What it is
Plain boiled white rice served with a red tomato and pepper stew cooked with meat or fish. The rice is cooked in water without seasoning, so all the flavour sits in the stew ladled over it.
Key ingredients
- White rice
- Blended tomatoes
- Red peppers
- Scotch bonnet pepper
- Onions
- Tomato paste
- Palm or vegetable oil
- Beef, chicken or fish
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Rice is served on the plate and stew spooned over it, with fried plantain, moi moi or a boiled egg alongside.
Cultural significance
Rice and stew is the most ordinary rice meal in Nigeria and the standard against which jollof is a special occasion. A pot of stew is cooked once and eaten across several days with rice, yam or beans, which makes it the backbone of household cooking rather than a party dish.
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