← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 800 g firm fish steaks (hake, croaker, sea bass or mackerel)
• 1 tsp Salt, divided
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 3 red peppers, chopped
• 3 Tomato, chopped
• 2 Onion, 1 chopped, 1 sliced
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 2 cm piece Ginger
• 150 ml vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
• 1 tsp Curry powder
• 1 tsp Dried thyme
• 125 ml fish or chicken stock
• 1 green pepper, sliced (optional)

Method

1. Pat the fish dry and season with half the salt and the garlic powder. Heat 1 cm of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the fish for 3–4 min per side, until golden and firm. Drain on kitchen paper.
2. Blend the red peppers, tomatoes, chopped onion, scotch bonnet, garlic and ginger until smooth. Simmer the purée in a pot over medium heat for 10–15 min until reduced by about a third.
3. Heat the 150 ml oil in a wide pan over medium heat and fry the sliced onion for 3 min. Add the reduced pepper purée, curry powder and thyme.
4. Fry the sauce for 20 min, stirring often, until it turns deep red and the oil floats on top.
5. Stir in the stock and remaining salt, then nestle in the fish and green pepper, if using. Simmer gently for 5 min, spooning sauce over the fish, without stirring so it stays whole. Serve with rice, yam or plantain.

Tips

• Reducing the purée before frying saves time and stops the oil from spitting.
• Fried fish holds its shape best; for a lighter stew, poach the raw fish in the sauce for 8 min instead.
• Wear gloves to cut or blend scotch bonnets, keep your hands away from your eyes and wash the board, knife and blender well afterwards.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Eat Well Abi My Diaspora Kitchen