Pem bem

Ingredients

The fish

• 1 kgfirm white fish
• in thick steaks
• or a whole fish, cut up
• salt

The pot

• 3onions, sliced
• 4 tablespoonsred palm oil
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato paste
• 2hot chillies
• or to taste
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 2stock cubes
• about 600 ml water
• salt and black pepper

Sometimes added

• okra
• bitter tomato
• or aubergine
• a handful of greens

To serve

• plain white rice
• eaten with the right hand

Directions

1. Reduce it if you must but know it changes it. Fish cooks through in minutes. Cut the fish into thick steaks. Season the fish well with salt. Thick pieces hold together far better. Cut them about three centimetres thick. Set the salted fish to one side. Salt firms the surface of the flesh. That helps it to hold together.
2. Heat the palm oil in a wide pot. Do not let the oil smoke at all. Add the sliced onions to the pot. Cook them for a good ten minutes. The onions should soften right down. Add the crushed garlic to the pot. Cook it for one full minute only. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot.
3. Cook them down for about eight minutes. Add all the tomato paste to them. Fry it for two or three minutes. Add all of the water to the pot. Add the stock cubes and chillies. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. The base needs time to deepen.
4. Add okra or aubergine to the pot. Some cooks want that and some do not. Add it whole to reduce the effect. Use a slotted spoon or your hands. Cooking the fish takes minutes.
5. Let it simmer for about eight minutes. Eight minutes suits a thick steak. Check it rather than timing it blindly. Do not stir once the fish is in. Shake the pot gently instead if needed. Leave it well alone as it cooks. Judging it takes a careful check.
6. Take it off as soon as it flakes. It carries on cooking in the hot stew. Stir in a handful of greens at the end. They wilt in a couple of minutes.
7. Add them after the fish is done. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt. A plain stew needs real seasoning. Ladle it out over plain white rice. Both of those arrangements are done. Cook fresh fish in reheated sauce.

Technique

• Red palm oil gives the deep orange-red colour and a particular flavour and is essential — another oil gives a pale different dish, and colour is part of how this stew is judged. It is semi-solid when cool and melts to a clear orange liquid; do not let it smoke, since overheated palm oil loses its colour.
• The base is cooked and deepened first and the fish added only near the end for about eight minutes: fish cooks very quickly and long cooking breaks it apart and dries it out. Lower the steaks in gently rather than dropping them, space them out, and do not stir once they are in — shake the pot gently instead.
• Fry the tomato paste for two or three minutes before the liquid goes in, which removes its raw metallic taste and deepens the colour.

Substitutions

• Okra, aubergine or bitter tomato are all common additions in the region; okra releases mucilage that thickens the pot, so add it whole rather than cut if you want less of that effect.
• Any firm white fish in thick steaks works, since it must hold together in the sauce; it is made with whatever the day’s catch brings in rather than a fixed species.

Variations

• Fresh fish has clear bright eyes, red rather than brown gills and firm flesh, and smells clean; cloudy sunken eyes, brown gills or a sour smell mean discarding it.
• Salt the fish and set it aside fifteen minutes before cooking, which firms the surface and helps it hold together.
• Oil separating slightly on the surface shows the stew has cooked down properly and is a good sign rather than a fault.

History

A dish of the Jola communities of the lower river and Foni, cooked with the day’s catch.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pem bem?

Pem bem is a main from Gambia: jola fish stew simmered with onion, chilli and palm oil. A dish of the Jola communities of the lower river and Foni, cooked with the day’s catch.

How long does Pem bem take to make?

Pem bem takes 25 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Pem bem?

Yes, within limits. Okra, aubergine or bitter tomato are all common additions in the region; okra releases mucilage that thickens the pot, so add it whole rather than cut if you want less of that effect. Any firm white fish in thick steaks works, since it must hold together in the sauce; it is made with whatever the day’s catch brings in rather than a fixed species.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pem bem?

Reduce it if you must but know it changes it. Fish cooks through in minutes. Cut the fish into thick steaks. Season the fish well with salt. Thick pieces hold together far better. Cut them about three centimetres thick. Set the salted fish to one side. Salt firms the surface of the flesh. That helps it to hold together.