What it is
A one-pot rice cooked in palm oil rather than tomato stew, with dried fish, periwinkle, crayfish and vegetables cooked into the same pot. The colour is deep orange-brown and the taste is smoky and shellfish-heavy rather than tomato-sweet.
Key ingredients
- Rice
- Palm oil
- Dried fish
- Stockfish
- Periwinkle
- Ground crayfish
- Scent leaf or uziza
- Ground pepper
- Onions
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten on its own from a single pot, with the fish and periwinkle picked out as you go, sometimes with extra pepper sauce.
Cultural significance
Native jollof belongs to the south east and the Niger Delta, and among the Efik and Ibibio it is known as iwuk edesi. It predates the tomato-based jollof that now dominates party menus, and is often described by cooks as the version their grandmothers made. It is prized for depth rather than presentation, and everything goes into one pot.
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