[1] Chikwangue is made by fermenting cassava in water for up to fourteen days, then turning it into a paste and wrapping it in marantaceae leaves for steaming.

The fermented cassava is then pounded into a paste and par-cooked, before being wrapped in Megaphrynium macrostachyum (a plant of the marantaceae or arrowroot family), or banana leaves and steamed or boiled for up to two hours.

The several stages and long processing time are necessary for foods produced from cassava to render them safe to eat.

Cassava contains cyanogenic and antinutritional compounds which are dissipated or inactivated by soaking (retting), fermentation and cooking.

It is served with a variety of traditional dishes of several central African and Congolese cuisines, such as poulet mayonnaise and the vegetable Gnetum africanum (known as okok, fumbua, or m'fumbua).