Nigerian Fried Fish Stew With White Rice
- Place the diced onions, crushed stock cubes, and thyme in a clean pot.
- Pour a small amount of water and start heating it.
- Add the fish and leave to boil for 2 minutes. Turn the fish on the other side and allow to boil for another 2 minutes then take them out from the fish stock.
- For a more delicious stew, we need some fish stock (or fish water, like it’s called locally) from the fish. The seasoning we add to the fish goes into the fish to make it taste better, while the juice from the fish goes into the surrounding water to give it a nice taste that will make the stew delicious.
- This boiling process helps toughen the fish thereby preventing it from disintegrating in the stew.
- Set the fish stock aside, Shallow-fry the fish in a small quantity of vegetable oil till golden. The difference between deep-frying and shallow-frying is that in shallow frying, you use less amount of oil and the fish is not immersed in the oil.
- Set the fish aside and place the pot with the fish stock back on this stove (medium heat).
- Once it boils again, add the tomato stew and habanero pepper.
- Add some water to bring the stew to the consistency you like for your stews. Some people like their stew watery, some like it concentrated and some like it somewhere in the middle.
- Add salt, stir and cover the pot and leave to simmer till you see some oil float to the surface of the stew. This is the oil from frying the Tomato Stew, no extra oil is added to Fish Stew.
- While waiting to see the oil, stir the stew at intervals so it does
not burn. - Once you see the oil at the top, add the fried fish. Stir, and cover it up. Once it boils again, the stew is ready! Enjoy with white rice.