Steaming in a Hot Pepper and Tomato Sauce

Fish Stew

Fish stew is made in Southern Nigeria by seasoning fish allowing to marinade and then

steaming in a hot pepper and tomato sauce.

All parts of the fish apart from the scales, gills, guts and fins are usually eaten, but you may

use beheaded fish if you wish.

This dish is normally served with rice, or along with vegetable soup, okra or ogbono soup if

eating garry, ̀am̀al̀a, pounded yam or fufu.

A salad mix of your choice is sometimes served with rice, Nigerians generally have salad with

a bit of salt, pepper and oil.

With this meal, you can also serve some fruit or fruit salad for afters.

Ingredients

You will need the following to cook to this recipe for four.

• Four medium sized tilapia

• A hand blender or household blender and or a grater

• One lemon or two tablespoons of lemon juice

• Two cloves of garlic or a half tablespoon of garlic powder (optional)

• 100 grammes of fresh ginger or two tablespoons of ginger powder (optional)

• 250 grammes of fresh tomatoes or 1 tin of peeled or chopped plum tomatoes in tomato

juice

• One Large onion

• One medium sized sweet pepper

• One scotch bonnet pepper or a small green chilli – green chillis are

hotter or one tablespoon of dried ground chilli pepper

• 100mls of palm oil or sunflower oil or vegetable oil

• Two knoor or maggi seasoning cubes

• one tablespoon all purpose seasoning.

• Salt

• Black pepper

Cooking

• Allow one medium sized tilapia fish scaled, gutted with the gills removed and the fins

trimmed off for each person.

• Rinse the fish under some cold water and cut into two or three pieces and place in a

plastic bowl.

• Add the lemon juice and some water and allow to stand for about two minuites then

drain.

• Blend or grate the fresh ginger, garlic and a third of the onion and add the all purpose

seasoning and mix into a paste (if using powdered spices, then blend the onion and

add the all purpose seasoning, powdered garlic and ginger to this)

• Season the fish with the paste and allow to marinade, you can do so for around thirty

minutes or prepare the fish season and keep in the fridge for up to three hours.

• While waiting for the fish, peel the rest of the onion, blend into a paste, adding the

fresh or tinned tomatoes, the sweet pepper, the scotchbonnet or green chilli and some

water. Use half of the pepper if you do not like it too hot.

• Once blended, put the paste in a saucepan, add the cooking oil and the seasoning

cubes. Simmer on medium heat for around 15 minuites. If the consistency thickens,

add some water and allow to continue simmering.

• Once the sauce starts to take on the appearance of tomato sauce, add the fish pieces to

the pan. Make sure all the fish pieces are covered by the sauce, you can add a bit of

water if the sauce is too thick. Take care not to stir the stew with a spoon once the fish

is added.

• Add some black pepper and salt if you wish. It is advisable to add the salt by mixing

it in two tablespoons of water first.

• Cover the pot and allow to steam for five minutes.

• Check the stew and mix by holding the pot by the handle and gently swishing the

stew.

• Your fish stew is ready to serve.

Troubleshooting

• Never add frozen fish to the sauce

• Do not over cook, as a guide, ten minuites of steaming should be enough or your fish

will disintegrate.

• Be careful with the salt, taste before you add more. Add none if unsure.

• If the stew is too hot then simply carefully remove the fish from the sauce, blend some

more tomatoes and add a seasoning cube and a bit of cooking oil. Cook this

separately and then add to the existing sauce. You can discard some of the existing

sauce if it is scorching hot to taste and then allow the sauce to simmer for around five

minuites, taste to check you like the heat level and then return the fish to the sauce

and leave on the lowest heat level for a minute or two. Swish gently to allow the fish

to take up some milder sauce.

• The scotch bonnet and green chilli is very hot so only use as much or as little as you

can stomach. If unsure, then do not add any at all, blend your chilli into a thick paste,

add a little salt and a small drizzle of oil and present this to your guests in a separate

dish for them to use if they wish. Alternatively, a salt dispenser filled with chilli

powder is okay.

• Your fishmonger should clean the fish for you if you ask, check that all the scales are

off and fins trimmed before cooking.

• It is usually nicer to dish up the stew into a presentation dish and place on the dining

table for self service.