Thiou Tiir (White Rice and Fish with Palm Oil) is a traditional Senegalese recipe for a classic stew of fish and vegetables in a red palm oil and tomato sauce flavoured with local spices served on a bed of rice. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Senegalese version of: White Rice and Fish with Palm Oil (Thiou Tiir).
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This is a classic Senegalese recipe of fish and vegetables in a red palm oil base served on a bed of white rice. This dish calls for yët which are a brined, fermented and dried mollusk. Nététou is the Wolof name of fermented locust beans, a flavour ingredient in many West African dishes. This is available either as a powder or as balls of whole beans.
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
2 fish, cleaned and scaled with 6 deep slashes cut in each side
3 large onions, chopped
100ml palm oil
100ml of vegetable oil (peanut, sunflower, rapeseed etc.)
3 tbsp tomato purée
3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 spring onion (scallion), sliced
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 piece of yët (salted and dried mollusk), chopped
25g of powdered nététou (or whole nététou grains).
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon stock (of your choice)
1 piece Guédj (salted and dried fish also known as stockfish), broken into small pieces
Mixed Vegetables:
2 carrots, cut into strips
1 small cabbage, quartered
4 okra, stem ends removed
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 fresh habanero chilli
bitter aubergine (eggplant) (diakhatou)
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
For the white rice:
1 kg of rice
1.5l of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Method:
Season the fish with a little salt and set aside. Add the vegetable oil to a deep pot and when hot use to fry the fish until the skin is browned and crispy. Remove and set aside. Reduce the oil by half.
Now stir in the tomato purée until dissolved, add the yët and 1 onion. Stir to combine then add 100ml (2/5 cup) water. Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat then add in the red palm oil. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the red oil darkens. Now add the remaining 2 onions.
Mix to combine and cook for 5 minutes then add 500ml (2 cups) water before stirring in the garlic, bell pepper, spring onion, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp black pepper.
Add the vegetables (except the sweet potato, chilli and okra) then stir in the nététou and Guédj along with the chopped tomatoes.
In the meantime, prepare the rice. Heat 1.5l (6 cups) of water in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Wait until you have steam and put the rice in it. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the rice over and close. Wait another 15 minutes and remove the pan from the heat. Leave to stand for 5 minutes without removing the lid.
After 15 minutes, check that the vegetables in the palm oil sauce are tender. Add the fried fish along with the sweet potato pieces, fresh chilli and okra. Continue simmering for 15 minutes.
Take a glass bowl, soak it in cold water to prevent the rice from sticking to the sides. Fill with rice, pack and unmould onto a serving dish. Put the fish next to the rice then arrange some of the vegetables around the fish (do not over-crowd the dish). Place a few cut carrots and an okra on top of the rice.
Take a small bowl and ladle the red oil sauce on it then sit the fresh chilli on top.
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