🌿 African vegetable sauce with shrimp – Hearty recipe from West and Central Africa
✨ Introduction
This green vegetable sauce is a traditional dish in many African countries such as Cameroon, Nigeria, Congo, and Togo. Depending on the region, it is prepared with eru, kok, gnetum, or cassava leaves. In this version, it is combined with juicy shrimp – perfect with plantains, rice, or fufu.
📝 Ingredients (for 3–4 people)
🌿 For the sauce:
500 g green leaves (e.g., eru, gnetum, spinach, or cassava leaves – frozen or fresh)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1–2 tomatoes (or 2 tbsp tomato paste)
1 small chili pepper (optional)
100 ml palm oil or vegetable oil
1 bouillon cube
Salt, pepper
🦐 For the shrimp:
300 g shrimp (raw or pre-cooked)
1 small onion (cut into strips)
1 tbsp oil
Salt, pepper
Juice of half a lemon
👨🏾🍳 Preparation
1. Prepare the vegetables.
If frozen: thaw the leaves and squeeze out any excess water.
Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, and tomato.
Add the green vegetables and stir well.
Pour in a little water and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes.
Season to taste with bouillon cube, salt, pepper, and chili if desired.
2. Prepare the shrimp
Wash the shrimp and marinate with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Fry in a pan with a little oil and the onion strips for 3–5 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp to the sauce
Arrange the fried shrimp on top of the sauce or mix them in directly.
🍽 Serving suggestion
Serve the vegetable sauce hot with:
Plantains (alloco)
Fufu or banku
White rice
💡 Tip
If you like, you can also add smoked fish or dried shrimp to the sauce for even more flavor!