The Ever Shapeshifting, Ever Dynamic, Ever National Moin Moin (Saturday Special)

So I have decided to dedicate Saturdays to delving into cultural food in Nigeria, and I chose the Moin Moin to start this specials. I will confess, I do not know how to cook, but I assure you that I did some extensive research and observed my sister making the moin moin so I have a good idea on how to cook it (I think).

WHAT IS MOIN MOIN?

To the best of my knowledge moin moin is beans pudding or black-eyed peas pudding. Pudding is basically a food with soft or creamy consistency; this fulfills the criteria and is made from beans hence the name BEANS PUDDING. In layman’s words it’s the solid end result of creamy beans after some cooking steps. It is often orange (yellow in some variants) in color and characterized with the occasional boiled egg or fish popping up inside.

WHERE IS MOIN MOIN FROM?

Moin moin elemi meje is Yoruba origin and is said to be the dish with seven lives. This is because of the fish, egg, onions, etc. that goes into it. Although the dish is now almost technically a national food and is eaten in nearly all parts of Nigeria. Moin moin is protein rich and can be eaten with akamu, agidi (white), or garri. It is traditionally served in parties with jollof rice or fried rice. It can be eaten at any time of the day.

Beans!

WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS OF MOIN MOIN?

1.       Beans

2.       Crayfish

3.       Pepper

4.       Onion

5.       Boiled Eggs

6.       Fish (Canned or whatnot)

7.       Palm Oil/Vegetable Oil

HOW DO I MAKE MOIN MOIN?

1.       Get your beans out and into a bowl, basically all you have to do in the first step is to remove the soft skin of the beans. To do this you need to soak the beans in cold water for a while, rub the beans until the skin floats up and redo until you are satisfied.

2.       Your fish, egg, etcetera should be attended to. You can start boiling the egg and the cooking the fishes while your beans is soaking. Don’t forget to slice your onions too.

3.       Remove your blender from wherever you kept it and turn your beans into it. Add the crayfish, pepper and onion and blend away until it has been turned into a fine paste. I repeat: into a fine paste.

4.       Well, now we have our blended mixture we can go on to add either of the oils; be it vegetable or palm oil (depends on you, my sister used palm oil). Palm oil should/can be heated to get rid of the raw-ish taste. Mix the oils into the mixture until it blends completely.

5.       You can now also add the fish you have prepared to the paste and be careful with your stirring so you don’t have splintered fish allover your paste.

6.       The wrapping. This is the tricky part. You can use local leaves to wrap your moi moi paste or use a plastic bag. Using the local leaves is an art on its own, and is something you may need to consult a professional for. I just relied on the trusty plastic bag.

7.       Finally, boil your beans in water for some time until you’re satisfied with its solidness.

Many people have used moin moin in various packaging and due to its pasty form; it is easy to shape into whatever you like. 

Palm Oil Moi Moi