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Ceebu Jën

Name: Ceebu Jën
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Senegalese
Ingredients: 700 g Firm white fish fillets; 400 g Broken rice; 200 g Onion; 6 cloves Garlic cloves; 20 g Flat-leaf parsley; 1 piece Scotch bonnet pepper; 80 g Tomato paste; 20 g Tamarind paste; 200 g White cabbage; 200 g Carrot; 250 g Cassava (yuca); 60 ml Sunflower oil; 12 g Fine sea salt; 3 g Ground black pepper

Senegal's national dish: whole fish stuffed with a garlicky herb paste, simmered in a tangy tomato broth with cabbage, carrot and cassava, then the same broth used to cook rice until it's stained deep orange-red.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 55 min
Difficulty: Intermediate

About this dish

Ceebu jën — literally "rice and fish" in Wolof — is said to have been created in Saint-Louis, the old Senegalese trading port, in the 19th century, when a cook named Penda adapted broken rice, a cheaper by-product left after milling for export, into a dish good enough to feed anyone. It became Senegal's most defended culinary symbol and one of West Africa's most influential exports, its cook-the-rice-in-the-broth technique echoed in jollof rice and other one-pot dishes across the region. The stuffing, rof, a wet paste of garlic, parsley and chilli pushed into slits cut into the fish, is what gives the dish its name recognition on a plate before the first bite.

Gluten-free
Lactose-free
Not vegetarian because of Firm white fish fillets

Ingredients

4servings

700gFirm white fish fillets
400gBroken rice
200gOnion
6clovesGarlic cloves
20gFlat-leaf parsley
1pieceScotch bonnet pepper
80gTomato paste
20gTamarind paste
200gWhite cabbage
200gCarrot
250gCassava (yuca)
60mlSunflower oil
12gFine sea salt
3gGround black pepper

Instructions

Blend the garlic, parsley and half the scotch bonnet into a wet paste (rof), cut slits into the fish and pack the paste inside.
10 min
Tip: Push the paste deep into the slits, not just onto the surface — this is what seasons the fish from the inside as it simmers, rather than leaving all the flavour in the broth.
Fry the onion in the oil until soft, then stir in the tomato paste and tamarind paste and cook 5 minutes until it darkens.
15 min
Tip: The tamarind is what gives ceebu jën its characteristic tang against the richness of the fish and oil — don't skip it even if it seems like a small quantity.
Add water to cover, bring to a boil, then add the fish, cabbage, carrot and cassava and simmer 20–25 minutes until the fish and vegetables are cooked. Lift them out and keep warm.
25 min
Tip: Simmer gently once the fish is in — a hard boil breaks the fillets apart before they've had time to hold together and take on the broth's flavour.
Strain the broth, use it to cook the rice according to the packet until tender and deep orange-red, then serve everything together on one large platter.
20 min
Tip: This is the whole point of the dish: rice cooked in fish-and-tomato broth carries a depth no plain boiled rice ever could, which is why the fish and vegetables come out of the pot first.