Photo: Dbilakovic
T
his is a classic Senegalese dish, pronounced cheb-o-djin, Thieb-ou-
Djien, Thiebu Djen and sometimes just called Thieb or in French, Riz
au Poisson. This dish is considered as the grandmother of the zesty rice
dish ‘Wollof rice’or ‘Jollof rice’ commonly eaten across West Africa.
52 •
The Lion King
• October - December 2016
Food
THIEBOUDIENNE - CEEBU JEN
By Afolake Solomon
It is an original African dish, rich in local
spices, roots and grains with a healthy
combination of protein. As is our cus-
tom, let’s get this show on the road,
roll up our sleeves, tie our aprons and
get working...
Ingredients
(for 4 people)
•
3 to 4 lean Whole fish (e.g. Bass,
Pike, Hake, Tilapia or Snapper)
•
200grms of Shrimps
•
1 bunch parsley, chopped
•
2 shallots, minced
•
4 garlic cloves, pressed
•
4 hot peppers, Scotch Bonnet or
habanero, chopped
•
3 tablespoons of finely chopped
fresh parsley
•
1 green onion, thinly sliced
•
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
•
25grms of Nététou/ Dadawa/ Iruu
•
2 small dried fish (a.k.a guedj)
•
150mls of Peanut or Vegetable oil
•
1 Large bulb of onion (Chopped)
•
100grms of Tomato paste
•
300grms of peeled tomatoes
•
4 bay leaves
•
2 Med sized carrots (peeled and cut
into chunks)
•
2 potatoes (or sweet potatoes),
peeled and cut into chunks
•
1 Med sized Aubergine- Eggplant
(sliced into large chunks)
•
1 Med sized Cabbage, cut into
wedges
•
6 okras
•
250grms of white rice thoroughly
rinsed
•
1 lime, sliced
Preparation
(Cook time: 1hr 30mins)
Pound the parsley, garlic, shallots, bell
pepper and salt to taste, to a smooth
blend, in a bowl using a spatula. Punch
a hole into the cleaned fish and stuff
it with the spice, while you dip your
shrimps into it, marinate by setting it
aside for about 10-15mins
Pre heat and pour the peanut oil in a
deep fryer to fry your fish and shrimps
to a crisp (ensure browning is even on
both sides) and set aside in a warmer
to preserve its temperature.
Pour your tomato paste, peeled toma-
toes, potatoes, nététou, your dried
fish, cabbage, egg plant, carrots,
onions, and pepper, salt and spices-
bay leaves, curry, thyme, black pep-
per, seasoning cube) as desired into
the oil used to fry the fish and stir, then
add about 150mls of water to make
a broth. Cook for about 15-20mins so
it’s juicy and set the vegetables and
tubers aside, also conserve its tem-
perature.
Into the broth, pour in the rice and
cook till it softens as desirable, add
water periodically to reduce the burnt
out part of the pot (though this part is
believed to be sweetest (the xooñ, to
be relished by the chef). Voila! We are
ready to serve.
Serving:
Traditional Senegalese dishes are
often eaten from a platter, but in this
edition let’s explore solo serving. Your
chilled homemade lemonade will not
let you down if you choose to serve as
your drink of choice.
NUTRITIONAL FACTS
Servings: 1
Calories
422
Total Fat
29 g
Saturated
18 g
Total Carbs
2 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
40 g
Cholesterol
81 mg
Calcium
1,000%
Iron
1%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
