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Buka Stew

Also known as Buka Stew (Lagos Market Stew)

Buka Stew is the legendary, deeply flavoured meat stew served at Bukas — the informal local restaurants and food stalls that are the beating heart of Lagos street food culture. Buka Stew is famous for its extraordinary depth and richness, achieved through a combination of palm oil, deeply fried blended peppers and a generous mixture of assorted meats including beef, tripe (shaki), cow skin (ponmo), liver and smoked fish.

Buka Stew, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • Half a medium-sized cow, assorted cuts (beef chunks, shaki/tripe, ponmo, liver) — use a big pot
  • 6 big ripe tomatoes
  • 4 big Tatashe (red bell peppers)
  • 4 to 5 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers)
  • 2 big onions — 1 for blending, 1 sliced
  • 4 cooking spoons of palm oil
  • 3 big handfuls of smoked fish (panla or eja gbigbe), soaked and deboned
  • 3 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 4 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon of curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon of thyme
  • 1 handful of iru (fermented locust beans) — optional but gives authentic Buka depth

Method

  1. 01

    Cooking All the Meat. Clean and season all the assorted meat with salt, seasoning cubes, curry, thyme and sliced onion. Cook in a large pot with enough water to cover for 35 to 45 minutes until all the meat — especially the tripe and ponmo — is very tender. Remove all meat, set aside, and keep the stock.

  2. 02

    Frying the Pepper Base. Heat 4 cooking spoons of palm oil in a very large, wide pot. Add the iru (if using) and fry briefly for 1 minute — it will become very fragrant. Blend and add the tomatoes, Tatashe, Atarodo and 1 onion. Fry this pepper base for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until it is deeply reduced, dark, thick and the oil is clearly floating. This prolonged frying is the secret of authentic Buka Stew.

  3. 03

    Building the Stew. Add ground crayfish, curry, thyme, remaining seasoning cubes and salt. Stir and fry for 5 more minutes. Add all the cooked meat and smoked fish. Pour in enough reserved meat stock to loosen the stew to a thick, coating consistency.

  4. 04

    Final Simmering. Simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes so the meat fully absorbs the deep pepper flavour. Taste and adjust all seasonings — Buka Stew should be bold, oily, very rich and deeply satisfying.

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