🇬🇦 Gabonese Cuisine

Poisson au Nyembwe

Fish in Palm Fruit Sauce

Prep Time 50 min

Servings 4

Difficulty Medium

Calories 456 kcal

Fresh river fish simmered in a luxurious nyembwe palm fruit sauce with garlic and scotch bonnet, yielding a silky, rust-coloured broth that clings to every flake.

Ingredients

1 whole tilapia or snapper (about 1kg), cleaned
1 cup palm fruit paste (nyembwe)
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
1 cup water

Instructions

1 Season fish with salt and garlic, set aside 15 minutes.
2 Heat oil in a pot and sauté onions until golden.
3 Add tomatoes and cook 5 minutes until softened.
4 Stir in palm fruit paste and water, bring to a gentle simmer.
5 Add fish and scotch bonnet, cover and cook 20 minutes.
6 Serve fish in its sauce with boiled plantains or rice.

Did You Know?

In Gabon, the quality of a cook is often judged by the richness and colour of their nyembwe sauce.