Iwuk Edesi – Native Jollof Rice

Iwuk edesi, as it is called by the Ibibio and Efik speaking people of South-Eastern Nigeria, is a one pot rice dish. It is also known as native jollof rice, village rice, palm oil rice. It’s one of the few rice dishes that blew me away as a child. The flavours were something I hadn’t experienced before. My love for it is so great that it made it as the cover image of my new ebook The Many Ways to Eat Rice.

My first experience with iwuk edesi was while visiting my mum’s family in Calabar – Nigeria during the school holidays. Cooked on an open fire in a big pot at the back of my aunts house, it was a dish that brought the whole family together. The aroma, the flavours, the smokiness of it all are what I remember most about this dish. My mother made a mean iwuk edesi, and though she did not cook it often, it quickly became my favourite rice dish.

A local Nigerian one pot dish

Iwuk edesi features palm oil (a conversation for another day). Palm oil is essential to West African cooking and is used both as an oil and a flavouring. The recipe also features scent leaf, or African basil, and traditionally smoked fish and crayfish. All the ingredients are stewed in the pot and rice is added, pot covered and left to cook through.

In this plant-based vegan iwuk edesi I have worked to replicate the original flavours without animal sources of food. I use ugu leaves (fluted pumpkin leaves), scent leaves (African blue basil), dulse and wakame seaweed and liquid smoke (for that seafoody smoky flavour). The recipe is below, and is one of over 40 recipes featured in my new eBook The Many Ways to Eat Rice.

Grilled spicy mushrooms are icing on the cake

I love it served with grilled spicy oyster mushrooms (found on page 74 of the ebook) to add a meaty texture to my plate.  The great thing about this dish is that it is so easy to make, uses one pot and is full flavour.

If you do make this dish definitely share and tag @plantfoodfederation and #pffplate on social media.

As with all other recipes on this blog you will find that this iwuk edesi recipe is;

• Plant based
• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Soy free
• Egg-free
• Easy to make
• Uses simple  and some exotic ingredients

Print Recipe

Iwuk Edesi - Native Jollof Rice

Serves: 2 - 3 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

2 cups brown rice

6 cups water

2 cups ugu leaves (sub chopped kale)

1 medium red onion

½ cup vegetable stock 

½ cup unrefined palm oil

¼ cup scent leaf (sub Italian basil)

2 chilli peppers

2 scotch bonnet peppers

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp. ground dried locust beans (optional)

1 sheet wakame

1 tbsp. dulse flakes

1 tbsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. liquid smoke

2 tsp. sea salt

1 bay leaf

Instructions

• Start by parboiling the rice. Wash rice till water runs clear and then place it in a pan with 4 cups of water and boil for half the required cooking time (about 15 minutes)
• While the rice cooks, slice the onion, chop the peppers, and crush the garlic cloves
• Heat the palm oil in a wide saucepan on medium heat for about 2 minutes
• Add the onions to the oil and sauté for 2 - 3 minutes, then add the garlic, scotch bonnet and chilli peppers, continuing to cook for another 2 minutes
• Stir in the ugu leaves and then add in the seasonings: sea salt, paprika, locust beans, liquid smoke, and continue to stir
• Drain the rice, add it to the saucepan, and stir to combine, then add in the bay leaf, dulse flakes, and scent leaves
• Pour the vegetable stock over the rice and taste for seasoning. Make any adjustments needed (salt, pepper)
• Lower the heat and cover the saucepan leaving the rice to simmer and fully cook through - approximately 15 - 20 minutes depending on the brand of rice used

To serve, plate the rice and top with grilled spicy oyster mushrooms (page 74 of The Many Ways to Eat Rice cookbook) and serve with extra chopped scent leaf.