Seafood Jollof Rice

Some of the most amazing foods that I have ever had come from Africa. From Ethiopa to Morocco, from Nigeria to Senegal, I am in love with the flavors as well as the communal tradition of eating. My all time favorite dish from the African continent has to be Ceebu Jen, the national dish of Senegal. I was dating a wonderful man that was ex-military, had spent quite a bit of time in Senegal, and ended up raising the sons of his best friend. These boys were amazing and hilarious. They called Tony "toubab", which is translated as "ghost skin" or something close to that. They would also cook dinner for us from time to time, and the rice and fish dish that is ceebu jen blew my mind.

I tried to make ceebu jen once, and it was something of a minor fiasco.

So, last night, my friend Bebe was coming to my house for dinner. Bebe is from Cameroon, and I thought I would attempt, again, to make a popular dish from Africa. This time I went after jollof rice, which is probably one of the better known African dishes to people living in the United States. And this time, though I had to modify the recipe a bit so that David, my pescatarian partner, could it. This is close to traditional jollof rice, but I won't claim it is authentic, but it will give you some of the amazing flavors in that tremendous dish from the Mother Land.

Seafood Jollof Rice

2 catfish fillets cubed
1/2 lb uncooked shrimp
1/2 cup sesame oil (regular or hot)
1/2 medium red onion minced
1 bunch parsley minced
5 cloves garlic minced
1 can tomato paste
1/2 can whole stewed tomatoes
4 cups jasmine rice
2 jalapenos minced (also four Thai chili peppers, one habanero or two poblanos would work depending on your tolerance)
2 medium red potatoes cubed (small!)
1/2 pound fresh green beans chopped (again bite sized pieces)
Two teaspoons salt

In a large pot, heat half to the sesame oil. Next throw in the fish and shrimp. Cook for approximately two minutes, just enough to lightly cook both, but not enough to cook them all the way through. Remove the fish/seafood from the oil and set aside.

In the same oil, add the onion, peppers and garlic. Saute them until the onion starts to turn transparent. Next add the parsley and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes start to soften just a bit. Next add the green beans and salt to the mixture, stirring frequently, for the next three to four minutes.

Next add the rice to the pot. At this point, also add the second part of the oil. Stir the mixture together for two to three minutes making sure that all of the rice is integrated with the vegetables. Then stir in the tomato paste. Continue stirring until the tomato paste has been disseminated throughout the rice.

Next, add half of a regular sized can of stewed tomatoes. Using your cooking utensil, chop up the tomatoes as you stir them into the mixture. Do not use the juice from the can, just add the fruit. Continue stirring frequently for about two minutes. Watch to make sure that the heat isn't too high, so that the contents aren't burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Finally, add in three cups of water. Then throw the fish and shrimp into the mixture Stir two or three times IMMEDIATELY but do not stir after that or your rice will get mushy.

Let the contents come to a rigorous boil. Then reduce the heat and let cook for about 15 minutes/until the rice is cooked. Remove from the heat, stir once, and serve.


This amazingly delicious African inspired dish will cost you roughly, depending on the price of fish/seafood in your neck of the woods, $15-$18 and will easily feed 6 to 10 people.

10th Avenue Tilapia Stew

I love soups of all stripes whether they come with tripe or beef, seafood or pork, soups are delicious. I have met very few soups that I do not like, and those that I have not liked are usually French. Go figure.

So, today I scanned the web for some inspiration, and I took note of what flavors folks suggested should go together, and I decided, in honor of Halloween, to conjure up a creation of my own.

And the result has been a fantastic fish stew that I will be making on a regular basis. This is a lighter soup that will bring a smile to your lips and a warm feelin' in your belly.

10th Avenue Tilapia Stew

3 Tilapia Fillets cubed
1/2 pound squid sliced
1 quart fish stock
1 red onion diced
1 jalapeno
4 cloves garlic
2 bunches green onions diced
1 turnip
1 parsnip
1 carrot
3 red potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp ground sage
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 corn on the cob halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1 red bell pepper diced
1/2 cup diced basil
1 cup white wine

To begin, in a large skillet saute the garlic, red onion, jalapeno, and basil in the olive oil over high heat for five minutes, stirring frequently.

