Smoked Delta Fish and Prawns
River fish and prawns dried and smoked over wood until hard and deeply fragrant. They keep for weeks and lend their powerful umami taste to Delta soups and sauces.
River fish and prawns dried and smoked over wood until hard and deeply fragrant. They keep for weeks and lend their powerful umami taste to Delta soups and sauces.
The water does not always give equally, little one. When my nets overflow, you must waste nothing: hang the fish and prawns above the hearth, in the patient smoke, day after day, until they become hard as wood. Thus, even when the river turns stingy, yesterday's generosity still perfumes your pot. A pinch of this smoked fish, and the whole soup remembers the great catch.
- •Small river fish and prawns — surplus from the catch (material to preserve)
- •Salt — for rubbing (dehydration, preservation)
- •Wood and shells for the fire — for smoke (aromatic smoking)
Smoked Delta Fish and Prawns
River fish and prawns dried and smoked over wood until hard and deeply fragrant. They keep for weeks and lend their powerful umami taste to Delta soups and sauces.
Why this dish? Where Esimirin gives aquatic abundance, one must know how to keep the surplus: fish and prawns smoked over the hearth are the memory of good catches, nourishing soups until the next flood.
The water does not always give equally, little one. When my nets overflow, you must waste nothing: hang the fish and prawns above the hearth, in the patient smoke, day after day, until they become hard as wood. Thus, even when the river turns stingy, yesterday's generosity still perfumes your pot. A pinch of this smoked fish, and the whole soup remembers the great catch.
Ingredients (period version)
- Small river fish and prawns — surplus from the catch (material to preserve)
- Salt — for rubbing (dehydration, preservation)
- Wood and shells for the fire — for smoke (aromatic smoking)
Ingredients
- Small fish (smelts, sardines) and raw prawns — 500 g (to be smoked)
- Salt — 1 tbsp (dry brine)
Method
- Clean the fish, rub fish and prawns with salt, let them purge for 30 min.
- Rinse quickly and pat dry.
- Hot-smoke in a smoker, covered barbecue with wood chips, or in an oven at 80-90°C with the door ajar, for several hours until the flesh is dry and firm.
- Let cool completely and store in an airtight jar in a dry place.
- Crumble a handful into soups and sauces for an intense umami base.
How it was made : Without refrigeration, smoking over the domestic hearth was THE preservation method of the Delta. Smoked fish — "local stockfish" — kept for weeks and served as a universal flavor enhancer, the aromatic base of almost all West African sauces.
The contemporary twist : Ground to powder in a blender, like a homemade "umami bouillon" to sprinkle over grilled vegetables.
Esimirin · Charactorium