Ofada Rice
Nutty local brown rice served with ayamase, a fiery green pepper and palm oil stew with beef and boiled eggs, a Nigerian speciality.
Photograph credit: Ofada Rice by Ijeoma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Where This Goes Wrong
Cook the pepper mixture until dry.
Use less scotch bonnet for a milder stew.
Serve with plantain on the side.
How to Make Ofada Rice
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Boil the beef in the water with a pinch of the salt for 50 minutes until tender. Keep the stock.
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While the beef cooks, boil the rice in plenty of water with the salt for 30 minutes. Drain.
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Meanwhile, blend the green peppers and scotch bonnets until nearly smooth. Cook in a dry pan for 10 minutes to drive off water.
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Heat the palm oil in a large pan until it just starts to smoke. Cool for 1 minute, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for 25 minutes until dark and the oil separates.
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Add the beef, 150 ml of the stock, salt and crayfish. Simmer for 10 minutes, add the eggs and serve with the rice.
Why the Method Works
The sauce is green, and the green is the point. Ayamase, sometimes called designer stew, is a Nigerian sauce built on a mountain of green peppers, scotch bonnets and plenty of palm oil, cooked until the oil separates and the peppers turn to a dark, fragrant olive paste. It goes with ofada rice, a local, unpolished, nutty rice that is a little sticky and has a strong aroma.
Ofada rice is hard to find in the UK and elsewhere, so brown basmati or a short-grain brown rice makes a good substitute. Wash it thoroughly, boil for 30 minutes, and drain. Traditional ofada is served in leaves, which gives a faint woody smell; banana leaves or baking paper are alternatives.
The stew begins with red palm oil, heated until it just starts to smoke and turns clear, then cooled slightly. Fry onions in it, add the blended green peppers and scotch bonnets, and cook for 25 minutes. Do not rush the peppers. They have to cook until the water has gone and the oil sits on top.
Add the beef, boiled until tender, and the boiled eggs, cooked in the sauce for 10 minutes. Serve with the rice.
After You've Cooked It
Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat the stew and rice separately.
Swaps and Variations
- Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
Serving Ofada Rice
- Boiled eggs
- Fried plantain
- Cow skin (ponmo)
- Cold drinks
Ofada Rice Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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