A rich, orange traditional palm nut sauce made with palm nut cream, meat, smoked fish, onion, tomato, and chili, slowly simmered until thick, coating, and deeply flavored.
Ingredients
- 800 ml canned palm nut cream
- 600 g bone-in stewing beef pieces
- 250 g whole smoked fish or large pieces
- 25 g peeled dried shrimp
- 2 pieces yellow onion
- 3 pieces ripe tomatoes
- 1 piece fresh habanero or African chili
- 3 cloves garlic cloves
- 20 g fresh ginger
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
- 1.2 l water
Method
- Quickly rinse the beef pieces, then put them in a large pot with the coarsely chopped onion, garlic, ginger, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cover with water, bring to a simmer over medium heat, then skim carefully when gray foam rises.
- Cook the meat at a gentle simmer with the lid ajar until it begins to tenderize and the broth clearly smells of meat, onion, and bay leaf. The liquid should not boil violently; it should only tremble at the surface.
- Meanwhile, blend or crush the tomatoes with the second onion. The texture can remain slightly rustic: in a traditional sauce graine, the aromatic base will melt into the long cooking.
- Pour the tomato-onion base into the pot. Stir, then cook until the raw tomato smell disappears and the surface takes on a softer red color. The sauce should begin to bind around the meat.
- Loosen the palm nut cream in a bowl with some hot broth taken from the pot, then pour it into the preparation while stirring. This prevents thick lumps and helps the sauce become smooth.
- Add the rinsed dried shrimp and the whole chili. Simmer over medium-low heat, without covering completely, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon to keep the bottom from sticking. The sauce will thicken, become glossy, and form small drops of orange-red oil on the surface.
- Clean the smoked fish by removing the hard bones, fins, and overly dry parts. Add it gently once the sauce is already thick enough to coat a spoon, so it perfumes the sauce without falling apart completely.
- Continue cooking over low heat until the meat is tender, the fish has flavored the sauce, and the palm cream no longer tastes raw. The right texture is dense, velvety, and generous: a spoon dipped into it should come out covered in an orange layer.
- Taste and adjust the salt. If the chili has provided enough fragrance, remove it whole; if you want a hotter sauce, crush it lightly against the side of the pot before stirring.
- Let rest off the heat for a few minutes before serving, so the palm oil can rise slightly and the flavors can settle. Serve hot, traditionally with foutou, white rice, attiéké, or boiled yam.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 582.7 kcal
- Protein
- 36.46 g
- Carbohydrate
- 9.84 g
- Fat
- 43.79 g
- Fibre
- 2.02 g
- Calcium
- 24.7 mg
- Iron
- 0.82 mg
- Magnesium
- 19.85 mg
