When I was a lot younger, this was a dish I slightly dreaded eating because it smelled so much. I was also terrified of eating it the night before because the waste produced may have been deadly the next day in school. However, as I grew up, my taste buds acclimatized to the taste and I appreciated all the little details of the dish. The crunchy crayfish or stockfish taste, the spicy-ness of the sauce and how well it paired with either boiled yam or plantain. It made it all worth it for me. The beauty about this sauce is you can add any type of protein to it and still enjoy it. I worked with what was available at home. Hope you enjoy it.
Fyi: Ukana is the name the Ibibio people in Nigeria call it and Ugba is the Ibo name for fermented oil beans.
Ingredients
1 cup of fermented oil bean
1.5 cooking spoons tomato/pepper mix
A handful of chopped onions
1 scotch bonnet pepper
A handful of crayfish
A handful of chopped fresh shrimp
1.5 cooking spoons palm oil
2 cooking spoons Water (optional)
2 small stock cubes
Salt to Taste
Method
Heat up your palm oil and fry your onions and chopped peppers
Add the tomato/pepper mix and stir in.
Stir in the shrimp and crayfish. If you are using stockfish, this would be where you would add it.
Season with stock cubes and check if you still need salt and add as needed.
If sauce is too dry, add some water while cooking on medium heat.
Add the oil bean seeds and stir in. Leave for about 5-7 minutes on low heat.
Serve with Boiled Plantain or Yam.
Oil Bean Seed/Ukana/Ugba
