Nigerian Peppered Fish
This vegan builds whole tilapia or catfish and seasoning cube into a satisfying meal you can have ready in about 65 minutes. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and pan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, the ingredients are plant-based.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Clean and gut the fish, score each side two or three times with a sharp knife, then season with half the thyme, a little salt, black pepper, and the juice of one sliced onion, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
- Roughly blend the tatashe peppers, habanero, and one onion into a coarse paste, keeping a few onion slices aside for garnish.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat, then fry the seasoned fish for about 5 to 6 minutes per side until the skin is golden and the flesh is opaque and flakes easily, reaching an internal temperature of at least 63 C (145 F), and set the fish aside.
- In the same pan with the remaining oil, saute the reserved onion slices until soft and fragrant.
- Pour in the blended pepper paste and fry it over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until the raw smell is gone and the oil rises to the surface.
- Season the pepper sauce with the crumbled seasoning cube, the rest of the thyme, and salt to taste, then simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Gently return the fried fish to the pan, spoon the peppered sauce over and around it, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes so the flavors soak in before serving hot with rice or boiled yam.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet Β· Pan Β· Saucepan Β· Blender
Tips & common questions
How long does Nigerian Peppered Fish take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 9 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Nigerian Peppered Fish vegan?
Based on its ingredients, this recipe contains no meat, fish, dairy or egg, so it looks vegan-friendly. Always double-check labels on packaged items.
Related recipes
Nigerian Peppered Fish is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Catfish pepper soup with vegetables.jpg by Halima Waziri, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.