Ngulu ya Bisso — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Tender beef chunks braised slowly with fresh spinach, tomatoes, and onions in a savory palm oil sauce. A hearty everyday Congolese dish that transforms simple ingredients into a satisfying meal.

Ingredients

800g beef chuck, cubed
500g fresh spinach, washed and chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
2 large onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp palm oil
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups water
1 beef bouillon cube

Instructions

1 Season beef cubes with salt and black pepper. Heat palm oil in a large heavy pot over high heat and brown the beef in batches until deeply colored on all sides.
2 Remove the beef and saute sliced onions in the same pot for five minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute until fragrant and beginning to turn golden.
3 Add diced tomatoes and the whole scotch bonnet pepper. Cook for eight minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down into a thick paste.
4 Return the browned beef to the pot. Add water and bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for fifty minutes until beef is tender.
5 Add the chopped spinach in batches, stirring each addition until wilted before adding more. The spinach will reduce dramatically in volume as it cooks.
6 Simmer uncovered for ten more minutes until the sauce thickens and the spinach is fully incorporated. Serve hot over steamed rice or with fufu.

Did You Know?

In Congolese home cooking, the quality of a cook is often judged by how well they balance the richness of palm oil with the freshness of green vegetables in their stews.