollof rice is better,” Sofolahan said. “Since I’m making Nigerian Jollof, I’m going to tell you that Nigerian Jollof is better because I’m making it.”

She shared the recipe so people can try it for themselves.