Nutty local Nigerian ofada rice served with a fiery green pepper and palm oil stew with assorted meats.
Ofada rice is an unpolished local Nigerian rice variety with a distinctive nutty flavour. It is traditionally served with ayamase (also known as 'ofada stew') — a blazing green pepper sauce made from unripe peppers and locust beans cooked down in palm oil with assorted cooked meats. The combination is intensely flavourful and is one of the most celebrated dishes of Yoruba cuisine.
Serves 4
Wash ofada rice and cook in salted water 35–40 minutes until tender. Drain.
Heat palm oil in a pot over medium-high heat until it loses its redness and turns clear, about 8–10 minutes. This is called 'bleaching'. Add onion and fry until brown.
Pour in blended green peppers. Fry on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes until oil floats on top.
Add locust beans, crayfish, stock cubes and assorted meats. Stir well and cook another 10 minutes.
Serve ofada rice topped generously with ayamase sauce. Traditionally served wrapped in banana leaf for a special occasion.
Bleaching the palm oil is important — it reduces the raw, heavy flavour.
Green unripe habaneros give the sauce its characteristic colour and flavour.
Iru (locust beans) is key to the umami depth — don't skip it.
Use parboiled rice if ofada is unavailable.
Ayamase stew is delicious with fried plantain on the side.
The stew keeps refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 3 months.
Ofada rice comes from Ofada town in Ogun State, Nigeria. The ayamase stew became famous in Lagos restaurants in the 1990s and is now a celebrated national dish.
Brown rice or any unpolished rice variety works well. Ofada has a distinctive slightly fermented aroma that may not be replicated exactly.
Per serving · 4 servings total
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