Grilled Mackerel Fish Sauce
Overview
Whole mackerel is seasoned and grilled, then folded into a fried pepper and onion sauce. It is a Nigerian everyday dish, quick enough for a weeknight and substantial enough to stand as the main event, usually served with plantain, yam or rice. The structure is the familiar Nigerian one: tatashe, the sweet red bell pepper that provides colour and body, and scotch bonnet, which provides the heat, fried down in oil with onion until the raw edge is gone. What makes this version specific is that the fish is grilled separately rather than stewed in the sauce. Grilling firms mackerel up and gives it colour and a smoky edge, and folding it in at the very end keeps it in recognisable pieces instead of breaking it apart through a long cook. Mackerel is an oily fish, which is why it suits this treatment. It holds together under direct heat, it does not dry out the way a lean white fish would, and its strong flavour stands up to scotch bonnet and Cameroon pepper rather than disappearing under them. Cameroon pepper, dried, ground scotch bonnet, is the marker of West African rather than generic pepper cooking here. The source's weight-loss framing has not been carried across.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Clean the fish thoroughly and cut off the heads. Pat dry with kitchen paper, surface water stops the seasoning sticking and stops the skin colouring.
- 2
Combine the adobo, curry powder, dried garlic, dried ginger, Cameroon pepper and fish seasoning in a bowl with the lemon juice and a little oil or water to loosen it.
- 3
Spread the marinade evenly over both sides of the fish.
- 4
Grill on a baking tray at 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes, or in an air fryer, until cooked through and lightly charred.
- 5
While the fish grills, cook plantain in a separate pot if you are serving it.
- 6
Chop the onions, red bell peppers and scotch bonnets.
- 7
Heat oil in a frying pan and cook the onions over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened.
- 8
Put in the chopped peppers and fry over low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the raw taste is gone and the sauce has thickened.
- 9
Season with the seasoning powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes.
- 10
Fold the grilled fish through the sauce, taking care to keep the pieces intact. Take the pan off the heat, garnish with spring onions and serve.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Sarah- Dry the fish before it is seasoned. Wet skin will not take colour under the grill however hot it is.
- Grill the fish separately and fold it in at the end. Stewing it in the sauce breaks it up and loses the point of grilling.
- Fry the peppers until the raw taste has gone. Underfried pepper sauce tastes sharp and thin, and no amount of seasoning fixes it.
- Cameroon pepper is dried ground scotch bonnet and is not the same as chilli flakes. It is worth seeking out at an African grocer.
- Mackerel is oily enough to take direct heat well. Titus mackerel is the usual choice in Nigerian kitchens and is widely sold frozen.
- Boiled plantain, yam or plain white rice all work. The sauce is rich and wants a plain starch beside it.
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