How To Make Nigerian Egusi Stew for Rice

I will share the recipe for Egusi Stew, a traditional Nigerian stew that you may not have heard of. It is great for boiled white rice, boiled yam and other staples minus fufu meals. We all know about Egusi soup the one we use to eat fufu meals but this one is Egusi Stew.

Nigerian Egusi Stew Ingredients

• 2 cups Egusi
• 1½ cups red palm oil
• Beef (ribs)
• 1 big smoked fish
• Red Bell Peppers
• Habanero (to taste)
• Scent leaves
• 2 Onions
• 1 thumb Ogiri Okpei
• Crayfish
• 1 big seasoning cube
• Salt (to taste)

Notes on the Nigerian Egusi Stew Ingredients

1. If you do not have scent leaves, use basil.
2. Ogiri Okpei is made from locust beans. See video for what it looks like. If you don’t have it, use fermented mushrooms.

Before you prepare Nigerian Egusi Stew

1. Grind the egusi seeds with the crayfish and ogiri okpei using a spice grinder. Even if you have already ground egusi and crayfish, it’s good practice to still run them through the grinder with the ogiri okpei.
2. Chop the onions.
3. Blend the peppers.
4. Debone the smoked fish and break into sizeable chunks. 
5. Rinse, pick and chop the scent leaves or basil which ever you are using.

Directions for making the Nigerian Egusi Stew

1. Steam the beef with some of the chopped onions and seasoning cubes. When done, set it aside.
2. Using a clean dry pot, bleach the red palm oil. See the video below for how to do that safely and correctly.
3. When done with the bleaching, set the pot aside for the oil to cool down to a safe temperature.
4. Fry the remaining onions in the hot oil for a bit.
5. Add the blended pepper and fry till the water in the pepper dries up.
6. Add the egusi, crayfish and ogiri okpei blend and fry till the oil in the egusi starts seeping out. Stir all the time because egusi can burn easily.
7. When well fried, add the beef stock and more water if necessary to bring it to the consistency you like for your stews. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes topping up the water when necessary. This is so that the egusi will be well cooked and the full flavour will come through.
8. After that, add the deboned smoked fish and the beef. Stir and top up the water if necessary. The aim is to have the consistency you like for your stews at all times.
9. Cover and leave it to heat up.
10. Add salt and the scent leaves. Leave to steam again and it’s done.

Serve with boiled white rice, boiled yam and any other staple. This stew is too sweet for fufu meals but if you don’t mind, go ahead. Watch the video below for visual details of how to do it