Tiep bou wekh – senegalese fish rice

15 June 2018

How to make the thieboudieune bou wekh : senegalese fish and rice

For 5 serves
Duration: 2h
Difficulty: a bit sophisticated
Cost : a bit expensive

Today I propose you a very detailed recipe of thiep bou dieun bou wekh (senegalese rice and fish) with pictures for illustration. This dish can be expensive if you want it to be successful. I made the recipe with a quality fish : the “captain” fish (which cost 12 € per kg in France).
In Senegal the thieboudieune was before done with the well known fish “Thiof”. Now that fish cost really expensive and it is usually reserved for export. But what’s important to know is that a delicious thieb bou dieun depends first on the quality of the fish.
Then you can add lots of vegetables: cassava, carrots, eggplant, cabbage, chilli, etc.

On the side of the dish are plenty of sauces :
– Well-known “beugueuthie” which is a mixture of boiled bissap leaves,
– A sauce with a spicy called nététou, which is also called “soumbala” in some african countries (Mali, etc.)
– A sauce with Pepper and tomatoe,
– etc.

So here is my highly detailed version of white fish rice. Do not hesitate if you have any questions. I will be here to answer them.
So here we go!

Ingredients:

For the preparation of the thieboudieun:
25cl of oil, 2 onions, 6 cloves of garlic, 1 big fish of one kilo (thiof, captain, mullet, etc.), 1 bunch of parsley, 4 bouillon cube, chilli powder, salt, pepper , 1 piece of yët, 1 slice of guedji, vegetables: 1 slice of cassava, 1/2 cabbage, 1 fresh pepper, 1 eggplant, 2 carrots, 2 okra. 1kg of rice, 1 teaspoon of nététou (optional), 1 lemon, 40g of tamarind.

For tomato sauce (optional) :
4cl of oil, 2 onions, 50g of concentrated tomato, chilli powder, 2 tablespoons of powdered nététou (or crushed nététou), 1 bouillon cube maggi.

For the beugueuthie sauce (optional) :
1 bunch of bissap leaves, 2 gombos, 1/2 lemon, salt.

Preparation :

1. Start by thoroughly cleaning the fish (clean and empty).
Recover the parsley leaves. Add 2 cloves garlic minced. Mix everything with 1/2 cubic broth, a good pinch of pepper, a pinch of salt, and pepper.
Make a hole in the fish flesh, following the length. Fill the holes with the parsley stuffing.

2. Heat the 25cl of oil.
When the oil is hot, brown the fish a few minutes on each side. Add salt.
When the fish is well colored, remove and reserve.

3. Chop the onion. Wash the yët well by scraping the skin with a knife. Then cut it in half to release all the aromas. Add two cloves garlic minced, yët and onion in hot oil and leave to brown for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 crushed bouillon cube and 1 teaspoon of netetou (optional). Mix and cook for about 1 minute.

4. When the onions are golden brown add 2.25L of water.
Thoroughly wash the guedji by scraping with a knife. Add to the pot. Also add 1/2 cabbage and eggplant cut in half lengthwise, peeled carrots and cassava, chilli pepper and the two okra by removing both ends.
Salt and mix slightly.
Cook for 20 minutes with medium heat.

5. Coarsely chop 1 onion and mix lightly with 2 bouillons cube maggi, a pinch of pepper and hot pepper, 2 cloves garlic minced.
Add this preparation to the pot.

6. Add also the fish. Mix lightly and cook for 20 minutes with medium heat. If in the meantime there are cooked vegetables, remove them.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the beugueuthie: click here to see the recipe for beugueuthie (this recipe may have not been translated yet).

8. When vegetables and fish are cooked, remove and reserve.

9. Once you have removed the fish and vegetables, wash and steam the rice using a steam cooker like in the image or microwave. Normally 10 minutes are enough with a steam cooker and 5 in the microwave.

10. After steaming, also remove the yët and guedji and put in the bowl of vegetables. It should only stay in the pot the sauce.
Add a ladle of sauce in the vegetable bowl.

11. Collect a second ladle of sauce in a small bowl and add the tamarind. Mix well with a spoon and set aside.

12. Add the remaining 1/2 cubic broth in the sauce. Mix. Taste the seasoning and add salt and pepper or hot pepper if necessary.

13. Add the steamed rice to the sauce and mix. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

14. To make sure the rice is cooked, take a few grains between your fingers and crush them. If they are soft it is cooked, otherwise, cook a few more minutes.

15. While the rice is cooking, prepare the sauce nététou.
For this, heat the oil. Add the 2 chopped onions and leave to brown for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the concentrated tomato diluted with 1/3 glass of water. Mix and cook for 5 minutes over low heat.
Add 1/2 glass of water, 1 crushed bouillon cube, plenty of chilli pepper if you can, pepper, and two tablespoons of nététou. Mix and cook for 5 minutes over low heat.

Service:

Serve rice in a large bowl. Add some colored rice from the bottom of the pot. That colored rice is called “hoogne”. Place fish and vegetables above.
Put aside the sauce nététou and sauce beugueuthie.
Enjoy with lemon.