There is a song by Sunny Ade I play in my head every time I say Imoyo stew. Anyone familiar with King Sunny Ade’s music will know the song I’m talking about.
… Oya ka ma jo lo, loni mukulumuke,
Oya ka ma se lo, loni melo melo
Ka se imoyo alata suesue (×2)
Adun ma ma de ke o, ya lumo ya lumo 💃💃💃 who is dancing with me 🤣
Imoyo is a light watery fish stew. I’m hoping it did the stew enough justice while taking the pictures and editing it, i know i had to work on optics. So I’m wondering if it looks light and fluid enough in the pictures.
Well Imoyo is light and more runny than your regular rice stew, or beef stew.
I like my Imoyo stew to be a little spicy because i find that pepper helps to improve the flavour of fresh fish. I also like to cook my Imoyo with a combination of vegetable oil and palm oil, just because i like that.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 litre blended pepper mix [Tomatoes/Tatashe (Red capsicum)/Ata rodo (red Scotch Bonnet)/Onion] {I use a ratio of 8:2:4 for the pepper mix and you can tweak the pepper quantity depending on how spicy you like it}
- 1 small Onion
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup Palm oil
- 2kg Fresh Obokun or Eja Osan (Blue Catfish or Eel) – you can use your own fish of choice.
- Salt
- Bouillon cubes
- Stock (optional)
Procedure
- Clean and salt your raw fish and set it aside while prepping for your stew. Doing this will allow the fish to be seasoned through before adding to your stew. Just salt is okay, no over the top marinate so as not to lose the flavour of the fish and even the flavour of the stew
- Chop the small onion and set aside.
- Set a clean dry pot on medium heat and heat up palm oil. As it heats up add the onions and allow it to fry till it sizzles, (you may take it out if you leave it till it crisps) . Add the vegetable oil and let it get hot.
- Pour in the blended pepper mix. Season with salt and bouillon cubes (i will use 2 cubes)
- Bring the stew to a boil, the oil and the stew will mix. If you have stock, add it now.
- Cook on medium heat for about 20 mins with the lid of the pot on. If you cook with lid off, you’d lose steam and water will vaporize from the stew. Remember its a runny stew.
- Now add your fresh fish, turn the heat down and let it cook for 10 mins with the lid on. Please taste your stew before you add the fish because, when you add raw fish (especially if it isn’t frozen) it can easily disintegrate in the pot.
- Don’t stir, just shake the pot using it’s handles.
- *It’s okay to add a little water if you find that your soup is starting to thicken.
Once cooked, turn the heat off. Imoyo gives definition to “Omi Obe “. It pairs well with Ewedu soup, okra soup, and can be eaten as a broth too.
Ounje Aladun 