Tag: yam

Boiled Yam and Egg Stew

Posted on by ChiO

Hiya, how is your week going?  Today we are all about yam. There was a period in my life that yam was my absolute favorite. Boiled yam and palmoil, fried yam,  boiled yam and stew, yam porridge, i just wanted yam, yam, more yam!

Coming to the US, yam became a luxury. It was expensive! between $10 and $15 for a tuber! In addition to that, a tuber of yam is too much for my small family so i end up freezing raw leftovers.

I eat yam occasionally now, and I make the moments count – like today with yam and egg :). Yam and egg is so special to me. My mother made it excellently, and making it today just took me back to saturday mornings in Lagos with my family.

For this quick and easy dish, you will need:

  • 4 tomatoes
  • A quarter of a large sweet onion
  • 1 Jalapeno pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • A small tuber of yam
  • 4 eggs
  • A couple tsps of oil (I used about 3)
  • Some salt
  • Seasoning for the eggs ( 1 used rosemary garlic salt and herbs de provence)

DSC_7038

Method

  • Slice yam in about 1/2 to 1 inch sizes
  • Peel the yam, and put peeled yam in a pot ( 1 used only 4 slices of Yam)

DSC_7041

  • Rinse the peeled yam.

DSC_7042

  • Still in the pot, cover the peeled yam with water, add about a tsp of salt and set on the stove to boil.
  • Chop the tomatoes, peppers and onions (TPO).

DSC_7047

  • Heat a nonstick saucepan on the stove top and then add oil.
  • Add TPO to the heated oil.
  • Add about a tsp of salt to cooking TPO.

** See how colorful TPO looks? YumVille all the way!**

DSC_7049

  • Cook TPO for about 10 minutes or until it breaks down and becomes more “sauce like”.

DSC_7055

  • Break the eggs, add seasoning and whisk vigorously until the seasoning blends. ( I used egg whites only and whisked a little too vigorously until it foamed up :))

DSC_7048 DSC_7050

  • Check the yam. Yam is cooked when  it is soft and still firm – you do not want your yam broken and falling apart. Do the fork test.

** Fork Test – insert a fork into cooking yam, it should go through easily with no resistance)**

  • Pour out boiling water from the cooked yam pot. (pouring out boiling water quells the cooking process)
  • Add seasoned whisked egg to the TPO.

DSC_7056

  • Combine and then leave to cook for about 1 more minute.

DSC_7057

  • At this point, TPO has become Egg stew. TPO + Eggs = Egg stew 🙂
  • Serve Egg stew atop boiled yams

DSC_7062

DSC_7060

  • Enjoy!

Oya come chop 🙂

Yam Porridge (YamPo’)

Posted on by ChiO

Yam Porridge (Yam Po’) is one of those meals i looked forward to as a child and as a teenager in boarding school.  I loved it for the following reasons:

  1. Yam is filling
  2. The soft velvety texture of freshly cooked Yam Po, especially if made with New yam is just a mouth celebration!
  3. The way my mother cooked Yam Po with spinach, made it a very colorful and appealing dish.
  4. Yam Po can be eaten as  breakfast, lunch, dinner, and is a party favorite as well!
  5. This dish is child friendly. Especially this mashed version which my SO loves.
  6. Yam Po is one of the most forgiving recipes i know.

DSC_6798

You will Need:

  • A small tuber of yam ( about 14 inches in lenght)
  • 4 large red bell peppers
  • 1 scotch bonnet pepper
  • 1 large red onion
  • 1 cup of crushed tomatoes (I used Pomi)
  • 1/4 cup of EVOO
  • 2 cubes of chicken bouillion (I used Knorr)
  • 1 tbsp group crayfish or powdered shrimps
  • 3-4 cups of water
  • 3 cups of chopped spinach
  • 2 cups of deboned smoked or dried fish (any type of fish will work.)
  • 1 tsp salt

** This dish is traditionally made with palmoil, but this recipe replaces the palmoil with EVOO and the red bell peppers for color.**

Method of preparation

  1. Peel and cut the yam into bite sized cubes.
  2. Wash peeled yam, thoroughly and transfer to a non-stick cooking pot.
  3. Add two cup of water to the cooking pot containing yams, then set aside.
  4. Chop, and blend the peppers, onions with half cup of water until smooth.
  5. Pour blended mixture, EVOO, tomatoes, cubes, salt, crayfish, and fish into the cooking pot.
  6. Add half a cup of water to the pot and then cook with pot covered for about 15 mins.
  7. The yam should be soft and the porridge thickened after 15 mins.
  8. Now begin to mash the yam using a wooden spoon
  9. Continue mashing with the stove still on, until the porridge is smooth or lumpy enough to your taste. ( i like mine more lumpy than smooth)
  10. Add the frozen spinach, stir  to distribute spinach evenly, and then leave to cook for about 5 more minutes
  11. Add more water while cooking if you prefer a thinner porridge.
  12. After 5 minutes of adding the spinach, Yam is ready for immediate consumption.

Enjoy with:

  • Boiled or Fried Eggs
  • Fish
  • Chicken, or Steak.

DSC_6791

Oya come chop 🙂