Festive Vegan Jollof Rice with "Meat"

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The delicious Vegan Jollof Rice with Oyster Mushrooms for Meat will wow the crowd

Jollof rice is a dish popular in West Africa. Though originally from Senegal, jollof rice has been adjusted to different regions of West Africa. In Ghana, the dish is made by darkening the stew until the color is nice and dark. In Nigeria, the go-to rice is parboiled rice, and bell peppers are included. In Liberia, peas, corn, and carrots are used to garnish their dish.

Ingredients

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🍚 How I Make My Vegan Jollof Rice

And then you have so many variations where some people cook their rice before they add it to the stew, some people don't wash their rice before adding it to the stew. There are some who prefer to get their pepper as dry as possible before frying it.

With that said, theres no right way to cook jollof rice. I've had soo many different types, each technique is different. But it is true that if you ask a Nigerian or Ghanian which type of jollof is better, they'll give a bias response that plays into strong nationalism - "Nigerian/Ghanian Jollof is better"

Well as a Nigerian, I've eaten enough jollof to say that perfected technique is the best way to make jollof. When I made my first every jollof, and every other time leading to today - my jollof has been a hit or miss. One day it may be amazing, the next it might be too mushy. Another day I might use jasmine rice instead of parboiled rice. I enjoyed the jollof rice that had bits of goat in them. To get the vegan jollof rice with meat, I've substituted that for fried oyster mushroom.

🍄 Oyster Mushrooms as "Meat"

With that said, this jollof rice is a combination of the Nigerian and Ghanian techniques in which I learned from my amazing mother, internet cooks like Sissy Jemimah, and Kwankyewaa on YouTube, and just eating a lot of jollof parties.

Jollof rice is easily vegan, however, I like to make sure that the bouillon cube that I'm using is vegan. To get that vegan jollof rice, you have to make sure that if you decide to use a stock that you're using is vegetable.

This recipe is time-consuming, that is often why you consider this type of jollof to be party rice or festive jollof. I like to eat mine with a side of efo riro and plantains.

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💬 Tips I've Learned

1. Boiling your red stew before frying it allows your rice to retain flavor, it also allows your dish to cook faster
2. Tomato paste can be very acidic to taste - so its important to cook out that flavor for as long as possible
3. After rinsing your rice - make sure to scoop the rice into the pot instead of dumping the rice into your fried stew, this will allow you to fry your rice better
4. Use boiling water to jumpstart the cooking process for your rice
5. Do not be afraid to stir your rice
6. Invest in a heavy base pot like a dutch oven

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Vegan Jollof Rice with "Meat"

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Vegan Jollof Rice with Oyster Mushrooms for Meat

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Ingredients

The Meat

• 1 lb of oyster mushrooms
• 
1 tsp of salt
• 
1 cup of vegetable oil

Red Sauce - Yields ¾ cup cooked

• 
½ large onion
• 
1 medium bell pepper
• 
1 large Roma tomato
• 
½ habanero pepper
• 
¾ water

White Sauce - Yields 1 cup

• 
½ large onion

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 
1 large thumb of ginger
• 
½ cup of water

The Rice

• 
½ medium onion
• 16oz can of tomato paste
• 
2 bay leaves
• 
2 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp of bullion
• 
3 cups of hot/boiled water
• 
3 ½ cups of rice

Instructions

Prep

1. In a bowl, massage together with the mushrooms and the salt and set it aside
2. Blend red sauce together - and cook in a saucepan on high heat about 20-35 minutes or until the water has evaporated decrease the heat when the water runs low
3. Blend white sauce together - set aside

The Rice

1. Add oil to a dutch oven pot heat it at medium heat.
2. Add the oyster mushrooms and fry - make sure to squeeze out excess water.
3. Fry until golden brown, set aside.
4. In the same pot with the oil - fry the sliced onions for about 2 mins.
5. Add white sauce (ginger/garlic/onion mix) and fry for another 2-mins.
6. Add cooked red sauce to the pot and fry for 5 mins.
7. Add tomato paste and mix until it has resolved into the sauces.
8. Reduce heat to low.
9. Simmer for 45 mins, stirring constantly.
10. Once the stew has reduced to a darkened color.
11. Add 2 tsp of salt and 2 tsp of bouillon cube.
12. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
13. Scoop rice with your hands and add it to the darkened stew (try not to add the starchy water).
14. Stir the rice into the stew and let fry for about 5 mins.
15. Increase heat to medium, add boiling water and mix the rice for about 30 secs.
16. Cover for 7 mins, stir rice then cover again.
17. Do this about 3 times until rice is fluffy and not sticking.
18. Add the fried oyster and stir.
19. Add salt to taste, if your rice is still hard, pour hot water in ½ cup increments and let steam (cover).
20. Garnish with sliced onions, stir in.