Moi Moi

Name: Moi Moi
Prep time: 4 h 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: West Africa
Ingredients: 300 g dried black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours or overnight; 1 medium onion, roughly chopped; 2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped; 1 fresh scotch bonnet or habanero chilli (adjust to taste); 3 tbsp neutral oil or palm oil; 1 tsp ground crayfish or dried shrimp powder (optional, traditional); 2 cubes stock cube (Maggi or Knorr), crumbled; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 200 ml water, approximately; 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved (optional, to embed in each portion)

Nigerian steamed black-eyed pea pudding

Origin: Nigeria, West Africa

From the journey of Cowpea.

Moi moi, also spelled moin moin, from the Yoruba mọ́ínmọ́ín, is one of Nigeria's most beloved dishes: a steamed savoury pudding made from skinned cowpeas blended with peppers, onions, and palm oil, cooked in leaves or tins until it sets to a smooth, dense, slightly springy texture. It is eaten as a main dish, a side, or a snack at all times of day, and it appears at weddings, naming ceremonies, and funerals as well as at markets and everyday meals throughout Nigeria and across West Africa. The dish is a masterly example of the West African way with pulses. The dried beans, black-eyed peas or the small brown honey beans called oloyin, both of them cowpeas, are soaked, rubbed free of their skins, and blended raw with aromatics into a smooth batter, which is then gently steamed until set. The result has a texture unlike anything in European cooking, somewhere between a savoury custard and a dense terrine. Eggs, fish, or corned beef are often folded into the batter for richness. Moi moi belongs to a tradition of cowpea cookery far older than the arrival of the American common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris): the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an African pulse, and the oldest domesticated cowpeas yet found, from central Ghana, are some 3,800 years old.

Ingredients

Main

300 g dried black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours or overnight

Aromatics

1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped

Spice

1 fresh scotch bonnet or habanero chilli (adjust to taste)

Fat

3 tbsp neutral oil or palm oil

Seasoning

1 tsp ground crayfish or dried shrimp powder (optional, traditional)
2 cubes stock cube (Maggi or Knorr), crumbled
1 tsp salt, or to taste

Liquid

200 ml water, approximately

Optional additions

2 hard-boiled eggs, halved (optional, to embed in each portion)

Method

After soaking, peel the black-eyed peas by rubbing them vigorously between your palms, then floating in a bowl of water: the skins will float to the surface and can be poured off. Repeat until most skins are removed. Drain.
Blend the peeled peas, onion, bell peppers, and chilli with the water in a blender until very smooth. You may need to do this in batches. The batter should be the consistency of thick pancake batter.
Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the oil, ground crayfish (if using), stock cubes, and salt. Mix well. Taste the raw batter and adjust seasoning: it should taste boldly seasoned.
Pour the batter into greased foil cups, small ramekins, or sections of banana leaf formed into cylinders. Fill each about ¾ full to allow expansion. If using eggs, press a halved boiled egg into the centre of each portion, then cover with a little more batter.
Steam in a large pot with a steaming rack for 40–45 minutes, keeping the water at a rolling boil throughout. The moi moi is done when it is firm to the touch, set, and no longer jiggles when the cup is tapped.
Remove and allow to cool in the cups for 5 minutes before turning out. Serve warm.

Notes

Moi Moi is traditionally served with jollof rice, ogi (a porridge), or simply on its own as a protein-rich snack. Palm oil gives a more authentic, distinctly West African flavour; neutral oil produces a milder result. Ground crayfish is a fermented dried shrimp powder that is a cornerstone of Nigerian cooking: if you can source it at a West African grocery, use it. The puddings can be steamed in advance and reheated, and they keep refrigerated for 3 days.

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control