← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 700 g beef and tripe (or any mix of meats), cut into chunks
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 4 green peppers, deseeded and chopped
• 2 Green chilli
• 2 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 125 ml red palm oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2 tbsp Iru (fermented locust beans)
• 2 tbsp Ground crayfish
• 5 Eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

Method

1. Put the meat in a pot with the salt, a handful of the diced onion and enough water to just cover. Simmer, covered, for 45–50 min until tender. Keep the stock.
2. Pulse the pepper-base ingredients to a coarse paste (not smooth). Boil it in a pot over medium heat for 15 min, stirring, until the water has mostly evaporated.
3. Bleach the palm oil: open a window and turn on the extractor. Heat the oil in a heavy pot with the lid on over medium heat for 10–12 min, until it turns pale and clear. Turn off the heat and leave it to cool for 5 min.
4. Return the oil to medium-low heat, add the rest of the diced onion and the iru and fry for 2 min until fragrant.
5. Add the pepper paste and fry for 15–20 min, stirring often, until the oil separates and the stew darkens slightly.
6. Stir in the meat, crayfish and about 250 ml of the stock. Simmer for 10 min and season with salt.
7. Add the eggs, spoon the stew over them and cook for 5 min more. Serve with ofada rice or plain white rice.

Tips

• Bleaching palm oil smokes a lot: never leave it, and never let it catch fire. For an easier version, skip bleaching and use half palm oil, half vegetable oil.
• Crayfish is a shellfish allergen.
• 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:

Chef Lola's Kitchen Low Carb Africa Sisi Jemimah