In a large soup pot, combine the remaining ingredients except for the fish and squid. Once the saute is finished add that to the pot as well. Add enough water to the pot to make sure that all of the vegetables are covered. With the soup stock you shouldn't need too much water.

Simmer the soup over medium high heat for 20-30 minutes to allow time for the vegetables to soften. Then, add the shrimp and fish. Cover and simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until the fish is flaky to the touch.

Salt, eat, and enjoy.

This delicious and healthy soup will easily feed two people for days and six to eight people until they are stuffed to the gills. The price of the soup should run you about $15-$18 depending on the price of the tilapia. Squid is amazingly cheap.

Raise the Roof Tilapia

Last night I decided I wanted to try my hand at some west African cooking. I happen to love a dish from Senegal called ceebu jen. My ceebu jen turned out delicious but not quite the way it was supposed to turn out. Practice will make perfect with this dish. Although the total cost of the dish was more than is allowable for recipes on the Fairy Chef, I realized that the preparation for the fish not only was delicious but also very affordable and will add a zing to your fish repertoire.

So break out your food processor/blender and let's make some fish.

Raise the Roof Tilapia

2 pieces fresh tilapia
1 can tomato paste
2 medium sized red onions
1 bunch parsley
4 garlic cloves
1 serrano chili pepper
1 sweet red bell pepper
1 habanero pepper
4-6 red potatoes
2 cups medium grain rice
6 cups cabbage chopped
3 tbs olive or peanut oil
garlic/pepper sauce
salt

Please note you can use any type of hardy fish for this dish...halibut, catfish, tilapia, shark, swordfish, tuna, whatevs.


So, first you need to prepare the roof. Please note, I did not "invent" this. I created a variation of this Senegalese seasoning mixture based on what was available at my local super market.

Mince one of your red onions, the parsley, garlic, bell pepper, and serrano chili. Put in food process and puree. Set this aside.

Cut three grooves the length of each piece of tilapia without slicing all the way through the fish. Then, with a tablespoon, using the edge, pry apart the grooves...fill each groove with the roof. Set this aside.

Mince your second red onion.

In a large pot...heat peanut oil if you have it, otherwise use olive oil. Add the second red onion and sizzle for about 3 minutes. Add to this the fish. Cook for roughly 2 minutes on each side. Then remove from heat and set aside.

To the pot with the oil and onions, add the tomato paste and two tomato paste cans full of water. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes to the mixture. Take a fork and poke holes in the habanero pepper. Remove the stem from the pepper, and add the pepper to the potatoes. Cover about half way with water. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, measure out your rice into a large bowl and soak in water for about 2 minutes. Drain the water. Reach into the bowl and mash the rice with your hands. You want to break up most of the grains. Then, just before the potatoes are finished, take another pot, and cook your rice. For 2 cups of rice, you should use four cups of water. Follow the directions on the rice bag for making the rice.

After thirty minutes, add the cabbage to the top of the pot and lay the fish on top of the cabbage. Add a cup more water and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the cabbage and fish are cooked.

Remove the habanero pepper from the pot. Serve the fish, potatoes, cabbage, and tomato base over the rice! If you have some of the garlic pepper sauce handy that I mentioned in previous recipes, serve on the side to spice up the dish. Salt to taste. Enjoy...traditional ceebu jen is served nuclear spicy..this recipe kept the heat low enough that David didn't make the crazy sucking sounds with his lips that drives me completely nutty.

Depending on the price of fish where you happen to be, this dish should run you roughly $9-$12 and will feed 6 people easily.

The Main Course: Tilapia with Mango/Mushroom/Jalapeno Chutney

So for the main course at the dinner party, I crossed my fingers and hoped that the concoction I had in my head would taste good on a plate. In general, when I experiment in the kitchen it works out, but now and again, every once in a while, something goes terribly terribly terribly wrong. What sounds good in theory tastes like horse ass sweat once it is served up. I usually save those types of experiments for when I am alone and can hide my shame, but this time I was going to serve the product to people I care about...and I was dearly hoping that the entire party didn't end up in the bathroom taking turns projectile into whatever available porcelain object was available.

