Imoyo, Best Nigerian Stew
Imoyo is a traditional Yoruba stew: a simple, fish-based dish cooked in palm oil. Watch Rayo make it step by step.
Video
Original video: watch on YouTube
Ingredients
10 items
- Fresh fish (e.g. tilapia, croaker or catfish; fish type is a suggestion, confirm in the video)
- Palm oil (do not bleach the oil)
- Fresh tomatoes (the largest quantity of the blended ingredients)
- Onions (a generous amount)
- Fresh rodo (scotch bonnet) (a substantial amount)
- Tatashe (red bell peppers) (deseeded)
- Salt
- Holy Spirit spice
- Fish seasoning (or crayfish)
- Water (enough for a loose, not thick, stew)
Instructions
6 steps
- Season the fish with salt and fish seasoning (or crayfish) and set it aside to marinate.
- Blend the tomatoes, onions, rodo and deseeded tatashe until completely smooth.
- Pour the palm oil into a pot and heat it. Do not bleach the oil.
- Add the blended pepper mixture straight into the hot palm oil and fry until the oil bubbles up to the surface.
- Lower the heat so it does not splash. Add salt, Holy Spirit spice and water until the stew is the right consistency; imoyo is not meant to be thick. Add the marinated fish.
- Stir gently once, cover the pot, turn the heat up high and let it finish cooking. Do not stir often and do not overcook the fish, or it will break.
Cooking tips
- Deseed the tatashe before blending.
- Do not bleach the palm oil.
- Imoyo is not meant to be a thick stew.
- Do not stir often or overcook the fish, so it does not break.