When I first heard of Imoyo, the first thing that crossed my mind was “these Yoruba people dun start their stew wahala.” Until I made a pot and lost all my senses to a pot of stew. I had Imoyo and I never went back to fried fish stew. Now I know why a lot of us fall under the Yoruba stew spell.
Imoyo is a very smooth fish stew cooked with a blend of tomatoes, peppers and onions in African palm oil. The taste of Imoyo is like a the comfort of a lover’s touch on a Wintery day.
Imoyo, may have a mix of palm oil in it, but it is not a fried stew.
My favorite part about making this stew is the sound of the bubbles while it cooks.
Imoyo is one of those foods that you can never forget in a hurry. Especially when it is made right.
I remember when I wanted to make a pot of Imoyo. I had to reach out to my Yoruba sisters and my favorite advice was from a colleague who told me to make sure I strain the tomato and pepper mix before cooking (Thank you). While people add garlic to their Imoyo, I like the traditional way of making it. I’m not one to alter the traditional methods of cooking certain dishes. And I have no regrets staying with the traditional methods for my pot 🙂
Make some…
- 3 medium sized Tilapia or any fresh fish of your choice
- 1 whole lemon
- 6 -8 plum tomatoes
- 1-2 large peppers
- 3 habaneros(ata rodo)
- 1 small onion
- ½-1 cup palm oil
- Bouillon
- salt to taste
- wash fish with lemon and cut into little pieces. season with salt and set aside in a strainer. Blend tomatoes and peppers. Pour through a fine mesh sieve. (save the chaff for your egg stew).
- Heat the oil in a sauce pan(do not bleach), chop the onions into bits and pour into the warm oil. Fry until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook until you see the palm oil peeking through the oil. Add the fish and bouillon if needed.cook for another 16minutes. Enjoy with rice, yam or plantain.
- 3 medium sized Tilapia or any fresh fish of your choice
- 1 whole lemon
- 6 -8 plum tomatoes
- 1-2 large peppers
- 3 habaneros(ata rodo)
- 1 small onion
- ½-1 cup palm oil
- Bouillon
- salt to taste
- wash fish with lemon and cut into little pieces. season with salt and set aside in a strainer. Blend tomatoes and peppers. Pour through a fine mesh sieve. (save the chaff for your egg stew).
- Heat the oil in a sauce pan(do not bleach), chop the onions into bits and pour into the warm oil. Fry until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook until you see the palm oil peeking through the tomatoes. Add the fish and bouillon if needed.cook for another 16minutes. Enjoy with rice, yam or plantain.
This is my soup any day…. I cook everything with palm oil
Yum 🙂
Did you blend the onions with the tomatoees and pepper
No, I didn’t.