Ships Nostalgia banner

Palm Oil Chop recipe

17K views 32 replies 21 participants last post by  bev summerill 
#1 ·
We have just been out for an excellent Sunday curry lunch at friends, washed down with far too much good red wine when I thought it will be our turn next so why not do a 'palm oil chop'? I have 'googled' it and there are two very similar recipes but they are not quite as I remember it.

Anyone happen to have a recipe for 'palm oil chop' written down anywhere. It would be greatly appreciated with a standing invite for a large gin!
 
#3 ·
Have fairly recently met up again with John G - we were friends from childhood in Liverpool. His memories of west coast Africa are still acute, even after many years of managerial shoreside appointments with BT after leaving the sea. Most of my long sea career was far away from the African coast (S. Africa excepted) but Johns book brought all of my commercial shipping memories back to life - the smells, the runs ashore and the idiosyncrasies of working cargo in some strange places. An acutely vivid trip down memory lane.

LouisB. (Scribe)
 
#5 ·
palm oil chop

1medium yam 2 large onions 1/2 lb okra if available, red pepper,salt 1 pint approx. palm oil 1lb beef cubed,

1 medium chicken quartered or in small portions,tomato puree, 6 blanched tomatoes

rice for4/6 people

on top after cooking sardines salmon apple orange grapefruit pineapple all diced raisons pepper chutney and desiccated coconut

several large gin and tonic when cooking

recipe written on elder dempster headed paper but I cannot remember which ship
Bev Summerill
 
#6 ·
Seem to remember this was served as an "occasion" i.e. once a trip, as was a similar "Ground nut stew".

I also seem to remember it was served with side dishes as was curry - the little chopped up "tomatoes" were the ones to watch out for.

Some said it should be eaten -dress nude with just a towel wrapped round the nethers to catch the sweat.
 
#7 ·
My Dad (Master Mariner) was the Harbour Master in Port Harcourt and also Divisional Marine Officer of the Nigerian Marine. He often cooked Palm Oil chop and Ground Nut stew when he retired to the small hotel he owned on the Isle of Bute. I spent my first 5 years in lagos and enjoyed his dishes when a young lad.
I cook the ocassional West African Curry, with peanut butter as an additive, plus boiled eggs and many side dishes. just wonderful and thanks so much for the actual recipe.
Must get on and do one!!
 
#10 ·
My wife spent time in Gold Coast (Ghana) when a young girl and she makes a 'mean' groundnut stew now but she has never been introduced to the delicacy of palm oil chop. Thanks for the recipe Bev now I must try and locate palm oil (probably in Cape Town) next time we go down there.
 
#13 ·
Carried loads of the digusting Stinkfish, never did work out what you actually did with the stuff and even how it was produced in the first place.

I sort of guess, it was cod caught and dried in Iceland, banded in bundles and packed in a sacking coverall.

Anybody seen it reconstituted or even eaten some ? Only curiosity - I`m not looking for a receipt or even a local stockist - I just know someone is going to tell me it was a staple diet in Upper Parliament Street!

It was the Purser`s job to do discrepancies - I can never remember a broached bale of the stuff requiring my attention.Perhaps the shore staff "Go choppam all" before I got there.
 
#14 ·
I must admit I never tried the taste of 'stink fish - pass all' but I came up out of many hatches reeking of the stuff until shower time. Here on the West Coast of good old SA now we have 'bokkoms' which is sun dried harders (a small fish that is filleted and then dried in the sun) salted as a preservative. This is a great delicacy and guaranteed to give you a thirst!
 
#15 · (Edited)
Stink fish??
It was salted cod and we called it stock fish on the cargo manifest.
Newfoundland used to export it in massive quantities to Jamaica and got in return Rum. Locally known as "Screech".
It was well prepared by my newfie crew who soaked it ,changing the water several times. Was served with dried biscuit (also soaked) and cooked. Pork fat was added to enhance the flavour. (I would not know as I never sampled this delicacy???)
Commonly called Salt fish and Bruis.
 
#19 ·
Bacalao in Mexico is very tasty and is a traditional christmas meal along with romeritos and prawn patties. It is made with imported (Norwegian) salted cod. Cheaper varieties use dried, salted shark but the flavour is bland. Sanborns' do very reasonably priced bowls.
Rgds.
Dave
 
#17 ·
Stinkfish and bacalao are two different dishes and i have tried both i heaved like a dog when i tried the stinkfish and i love bacalao...

The best thing about stink fish is that it's got a funny name and it grosses out most people.

Fermented fishery products in Africa, particularly Ghana, are called monone, and Akon word that literally means stinking. Watts (1965) described "stink" fish of Sierra Leone, which developed a strong odor within 24 hours of capture; they were salted for about four days and then dried. Watanabe (1982) described the fermented fishery products of Senegal as highly salted and semi-dried with an obvoxious odor and a cheesy flavor [likely that of fermented cheese]. ....