It turned out my fears were unfounded.

The foodies loved my sauce and even said they were willing to bear witness to their adoration of it. So here, for your taste bud's pleasure, is the recipe.

Tilapia with Mango Mushroom Chutney

2 large pieces of tilapia
½ container button mushrooms
4 cloves garlic minced
1/8 cup red onion
¼ cup cilantro
1 large jalapeno diced
1 large mango
¼ cup olive oil

To begin, you will need to make your chutney. First, slice the button mushrooms thinly. In a small saucepan, saute the mushrooms, onions, and garlic until the mushrooms are cooked. Set aside.

Next add the sauteed mushrooms, mango (sliced into pieces), jalapeno and cilantro into a blender or food processer. Puree the heck out of it, and set aside.

Slice the tilapia pieces in half length wise. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add to it the tilapia. Pour the chutney over the fish. Make sure each piece is covered thoroughly. Cook the fish for seven or eight minutes and then flip over. Cook for another 5 or 6 minutes. Remove from heat.

Lemme tell you...the combination of the sweetness of the mango with the mellow woody flavor of the mushrooms and the minor kick of the jalapenos will do your body good.

Serve the fish with brown jasmine rice and enjoy. This recipe will comfortably feed four people. You can find very affordable and cheap frozen tilapia at Trader Joe's....this delicious dish will run you about $8.

Steamed Roughy with Ginger and Garlic

So, this week I made a couple of new dishes that I am super excited to share with all ya'll.

The other night, David and I went to gongyo at the SGI Cultural Center in New York along with my little brother Oshen and Oshen's new girlfriend (who was such a cutie patootie I just wanted to slap her on a grill and eat her right up). Afterwords, we swung by the Trader Joe's just off Union Square and stocked up on cheap fish. In general, whenever we are down that way, we pick up some frozen salmon, frozen uncooked shrimp, some scarlet snapper, and, this time, we grabbed some frozen Orange Roughy.

I have never worked with roughy before, nor had I ever steamed fish before. Whilst playing a game of Scrabble on Facebook with my Scrabble buddy Fred Chuang of Los Angeles, Fred sent me a message of a tasty way to prepare Catfish. So, I decided to apply some of what he said about the catfish to the orange roughy. And here's what I did:

Steamed Roughy with Ginger and Garlic

2 Large Pieaces Orange Roughy (frozen or fresh)
4 scallions diced
1/4 cup diced ginger root (FRESH!!!!)
1/4 soy sauce
3 cloves garlic minced


Make sure that your roughy is thawed out if you purchased it frozen. Take a large kitchen knife and make an incision down the center of each fillet. Take your ginger and garlic and fill the incisions in each piece of fish with the garlic and ginger. Lay the fish on one of those niffy vegetable steamers that fold up and look sort of like a flying saucer. Place that inside a large frying pan. Fill the bottom of the frying pan with water but not enough water that the water will cover the fish or even touch the fish. You want the fish to steam not boil. Cover the top of the fish with the scallions. Also add some of the scallions to the water in the bottom of the pan. Then pour the soy sauce over the top of the fish fillets. Place a lid over the top of the pan and turn the heat up to med high.

Let the fish steam for about 12 minutes.

Remove from the heat, the fish should be moist and flaky. Orange roughy is a very light fish, and it doesn't take long to cook.

I served the roughy with brown rice and some pan sauteed, with a little butter and garlic, fresh string beans that had been julienned by David. Super delicious!

The total cost for this dish, with the green beans, is roughly $7-$9 and comfortably feeds two. If you get large fillets you could feed four from this recipe.

Yellowfin Tuna Steaks

Hello chilluns:

So, I have had another recipe request, and I thought I would post it here for your consumption.

