Those who follow me and read my blog posts do so largely for the creativity and art that I incorporate in my dishes/artistic recipes....( at least that is what I have been told, anyway).
It's a fact, I love food, the theatricals of food, food presentation and art. I strongly believe that all these, coupled, of course, with great tastes, flavours and textures, make for a complete eating/dining experience...! It's all about creating for your eyes, your taste buds and ultimately your tummy. It's part of living a full life.... in my opinion.
Now for me, my major challenges lie in the "nature" of Nigerian food ingredients. In other cuisines, you see the different ways food ingredients are carved out and used to create dishes that wow diners and usually arouse them to want to take a bite... In Nigerian cuisine, it's a little different. Generally, very little is known about these ingredients, so how to prepare them or manipulate them can be a little tricky. But, hey, I love the challenge, and I have enough time and imagination to explore and experiment with them!
So in today's post, I have chosen to serve some fried yam with some fried fish and some fried spicy pepper sauce.... yes, do you notice the fact that all are fried....hhhmmm, the frying helps to develop all the lovely tastes and flavours of the different ingredients. This dish combination is so typical and is one of the traditional dishes eaten in Nigeria, actually a dish eaten between meals, or as a snack (ipanu, as the Yoruba people will call it.)
So I present to you, my Fried Yam Hoop, Grilled Salmon and Spicy Ata Dindin... This will make your guests wonder and marvel, and also get excited with all its elements!
Here is how to try it out....
What you need
- Yam (I used the puna yam variety in this recipe. Read more about yams here)
- Salmon (or any other fish of your choice)
- Pre-made Ata Dindin (get the recipe here)
- Coconut oil for frying
What to do
- Cut chunky slices of the yam, across its width, carefully peel the skin off and rinse. Then using a cooking ring, cut out the core of the yam slices.
- Try as much as possible to get a perfect hoop being careful not to break the hoop. The cored out parts of the yam can still be cut into chunky sticks/batons and can also be fried and served with the hoop.
- Now, I usually per-boil the yam in some salted water for about 2-3 minutes. Then I remove the half boiled yam and transfer into cold water to stop further cooking. Then I drain off the excess water from the yam, dip into whisked egg wash and dip fry. As an alternative, the yam can be fried in one single step without the need to pre-boil. Drain excess oil from yam using clean kitchen towels.
- Clean the fish and pan fry or grill. Then serve with some pre-made ata dindin.
Tags:
Yam Recipes