1
Stuff the fish
Blend parsley, garlic, scotch bonnet, and lime juice to make the rof. Fill the scored slits with this paste.
Kitchen notePack the rof tightly into the fish cuts.
Senegal | Main dish
Thieboudienne
Senegalese thieboudienne, fish stuffed with rof and served over tomato rice cooked with cabbage, cassava, carrot, eggplant, okra, tamarind, and dried fish.
Country
Senegal
Region
West Africa
Time
135 min
Serves
8
Level
hard
Recipe overview
What to know before you cook
Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.
When to cook it
Best for Sunday family lunch. Plan on a hard cook and about 135 minutes total.
What to serve alongside it
Lime wedges, bissap, chile paste, or extra vegetables from the pot
Follow the collection
Thieboudienne appears in 2 AfroKitchen collections. Start with Sunday Specials if you want more dishes in the same mood. Sunday Specials
Regional lane
Rice and one-pot table. Rice-centered dishes where the seasoning base, fish, meat, or vegetables cook into the grain.
Chef watch-outs
- Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
- Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
- Rushing the rest or fermentation period.
How you know it is ready
- The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
- The bread or batter should smell pleasantly fermented, toasted, or nutty rather than floury.
- The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Pantry lane
broken rice, dried fish, netetou, peanut paste, tamarind
Recipe photos
See the dish before you cook
Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.
Chef board
Build the table around Thieboudienne
Lime wedges, bissap, chile paste, or extra vegetables from the pot
Best route from here
Rice and one-pot table
Collections to keep cooking
How to cook it
Step-by-step method
Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.
6 steps
45 min prep
90 min cook
135 min total
hard
2
Fry the fish
Heat oil in a large pot. Fry stuffed fish on both sides until browned. Remove and set aside.
Fry fish
10:00
3
Build the sauce
Fry onions until soft. Add tomato paste and cook 5 minutes. Add water, tamarind, and dried fish for depth.
Cook sauce
15:00
4
Cook the vegetables
Add cassava, eggplant, and cabbage. Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Cook vegetables
20:00
5
Cook the rice
Add washed rice to remaining sauce with enough water. Cover tightly and cook on low 25-30 minutes.
Cook rice
30:00
6
Assemble and serve
Mound rice on a large platter. Place fish in centre, surround with vegetables. Serve with lime wedges.
Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.