Ebbeh is a Gambian street food, a seafood soup made with casava and seafood seasoned with lemon, tamarind and chillies. It is delicious, filling and easy to make using wholefood ingredients found in any supermarket.
Ebbeh is one of the most popular street foods in the country. It is made using cassava as the base with smoked fish, seafood of your choice, and palm oil seasoned with lemon, tamarind, and chilli. It is mainly eaten in the evening or during lunchtime however, I sometimes have it for breakfast. It is also popularly served during naming ceremonies or parties. Ebbeh is perfect for any season but great for the autumn-winter season. This is a delicious, heartwarming soup made using nutritious whole food. Cassava is a root vegetable also known as yuka; you can either use fresh cassava or frozen. Another important ingredient to add is crabs or crab meat, so please do add some if you have it.
Ebbeh can be served with a delicious, refreshing Bissap (Hibiscus Juice) They are a perfect match, the mint in the drink will cleanse the palate after eating.
Ingredients
- Cassava: This is the base of the Ebbeh, you can either use fresh casava or frozen.
- Palm oil: I know this oil has a bad representation within the Western world. However, it is one of the most important components of this dish. If you live in the UK, you can get palm oil in your local African stores or any Sainsbury supermarket.
- Smoke Mackerel: I use smoked mackerel, which is delicious and adds to the dish's richness. Smoke fish is one of the most important ingredients in making Ebbeh. In The Gambia, we mostly use smoked Bonga fish, but in the UK, it is not accessible, so I use Smoked Mackerel.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
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Substitutions
- Frozen Shrimps - instead of frozen shrimps, you can use fresh shrimps or prawns.
- Alaskan Pollock- You can omit the frozen Alaskan Pollock and add an extra two fillets of smoked mackerel.
Storage
Ebbeh can be stored in a tight-lid container and stored in the fridge for a week or frozen for a maximum of two weeks. Thawn it in the Fridge until defrosted and heat it in a pot on low heat or heat it using a microwave.
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Recipe
Ebbeh
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
Description
Ebbeh is a Gambian street food, a seafood soup made with casava and seafood seasoned with lemon, tamarind and chillies.
Ingredients
- 1 Killigram (2.2 Lbs) of frozen Cassava chips
- 2 litres of water
- 2 Fillets of Smoked Haddox ( Skin on & Boneless)
- 2 Frozen fillets of Alaskan Pollock (Skinless & boneless)
- 200 grams of frozen cooked Mussels meat
- 100 grams of frozen Prawns ( Cooked and peeled)
- 100 grams of Tamarind
- 2 Tablespoons of Chilli flakes
- ⅔ cup of Pam Oil
- 1 Teaspoon of Salt
- 4 Small Maggie Cubes or bouillon seasoning of your choice
- 2 Fillets (190 grams)of British Smoked Mackerel
- 3 Medium Lemons (Juiced)
Instructions
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- In a large cooking pot, add the cassava and water and bring it to a boil in high heat until the cassava is cooked and soft. When you can easily pierce into the cassava using a fork, it is cooked. This will take between 25-30 minutes.
- Now, take three cassava chips into a bowl and mash it up, then add it back to the cooking pot and stir it well until combined using a wooden spoon. This will thicken the broth. Using a fork or cooking spatula, break the remaining cassava chips in the cooking pot into two to three pieces now reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Next, add the smoked Haddox and Alaskan Pollock fish into the cooking pot and cook it for ten minutes. Now, fillet the fish into medium pieces in the cooking pot using a fork.
- Now, using your hands, break the tamarind block into small pieces and add it to the cooking pot. Add the mussels, fillet smoke mackerel, chilli, salt, maggie cubes and lemon juice. Gently mix it until combined to avoid burning.
- Now you have about 15 minutes left, add the palm oil and gently stir it until well combined. Add the prawns, half cover the cooking pot and leave it to cook. Taste the seasoning.
- Now the Ebbeh is ready, turn off the heat and garnish with extra chilli flakes, lemon or salt.
Notes
Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir the Ebbeh. It is normal to have a caramelised bottom but not burnt. You can add crabs or crab meat to the Ebbeh.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 1 Hour
- Category: Mains
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Gambian
