Cabbage stew

Ingredients

Meat

• 300 gstewing beef, cubed
• 300 gchicken, in pieces
• 1 tspground ginger
• 2stock cubes
• salt and black pepper
• 500 mlwater

Stew

• 1large white cabbage, shredded
• 1onion, chopped
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 100 mlred palm oil, or vegetable oil
• 1whole habanero

To serve

• white rice

Directions

1. Season the beef and chicken with salt, pepper, the ground ginger and one crumbled stock cube, and leave them for 20 minutes.
2. Boil the beef in the 500 ml of water for 40 minutes until nearly tender, and keep every drop of that liquid. It becomes the stock for the stew, and pouring it away is the commonest mistake made with a dish this economical.
3. Add the chicken and cook for a further 15 minutes, then lift both meats out and set the broth aside.
4. Heat the palm oil in a wide pot and fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened.
5. Add the tomato paste and fry it hard for a full 5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and loses its raw edge. This step decides whether the stew tastes of tomato or of tinned tomato paste.
6. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for another 5 minutes.
7. Return the meat along with the reserved broth, drop in the whole habanero, and simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Stir the shredded cabbage in two or three additions, letting each wilt down before the next goes in, then cover and cook for 15 minutes.
9. Stop there. The cabbage should still have some texture; boiled beyond that it goes grey and watery, which is exactly what separates a good cookery-shop stew from a tired one.
10. Lift the habanero out whole, taste, and adjust the salt.
11. Serve over white rice, with the pepper on the side for anyone who wants to break it into their own plate.

Technique

• Red palm oil gives both the colour and a distinct earthy flavour, and vegetable oil makes a noticeably plainer stew.
• It is everyday cookery-shop food in Monrovia, made in large pots for the lunch trade, and it scales up well.
• The whole pepper perfumes the pot without heating it. Anyone who wants the heat breaks it themselves.

Substitutions

• Smoked turkey or dried fish in place of the beef, both very common.
• Stock in place of the cubes, reducing the added salt accordingly.

Variations

• With dried shrimp powder stirred in for depth.
• With pig’s feet, cooked from the start with the beef.
• The same method with potato greens or cassava leaf instead of cabbage.

History

An everyday cookery-shop dish in Monrovia, cheap and made in large pots for the lunch trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cabbage stew?

Cabbage stew is a main from Liberia: shredded cabbage stewed with beef, chicken and tomato paste, served over rice. An everyday cookery-shop dish in Monrovia, cheap and made in large pots for the lunch trade.

How long does Cabbage stew take to make?

Cabbage stew takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hr 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Cabbage stew?

Yes, within limits. Smoked turkey or dried fish in place of the beef, both very common. Stock in place of the cubes, reducing the added salt accordingly.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cabbage stew?

Return the meat along with the reserved broth, drop in the whole habanero, and simmer for 10 minutes.