Sauce Kopè — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A thick, glutinous okra sauce loaded with smoked fish and seasoned with fermented locust beans, delivering umami richness in every spoonful.

Ingredients

500g fresh okra, finely chopped
300g smoked fish, deboned
2 onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp palm oil
2 scotch bonnet peppers
1 tbsp fermented locust beans (soumbara)
1 bouillon cube
Salt to taste

Instructions

1 Wash and finely chop the okra. The finer the cut, the thicker the sauce.
2 Heat palm oil in a pot. Sauté onions until translucent, then add chopped tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes.
3 Add the chopped okra and stir well. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
4 Add soumbara, scotch bonnet, bouillon, and salt. Stir and cook 5 minutes.
5 Add smoked fish pieces, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until sauce is thick and cohesive.
6 Serve hot with placali, foutou, or rice.

Did You Know?

The slimier the okra sauce, the more it is appreciated — Ivorians judge a good sauce kopè by its ability to draw long strings when lifted with a spoon.