County Kildare, Ireland
Quick Nigerian Fish Stir-fry with baby potatoes
30 Minutes
6 Servings
Introduction
An easy, quick and tasty dinner ready in 30mins all made possible with a wok! This gives me the vibes of more traditional red stews made in less of the time and the vibrant colour from the variety of peppers. I loved red stew - meat or chicken and learning that I don't hate all fish after all. So, this is one to add to the recipe list if you need a quick option to make during the week or prep ahead. This stores perfectly in the fridge for up to 4 - 5 days. I love my Nigerian food heritage, and this inspires how I cook a lot of other cuisines - so this is me showing my love.
Steps
Clean and marinate the fish and roast in the oven
Wash, halve and boil the potatoes until soft
Chop the peppers and onions (a food processor will make this quicker)
In the very hot wok, add oil until translucent
Add the vegetables to the hot oil and stir from time to time
Grate garlic and ginger into the wok
Add the tin tomatoes, mix and let it fry
Take fish out and let it cool, then shred
Once the sauce is almost cooked add the shredded fish and mix gently
Drain potatoes and serve on a plate with the sauce.
Blog
This fish sauce is super tasty and easy to make, it takes less time to come together due to the multiple things happening at once! But don't be frightened - it’s not too much to handle and the reward is a lovely dish in 30mins!
To make this all happen, the important kitchen equipment to have is a wok (for balancing the high heat), oven tray for the fish and a food processor if you have one.
How to make
For the fish I have used mackerel, but you can use other fish such as Titus. Now that is sorted, clean the fish (this can be done at a fish monger), paper towel dry and drizzle both the outside and insides with up to 2 tsp of oil. Marinate the fish with 2 tsp paprika, 1tsp chilli pepper, 1/2 of the stock cube and salt, black pepper to taste (any other stock cube will work) and place in an oven at 180 degrees gas to roast for 20 - 25mins. If you are making this ahead of time you can leave to marinate up to a day before baking but 1 - 2 hours will work also.
Wash and clean the potatoes leaving the skin on if its baby potatoes for the extra nutrients and texture. Halve and place the potatoes in a pan, season with salt, black pepper, 1tsp of butter (optional) and cover with water to boil for about 20mins.
Chop the peppers and onions, if you have a food processor, use the slice blade plate as this will save you some time. Alternatively, slice the peppers and onions into thin strips and set aside. Grate the ginger and garlic separately from the rest of the vegetables.
Moving on to the sauce, place the wok on high heat and add palm oil till translucent. Add the peppers and onions to the oil and reduce the heat to medium to allow the vegetables to fry evenly for 2mins. Stir from time to time to make sure it does not burn, then mix in the grated garlic and ginger.
Increase the heat back to high and add the tin chopped tomatoes, mix and allow the liquid to reduce slightly. Add in the rest of the seasoning (1tsp Maggi, salt, black pepper) and ground crayfish if using. Crayfish is a popular ingredient in many Nigerian's diets especially in the south and west and adds to the complexity of the sauce or soup flavour. You can find this in African or Asian stores across the UK. Allow the tin tomatoes to fry for 15mins stirring frequently reducing the heat to medium.
Take the fish out and let it cool slightly, shred and add to the sauce and mix gently on a low heat. Drain potatoes in a sieve and return to the pan after boiling for 20mins. Once the fish and sauce is combined turn the heat off.
Serve the potatoes on a plate with the stir-fry sauce and get stuck in. You can also enjoy this with rice, agege bread (local nigerian bread), or yams. Otherwise, if cooking ahead, allow to cool down completely and then serve into storage containers.
Comment below and let me know how you found this recipe.
Enjoy!
#dinner #weekendlunch #mealprep #homecook #homecookedmeals #quickmeals #stirfry #wok #easymeals
- Mackerel fish (whole)
Red Onions 3 medium
Mixed bell peppers 2 medium
Long Sweet pepper 1
Scotch bonnet 1
Potatoes 500g
Chopped tin tomatoes 400g
Garlic clove 3
Ginger 1 inch
Chilli pepper 2 tsp
Paprika 2 tsp
Maggi one pot 1 1/2 cubes
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste
Palm oil 1/2 cup
Olive oil 2 tsp
Optional: butter, ground crayfish 1tbp