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Mbongo Tchobi

A spicy stew of fish simmered in a sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, leeks, celery, nutmeg, njangsa, mbongo spice, and habanero.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mbongo Tchobi

Serves 6
Timeabout 15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Lightly salt the fish fillets and set aside.

  2. Combine the tomatoes, half the onions, garlic, ginger, leeks, celery, African nutmeg, njangsa, mbongo spice, and ½ cup water. Blend until smooth.

  3. Pour the mixture over the fish and marinate for 30 minutes.

Cook the stew

  1. Heat the oil in a pot.

  2. Add the remaining onions and cook until aromatic.

  3. Add the fish, marinate, and peppers, then season with salt and stock cubes. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes.

  4. Uncover and check the seasoning. Thin with water if necessary, then cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve

  1. Serve with boiled plantains, rice, or yams.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

431Calories
23 gProtein
28 gFat
21 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Salmon100g cooked208
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Leek + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,093 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Onion + leektop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,326 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Fish
Forms the main body of the dish and firms up as it cooks.
Tomatoes
Provide moisture and a bright acidity that builds the stew's base.
Onion
Softens as it cooks, adding sweetness and savory depth to the base.
Garlic
Adds aroma that mellows and sweetens as it cooks.
Vegetable oil
Carries fat-soluble flavors and helps the aromatics cook evenly.
Mbongo spice
Supplies the dish's signature aroma and flavor through the marinade and stew.

The step that matters

Check the seasoning before adding more salt. Salt and stock cubes both add salt, and the stew concentrates as it cooks. Tasting first prevents over-salting, and thinning with water only if needed keeps the sauce from becoming diluted.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, onion, garlic, clove, ginger, leek, celery):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Turnipfits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, onion, garlic, clove, ginger, leek, celery. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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