Thiou

Ingredients

Protein

• 1 kgfish steaks, or 1 kg lamb or beef in pieces

Base

• 4onions, sliced
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 150 mloil
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 4tomatoes, chopped

Seasoning

• 2 tbspmustard, Dijon
• 1stock cube
• 2bay leaves
• 1whole scotch bonnet
• 1 tspblack pepper
• salt
• 1 litrewater

Vegetables

• 2carrots
• 1cassava, in chunks
• half a cabbage, in wedges
• 1aubergine
• 2sweet potatoes

Optional

• netetou, fermented locust bean
• yet, fermented sea snail
• 1 tbsptamarind

To serve

• plain white rice, cooked separately

Directions

1. Slice the onions thickly and cook them slowly in the oil for 20 minutes. Cook them properly soft and sweet rather than rushing them. Use a generous amount of oil, which is normal in Senegalese cooking and is part of the finished sauce. Add the garlic and cook a minute.
2. Add the paste and fry it for 5 minutes until it darkens to a deep brick red. Frying the paste properly is the step that separates a good Senegalese sauce from a thin sharp one, and it is worth the time.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down. Stir in a generous spoonful of Dijon mustard. Add the water, bay, pepper and stock cube. Now the fermented seasonings, if you have them.
4. Add them sparingly, since both are powerful. Meat goes in now and simmers for an hour until tender.
5. Add them by cooking time rather than all at once, and lift each one out as it becomes tender. Lifting them out as they are done is standard Senegalese practice, and it stops the cabbage disintegrating while the cassava is still hard.
6. Keep them warm in a dish and return them at the end. Add it whole and unbroken and lift it out before serving. If it bursts the sauce becomes extremely hot, and people often serve it whole on the side for those who want it.
7. Reduce the sauce until it is thick enough to coat rather than run. Taste and season, and add a little tamarind if it needs sourness. Serve the rice in a wide dish and ladle the sauce, meat and vegetables over the top.

Technique

• Thieboudienne cooks the rice in the sauce and is the celebrated one-pot version.
• Netetou and yet are the fermented Senegalese umami seasonings.
• Mustard in Senegalese sauces is a genuine and characteristic habit.

Substitutions

• Any firm white fish, or lamb, beef or chicken.
• A little fish sauce if netetou and yet are unavailable, which is not the same.

Variations

• Thiou blanc, made without tomato.
• Made with lamb, as thiou yapp.
• With more vegetables, as an everyday version.

History

The everyday alternative to one-pot rice: the sauce is cooked separately and served over plain rice, allowing cheaper cuts and smaller portions.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thiou?

Thiou is a soup & stew from Senegal: tomato or clear onion stew of fish or meat, ladled over white rice. The everyday alternative to one-pot rice: the sauce is cooked separately and served over plain rice, allowing cheaper cuts and smaller portions.

How long does Thiou take to make?

Thiou takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Thiou?

Yes, within limits. Any firm white fish, or lamb, beef or chicken. A little fish sauce if netetou and yet are unavailable, which is not the same.

What is the most important thing to get right in Thiou?

Slice the onions thickly and cook them slowly in the oil for 20 minutes. Cook them properly soft and sweet rather than rushing them. Use a generous amount of oil, which is normal in Senegalese cooking and is part of the finished sauce. Add the garlic and cook a minute.