Native Jollof Rice or Iwuk Edesi is a delicious Nigerian delicacy. A very tasty rice dish that is most times ignored either because it needs a bit more ingredients to make than the traditional jollof rice or maybe the process sounds or looks daunting.
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Whatever your reason, today is the day you get to give this delightfully tasty dish a try. Like always, I have an easy recipe and method to share with my favorite online friends- you guys. Trust me this is it and you definitely have been missing out on a lot if you haven't been making this deliciousness.
What is Native Jollof Rice or Iwuk Edesi?
Iwuk Edesi, also known as Nigerian Native Jollof Rice /Palm oil rice / Village rice ? is very popular with the Ibibio and Efik tribes of South Southern Nigeria. Therefore it's my belief that this dish originated from them. Like the Igbos they are known to eat a lot of foods rich in green leafy vegetables. In addition to eating a lot of green leafy vegetables, they are know to eat a lot of sea food because of their geographic location.
Iwuk edesi is a dish rich in sea food and healthy green leafy vegetables. So so delicious.
What is the difference between Native Jollof Rice and Traditional Jollof Rice?
With all the hype with Jollof Rice, Jollof wars included, Iwuk Edesi aka Native Jollof Rice seems to have been relegated to the background which shouldn't be so. Native Jollof Rice is a great contender to any Jollof recipe in my opinion.
Another reason I suspect Iwuk edesi has been relegated to the background over the years is because of the now debunked theory that Palm oil is bad for you. Palm oil is still controversial topic to this day.
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Soo what's the difference? Native Jollof is made with red palm oil and a handful of other ingredients you won't ordinarily use to make Jollof rice. Ingredients like crayfish, dry fish, and fermented locust beans. These ingredients add a special ooooh to this recipe that makes it so yummy. And of course because Traditional Jollof rice is a staple, most people tend to make it more often. Don't get me wrong, I love Traditional Jollof Rice and I am guilty of making it ever so often because living in Diaspora I would rather save my Palm Oil, Fermented locust beans, dry fish and prawns for the likes of my edikang Ikong, Eforiro, Egusi you get my point ?. But I repented when I realized my family always enjoyed this Native Jollof Rice whenever I make. Now it's been added to my family mealtime rotation.
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How to make Iwuk Edesi ( Native Jollof Rice )
You all know how I love to cook my rice in the oven, this iwuk edesi is no different. For those of us who may not want to cook your the oven I will share both methods in detail in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
How to make Iwuk edesi in the oven.
Gather your ingredients, make the sauce ( sauté onions in palm oil add the tomato purée, and the rest of the ingredients except the prawns and green leafy vegetables)
Transfer all ingredients into an oven safe dish cover tightly with foil and cook for 1 hr
How to make iwuk edesi on the stove top.
Follow the same steps above to make the sauce. Mix in the rice. Cover pot tightly and cook on medium high heat till rice is cooked through. See full details in the recipe card.
What can I serve Iwuk edesi with?
Just as you would serve any rice dish you can serve iwuk edesi with
- Fried or boiled plantains
- A side of sautéed leafy greens
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FAQs
Q. Is Native Jollof Rice / Iwuk Edesi made with bleached palm oil?
A. No. Traditionally Iwuk edesi is made with unbleached Red Palm oil
Q. Do I have to use all the proteins used to make this dish?
A. You don't have to use all the proteins used in this dish. For instance some people add Pomo ( cow skin) I didn't. But for flavor do not skip the crayfish or Okporo ( dried prawns )
Q. Can this dish be made vegetarian or vegan?
A. Yes by simply swapping some ingredients like meat stock it can, but there would be a bit of a difference in taste since the crayfish and dried prawns would be absent. I believe the fermented locust beans will help.
Q. What leafy greens can I use?
A. Ugu, Spinach, Kale.
Q. What kind of rice can I use?
A. I would suggest parboiled long grain rice or basmati rice.
Q. Can I double the recipe?
A. Oh yes you can. All you need to do is just double the recipe. If you would rather not use up to 1 cup of palm oil when you double the recipe, you can use ¾ cup palm oil. But if you would be making 6 cups instead of 5 cups, I would suggest you use 1 cup of palm oil.
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Below are some of specialty ingredients you might need to make Iwuk Edesi. Some may not be found online. Check your local african store to purchase those.
Cooking utensils you might need.
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How to make iwuk Edesi (Native jollof rice)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups parboiled long grain rice
- 1 large onion chopped
- ½ cup Red Palm oil
- 2 Tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp bouillon powder
- 2 Tbsp Fermented Iru Locust beans.
- 1 cup okporo dried prawns- remove head and tails
- 2 Tbsp ground crayfish
- ½ Tbsp ground Cameroon pepper
- ½ Tbsp crushed pepper flakes
- ½ large Red bell pepper
- 4 cups Meat stock or a combination of meat stock and water to make 4 cups
- 1 ½ cup chopped spinach
- I medium size smoked fish deboned and cleaned
Instructions
Oven method:
- Wash rice till water runs clear. Set aside in sieve to drain while you prepare the sauce.
- Sauté chopped onions in palm oil, add tomato paste, and bouillon powder. Stir to combine.
- Add the crayfish, smoked fish, Iru, Cameroon pepper, pepper flakes and chopped red bell pepper. Stir to combine.
- Pour in the half of meat stock and bring to boil.
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Spray your baking dish with cooking spray
- Pour washed rice into the baking dish
- Pour sauce over rice and stir
- Pour the rest of the meat stock in and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Add the dried prawns and Cover baking dish tightly with foil.
- Bake on lower rack of oven for 1 hour
- Bring out baking dish, fluff the rice then stir the chopped spinach enjoy
Stove top method:
- Wash rice till water runs clear. Set aside Prepare sauce like above but this time add the meat stock at once.
- When sauce is ready, turn off heat. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Pour in the washed rice, add the prawns. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Turn heat back on, cover pot tightly ( you can use foil) and let rice cook on medium heat for 30 mins by this time all the liquid should have been absorbed.
- Check rice for doneness. Turn off heat, fluff rice then store in the chopped spinach. Enjoy.
Ifeoma
i actually bought this in an eatery but will love to cook it myself!
just thought about checking if I would find the recipe online
thanks so much for this!
will go a long way for me tomorrow😊
Chichi Uguru
Hi Ifeoma,
I love it too! Lol. You are welcome! Enjoy 😉