Ingredients:

2 Eight oz Yellowfin Tuna Steaks
1 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 garlic cloves
1 small piece of fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon of fresh rosemary


In a flat pan or large bowl mix the soy sauce, oregano, chili powder, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic powder together. Dip your steaks in the sauce on both sides. Marinate the steaks for 30 minutes to two hours. If you are going to marinate the steaks for more than 30 minutes, cover and sit in the refrigerator. If for 30 minutes, then leave them out at room temperature.

In a large frying pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil. Heat the oil over a high flame. Mince your ginger and fresh garlic and add to the hot oil. Stir the oil, ginger, and garlic together until the garlic begins to brown. This is to infuse the ginger and garlic into the oil. Remove the steaks from the marinade. Add the steaks to the skillet, and then pour the remaining marinade on top of the steaks. Sear the steaks on each side for approximately two and a half minutes. Add fresh rosemary to the steaks, and then remove from heat. This will cook the steaks roughly half way through and leave a rare center.

Take my advice...while you can cook the steaks the entire way through, tuna is an exceedingly dry fish...and the flavor will be so much better if you leave a rare core to the steaks.

Serve the steaks over brown rice with steamed broccoli and enjoy!

Please note...Trader Joe's, if you happen to live near one, has an excellent assortment of vacuum sealed and frozen fish. You can get quality tuna, snapper, salmon, shrimp (always buy uncooked!) and others in their freezer section, and they are at VERY affordable prices. The total cost for this meal $8-$10 if you are able to get frozen tuna steaks. Fresh tuna steaks will raise the price significantly to $15-$20.

Tilapia a la Prima Anitra with Grilled Asparagus

So, today my cousin, Miss Anitra Brown, emailed me to ask me if I had any recipes for tilapia...and if I posted my recipes any place. I was SUPER flattered that she would come to me for some recipes...as I am just an amateur cook up in the kitchen. So, I sent her a tilapia recipe...it was actually my ocean perch recipe, but it is just as good with tilapia.

Check it out:


Hey Cuz:

I sometimes post my recipes to my blog, but I haven't pooled them all into one place. I thought about starting a second recipe blog...maybe I will do that.

This is how I love to cook me some tilapia.

Tilapia a la Parilla (Grilled Tilapia) con Grilled Asparagus

Tilapia Fillets
3 cloves garlic minced
1 to 3 teaspoons butter
1/4 cup diced scallions
Crushed red pepper flakes
1 lemon cut into halves
Tin foil
Salt
Pepper
3 to 4 fresh basil leaves minced

Get your grill going real nice like...if it is a charcoal grill (which is the best)...get your coals nice and toasty. If you are using a gas grill, turn the heat to medium.

Lay your tilapia on a sheet of tin foil. Sprinkle on top of the fillets your salt and pepper, lay on each piece of fish a pat of butter. Sprinkle on top of the tilapia the scallions, red pepper flakes and basil leaves. Then, squeeze your lemon all over the fish.

Place another piece of tinfoil on top of the tilapia and seal the edges by curling them up.

Place the fish in the foil on the grill and cover.

Cook on the grill for about 5-8 minutes, then open the foil, flip the fish, reseal the foil, and then grill for another 5-8 minutes until the fish is done, is flaky, but don't overcook it or it will dry out.

Grilled Asparagus Recipe

This great served with roast corn on the grill or asparagus.

If you get some of those wooden skewers, you can line up your aspargus side by side...about six to eight pieces, then, near the tip of the asparagus, insert one stick through all six to eight pieces and then insert another stick through the asparagus down near the bottom. Brush some olive oil in a thin layer over the asparagus, and lay them bad boys on the grill. Let 'em cook for a good 5-10 minutes...and then eat 'em up.


You can do the same thing with the tilapia in the oven, if you don't feel like grilling. But the charcoal is fabulous. Also, poke a few holes with a fork into the top and bottom of the foil...not too many...but enough to let the grill taste get up in there.

Love,
Bill Jr.

Again, if you live near a Trader Joe's or a decent fishmonger for folks on the coast (or, in Minneapolis, Coastal Seafoods near the Target on Lake Street), you should be able to get tilapia very affordably. Asparagus is seasonally priced and is best in the mid to late summer. This dish should run you about $9-$12.