Vegan Ayamase/Ofada Stew

The first vegan Nigerian Recipe I have shared on the blog. I am incredibly excited to share this recipe with you because it includes some cooking techniques I am not familiar with and ingredients I do not usually use to this quantity. As I always say, food is a gateway to learn about different cultures and this recipe sure did; It sent me on a hour long deep dive into fermented locust beans and also the origins of the rice that goes with the stew.

Disclaimer

I am cognizant that my audience may not have access to some of the ingredients and I will give some recommendations on replacements. However, these replacement might not give you close to the same thing I tasted; it will be delicious for sure but without some of the key ingredients, it may not be as true to what is found in West Africa. If you live in a metropolitan city, I think it is worth finding the ingredients. A simple google search of “African stores in [insert city]” can give you a list of African stores to explore from. Most of these stores are West African and you will find a lot of what you need. If you do not have access to any stores, please do not fret. As I mentioned the substitution and adjustments will still make it tasty. With that out of the way, lets get to cooking

What is Ayamase Stew

Ayamase/Ofada Stew/designer stew are the many names of a bell pepper based sauce. This dish hails from the Yoruba in South West of Nigeria and it packs a punch. Traditionally, this recipe is made by bleaching red palm oil into a honey brown colour and using it to fry a blended green bell pepper, onion and ginger purée. The sauce is flavoured with a variety of seasoning like fermented locust beans, salt, seasoning cube with meat and boiled egg mixed in. Since this is a vegan version, we will be making a few adjustments to recreate some of the original flavours, using spices and ingredients to give it the same taste. The sauce is served with ofada rice, which is a very pungent rice on it’s own. I think the flavours of this sauce is the only thing that can handle ofada rice.

My version is not a traditional recipe (for one, I have veganized it and I have not used bleached palm oil in this stew) I invite you to take a look at a number of authentic recipes on youtube. A page I highly recommend is Sisi Yemmie on youtube.

What you will need

• Aromatics: Onion, garlic, ginger, spring onions, scotch bonnet pepper. These are base aromatics for many West African stews and sauces so it had to be present. I also included the spring onions because of it’s freshness. It is completely optional
• Herbs: Thyme, Rosemary and Sage. I like these spices because it is usually paired with meat so using them invokes those meaty flavours without actually including meat. You can use both dry or fresh
• Dried Poblano Chilli: This chilli is optional, I found it on sale and it has a very deep flavour so I thought to include it. You can exclude it if you want
• Palm Oil: this is a very key ingredient, it really gives the sauce a nice buttery flavour and is key to the flavour of the sauce.
• Meaty Substitutions: Tofu and Mushroom to add more substance to the sauce
• Dried Nori and Mushroom: I usually grind 1/2 cup of dried mushroom with 2 nori sheets to make a fine powder. I love including these into my stews and sous that usually call for some kind of crayfish or fermented fish. It gives the sauce that fishy flavour without actually the fish.
• Green Bell pepper: This is key. It is a red bell pepper sauce
• Fermented Locust Beans/Dawa dawa/Iru: I love adding fermented locust beans to this recipe. It is what is traditionally used and honestly one of the most important ingredient. It is what gives the sauce the punch to take on the ofada rice.
• Spices: I used a mix of spices like garlic, onion, and curry powder to give some flavour and savoryness.
• Ofada Rice: this is absolutely not necessary, actually if you are not used to any type of West African food, do not bother yourself. Just enjoy with any type of carb. It is a smell many people are not too keen on.

How to make Ofada Stew

1. Hydrate the poblano chilli in hot water till soft
2. In a blender, add the chilli, the chilli water, the aromatics, pepper and herbs
3. Cook this blended mixture at medium heat till it is a thick sauce. This technique deviates from what we usually do in Ghana but I love how it can cut the cooking time
4. In a pot, fry the palm oil with the chopped onions till soft.
5. Add the dawa dawa once the onion is soft, then add the pepper sauce that was previously reduced
6. After mixing everything well I add the spices, tofu, mushrooms and 1/2 cup of water. Cover the pot well and let it simmer at medium low heat till it is dry, should take about 20 minutes
7. Serve with ofada rice or any type of rice

How to make Ofada rice (for 1/2 cup dry ofada rice)

• if you want to make ofada rice, be prepared for the smell. It is nothing you will be familiar with
• First pick out the stones from the rice and wash it very very well. Wash it till the water runs very clear
• In a pot with 1.5 cup of water, boil the rice at medium heat for 10 minutes
• After, take the rice off the stove and drain. Rinse it very well and put it on the stove with 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of salt
• Cover the rice at low and cook for 15-20 mins till tender.

Substitutions

• Thyme, Sage, Rosemary: you can substitute with the dry versions of these spices at 1/2 tsp each
• Nori and Dried Mushroom: If you do not have one of these, just use the one you have. Alternatively you can use miso but the flavours will be slightly different
• Dawa Dawa: Unfortunately it is hard to replace this. If you do not have access to it, you can remove it but you will get a different tasting sauce. Alternatively using miso or a tsp of nutritional yeast can give you an umami flavour but it will not compare close to the smell of dawa dawa
• Palm oil: You can use any other oil you want. Coconut oil will give a really nice flavour but be careful to keep at medium heat to avoid it burning

Print Recipe

Ayamase/Ofada Stew

Nigerian

By Afia – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 40 minutes – Total Time: 50 minutes

Vegan Ayamase stew that is paired with ofada rice

Ingredients

• 3 green bell pepper
• 1 sprig spring onion
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 thumb of ginger
• 1 sprig each of fresh thyme, sage and rosemary
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 dried publano chilli rehydrated in 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1/4 scotch bonnet pepper/habanero
• 3 tbsp red palm oil
• 1 tsp dawa dawa/iru
• 2 tsp mushroom and nori powder blend
• Spices: 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, curry powder, veggie bouillon powder
• 1 cup mushrooms (oyster or shiitake)
• 1 cup firm tofu pressed with the water removed
• 1/2 cup water
• salt to taste

Instructions

1

Hydrate the publano pepper in warm water till soft

2

Then place in a blender with the bell pepper, 1/2 the onion chopped into chunks, ginger, garlic, green onion and fresh herbs

3

Once blended, pour blended mixture in a pot and cook for 10-15 mins till the sauce has gone from soupy to a thick, dry sauce

4

In a separate pot, heat the oil and saute the diced onions till soft

5

Add the dawa dawa and incorporate well

6

Add in the reduced pepper sauce, the spices, mushrooms, tofu, mushroom powder and 1/2 cup of water

7

Cover well and let the sauce simmer for 20 mins till dry

8

Taste for salt and adjust to your taste

9

Serve with brown rice or ofada rice

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