Grace Oyediran

Femi’s Mama/West African Food Queen/Nigerian Disco Historian

My mom grew up in Ibadan, Nigeria - a major and populous city in Southwest Nigeria. The food culture here has a very rich history and Ibadan was a crossroads for many of the diverse native tribes of Nigeria. She can remember craving food from street vendors in her teenage years, excited to try new foods in her free time. “It’s a diverse city, where many of the tribes of Nigeria intersect…In Ibadan you would learn the northern food, learn the southern foods, you would learn the Igbo (tribal foods), you would learn the Hausa (tribal foods)…I was exposed to all their foods.” In many of our conversations, she’s found many similarities and parallels to the culture and flavors of the food here in the Lowcountry - many of which were traditions carried over by slaves. One of the things she found the most interesting in our talks has been Carolina Gold Rice. “It reminds me of Ofada rice…the smell and flavor are very distinct. It is also soft and can be molded. This is why we can make Tuwo Rice with it.” We thought it would be fun to use Carolina Gold Rice from Marsh Hen Mills to recreate a classic dish cooked by many native groups in Nigeria.

We’ve omitted a couple of things for rarity’s sake, but most of the ingredients we’ve included in the recipe can be substituted or found online. We hope you enjoy!

Tuwo Rice ati Obe Ewa (Rice Pudding and Bean Sauce)

On Beans:

Oloyin Beans are Nigerian “honey” beans. These are kidney-shaped cowpeas with a naturally sweet flavor. They are high in protein, and fiber, and are used in many Nigerian dishes. You can find these online, or you can use black-eyed peas.

On Palm Oil:

There’s been a lot of talks recently about Palm Oil, and for many, it seems to be a controversial topic. Palm oil has been a key ingredient in West African life for years. Archaeological evidence shows that palm fruit and kernels and their oil already formed an integral part of West African diets 5,000 years ago. Over the last century, the industrial palm oil industry exploded into Asia and Latin America, and along with it - high yielding oil palms and unsavory practices that eclipsed the small farms and wild groves in West Africa that had for many generations processed palms for local consumption. It is the backbone of many communities in West and Central Africa and has been an industry that is controlled primarily by rural women. While in Malaysia, a vast majority of this is driven by plantations, in Nigeria 80% of this is produced by smallholder farmers. The unique nutty flavor of Palm oil is critical to many dishes throughout Africa. You can omit palm oil if you like, but we have included an option for a sustainably sourced product that is also available at Whole Foods.

Ingredients

Bean Soup

2 cups of Oloyin Beans or Black Eyed Peas

1/4 cup of Sustainable Palm Oil

2 tablespoon dried crayfish (Bonito flakes will work - but you will need to use 1/4 cup). You can omit this if you like but include for more authentic flavor.

2 Bouillon Cube

1 Habanero Pepper

1 1/2 onion sliced

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups of water

Rice Pudding

2 cups of Marsh Hen Mills Rice

4 cups of water

Extras

1 l/b Fresh Shrimp (Peel, devein, and keep shells)

2 ripe plantains

4 cups of Kale

1/2 onion sliced

Instructions

Soup can be prepared in advance. You can reheat, add extras, or just have by itself.

Emerge the beans in lukewarm water, using your hands to immediately rub the beans in order to peel off the skins. Timing is important. Be careful to not over soak the beans. It will become more difficult to peel once the beans have been in the water too long. You can also use a blender, by adding water, and carefully pulsing the beans until the skin has been removed. This step can be skipped if you prefer to buy black-eyed peas without skins. You can find these online).

Place the beans in a medium-sized pot with 3 cups of water. Add sliced onion, the sliced habanero, and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cover the pot and cook for 30-45 minutes. Watch the heat, if needed, reduce it to a simmer. Continue cooking for 30-45 minutes or until the beans have reached a paste-like texture. This is important. The flavor is always better when you allow the beans to develop this “pasty” texture.

Once the beans are finished cooking, pour the mix into a blender and puree until smooth.

In the same (or another) medium pot, add the palm oil and bring to a simmer. Pour in the bean paste and mix with a mixing spoon. Add dried crayfish and bouillon cubes. Mix. Slowly add water until paste reaches a soupy texture. It should be semi-fluid. Be careful not to burn. When it is well mixed and reaches a bright gold color it is finished.

Tuwo Rice (Rice Pudding)

Carolina Gold is the best rice for this. You cannot do this type of thing with any other rice outside of maybe sticky rice. Carolina Gold is very similar to the rice my mother grew up with and can be molded easily.

Put 2 cups of rice and 5 cups of water in a pot. Cook until soft. You want th rice to be very soft because you will handroll it into balls. Be careful not to burn the rice.

Lightly mash the rice.

Scoop rice into large balls and mold it into a sphere with your hands while it is warm.

Extras!

You can eat the soup without rice, or you can add rice. You can also layer the flavor here with extras like fried plantains, sauteed shrimp, and crispy kale.

Plantains:

Slice plantains. Lightly salt in a bowl. Pan fry until golden brown.

Kale: Slice into bunches. Drizzle olive oil and lightly salt. Roast in pan at 350 in oven until crispy. 15 minutes.

Shrimp:

Cook shrimp in a pan until lightly browned.

Assemble the ingredients in a bowl (or plate if you prefer) and enjoy!