How to Cook Nigerian Palm Oil Rice With Dried Prawns
Palm oil rice is a local Nigerian dish. It is also called "concoction rice" because of the unconventional ingredients (as opposed to jollof rice, which is another local dish).
There are different recipes for palm oil rice, but this one is my favourite. It brings out the best flavours, and the use of prawns adds a deliciously sophisticated element. This particular recipe was developed by my friend, Olivia, who is a Nigerian chef.
Another reason I like this dish is that it doesn't cost a lot of money to prepare. It's also a quick meal that can be whipped up in just 25 to 30 minutes. I often make this recipe whenever I have some leftover white rice.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 2 cups long-grain rice, parboiled
- 5 tablespoons ground dried crayfish
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup Scotch bonnet, blended
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons soy seasoning
- 1/2 cup dried prawn
- 1/2 cup (1 ladle full) palm oil
Instructions
- Pour palm oil into a heated pot on the stove. Allow it to heat for 10 seconds.
- Add the chopped onions and allow them to simmer for a few seconds to extract some flavour.
- Throw in the blended pepper and stir. Add the ground crayfish and soy seasoning.
- Add 1 cup of water and stir. Taste before adding the salt to prevent it from becoming too salty. When the mixture starts to boil, add the rice and prawns, then cover it with a foil sheet. Leave it to boil.
- Serve hot.
What Is Palm Oil?
Palm oil is extracted from the palm fruit. The extraction process involves boiling the fruit and then crushing it to squeeze out the oil. Processed palm oil can be purchased in a grocery store.
Variations
- I recently tried adding a few scent leaves to my palm oil rice (concoction rice), and I noticed they added a very nice flavour to my dish. So, the next time you want to prepare palm oil rice, you might want to consider adding scent leaves. The key is not to overdo it—just try 8 to 10 leaves.
- I also added dried fish to the prawns, and the taste was fantastic.
- I don't recommend locust beans (dawadawa or okpei) as they spoil the taste of the dish altogether.
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