Essuman described and characterized a variety of fermented fish products produced and consumed in Africa in a 1992 FAO Fisheries Technical paper. The commonly-practiced fish preservation techniques identified in this report are produced by: fermentation with salting and drying (momone, kato, tambadiang); fermentation and drying without salting (ndagala, dagaa, kejeick, salanga, yeet); or fermentation with salting but without drying (terkeen, fessiekh).

....

Yeet is a fermented product made from sea snails. The flesh is removed from the shell, separated from the viscera, and split into two to four parts. It is then placed in fermentation tanks, jute bags, or sacks and allowed to ferment for two to four days before being washed and dried on raised platforms for two to four days. It is a semi-dry, light-brown product with a strong smell.
 
#20 ·
I had never heard of this dish, not having been in the right ships on the right coast I guess, but the good old interweb he say:
http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/recipe_PalmOilChop.htm
" Palm Oil Chop

Palm-Oil Chop is a traditional dish from Western Africa that is prepared for big dinners and family celebrations. Part of the fun is letting diners add their choice of garnishes and accompaniments. Like many African recipes, it is very easy to adapt to whatever is on hand.

What you need:

Virgin Palm Oil
two or three pounds of chicken, cut into serving-sized or bite-sized pieces
one pound of stew beef, cut into bite-sized pieces, (optional)
one-half teaspoon ground ginger or one-half teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vegetables
tomatoes, chopped
onion, finely chopped
chile pepper, finely chopped
okra, sliced
sweet green pepper (or bell pepper), chopped
a few spoonfuls of tomato paste
one-half teaspoon thyme
salt, cayenne pepper or red pepper, black pepper (to taste)

What you do:

Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over high heat. Fry the chicken and beef in the palm oil until browned on the outside. Add ginger (or cinnamon) as the meat is frying. (It might be best to fry the meat in two or three batches; meat browns best when the pieces are fried without touching one another.) Set the meat aside after it is browned.
Fry vegetables of your choice in the same pot, reduce heat and simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes. Stir vigorously to partially mash the vegetables.
Add tomato paste, thyme, spices. Stir. Add enough water to make a smooth sauce while continuing to stir. Reduce heat. Simmer for an additional five to ten minutes.
Add the chicken and meat and simmer for an additional thirty minutes to an hour or more, stirring regularly. Make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Some people prefer to remove some of the red oil as it cooked; if it is not removed it should be stirred into the sauce.
Serve with Rice and garnishes. Diners should get a plate of Chop over rice and should add garnishes (below) of their choice right on top.
Garnishes:
hard-boiled eggs (everyone must have a hard-boiled egg)
sliced boiled yam or sweet potato
breadcrumbs or croutons
sliced fruit: such as banana, mango, orange, papaya, pineapple, etc.
shredded lettuce
parsley
chopped nuts
shredded coconut
sliced tomato
sliced onion: raw or fried
chili peppers
chutney
salt, black pepper, red pepper "
 
#22 ·
This reference to Star Lager brings back memories of "Sammy Sparkle". The adverts used to say "Ah Star, beer at its best". The only problem in the 50s was that now and again you would get one that had been previously used for kerosene or palm oil and not properly cleaned at the brewery. Not good.
I would add very little to the above recipes. It is a dish that can be made as you like it. The Congo Cookbook website has a full range of ethnic recipes. Watch the waistline. Bob Appleton
 
#24 ·
Palm Oil Chop remembered

Just found this thread, rather late in the day. Thanks for the recommendations for my book (still available on Amazon !) and I was interested to see the recipe for the dish.

As far as I was concerned, sitting down to a bowl of palm oil chop was the high point of the voyage. Not that there was a lot of competition for that award although shaking your bottom at the local ladies whilst doing a passable interpretation of high-life also had its moments.

I guess that the dish had a lot in common with West Africa. You either loved it or left it. It would be invidious to choose between EDs and Palm as to the best chop but, strangely enough, it was never offered to me in Nigerline. Plenty of pepper soup, however.

Whilst working in London I took some colleagues to the Africa House restaurant in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. Palm oil chop was on the menu but it 'done finish' when we arrived. So I recommended the pepper soup with gari. It was disgusting (although I got my portion down, being well used to the feeding in certain other nameless shipping companies !) and my workmates never let me forget it. Even now when we meet up, someone will remind me.

So I prefer to remember palm oil chop from the old days. A full bowl and an extended deckhead survey to follow. Happy days !
 
#25 ·
One sunday on the Owerri the navigating,purser,catering cadets,the junior engineers and third mate were all given the afternoon off to visit Tarkwa Beach for a swim.As we were leaving my boss said`Shame you`re missing Palm Oil Chop but never mind,all the more for us`as I had never experienced it I didn`t understand what he was talking about,however I did next trip and stayed on board!
 
#26 ·
Using a mixture of Bev’s and Nina’s recipe, tackled my first attempt at a Palm Oil chop last night.
This after a groundnut stew last weekend.
After orders from HSE had to stick to cans of Star instead of bottles.
And no, I was not heating the can.

Eating by myself though is not the same as with a crowd of ship’s crew though. Was playing Led Zeppelin throughout which helped.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top