[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":448},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:senegalese-thieboudienne":3,"recipe:country:senegal":230},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"romanized":7,"pronunciation":8,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"emoji":11,"summary":12,"intro":13,"story":14,"whyThis":15,"tips":20,"substitutions":27,"variations":40,"serveWith":50,"storage":52,"faq":53,"equipment":69,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":76,"difficulty":77,"course":78,"diet":80,"mainIngredients":83,"ingredients":89,"instructions":174,"nutrition":210,"images":216,"keywords":220,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"senegalese-thieboudienne","Thieboudienne (Senegalese Fish and Broken Rice)","Ceebu jën","Ceebu jen","cheb-oo JEN","senegal","Saint-Louis","🐟","Senegal's national dish: fish steaks stuffed with green rof paste, simmered with cassava, cabbage and carrot, then broken rice cooked to a toasted crust in the tamarind-sharp broth.","Thieboudienne is fish and rice cooked in sequence in a single pot, and the sequence is the whole point. Steaks of firm fish get slashed and packed with rof, a pounded green paste of parsley, garlic, scallion and chilli, then poached in a dark base of onion and tomato paste fried until it turns brick-red. The vegetables go in next and come out one by one as they soften; only then does the broken rice go into what is left, absorbing every bit of the seasoning until the pot runs dry and the bottom layer toasts. The result tastes savoury, faintly sour from tamarind, and much deeper than the ingredient list suggests. It is a long lunch, made for a shared bowl.","Ceebu jën means, plainly, rice and fish in Wolof, and it is the dish Senegal puts forward as its own. In 2021 it was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — recognised not just as a recipe but as a whole set of practices around fishing, the shared bowl and the way a family eats lunch together. Popular tradition credits its invention to Penda Mbaye, a nineteenth-century cook in Saint-Louis, though that attribution is oral rather than documented and Senegalese cooks tell it as heritage rather than history.\n\nWhat is documented is the rice. Saint-Louis was the administrative capital of French West Africa, and broken rice — riz brisé, the fragments left over from milling and shipped cheaply from colonial Indochina — arrived in bulk through its port. It was the affordable grain, but it also turned out to be the better one for this dish: short, thirsty fragments that swell with broth instead of staying separate and polite. Senegalese cooks kept buying broken rice long after cheaper politics stopped requiring it, and today good markets in Dakar sell it graded by fineness.\n\nEvery household argues about the details. Thiebou dienne rouge, coloured with tomato paste, is the version most people mean; thiebou dienne blanc leaves the tomato out entirely and lets the fish and vegetables carry the colour. The vegetable list flexes with the season and the budget — cassava, cabbage, carrot, sweet potato, bitter African eggplant, okra, whole scotch bonnet — and there is no fixed number of them. The one thing nobody concedes on is xoon, the crust of rice caught on the bottom of the pot, which is scraped up, piled on top and disappears first.",[16,17,18,19],"Builds the broth in the correct order, so the rice cooks in fish stock rather than water and needs no extra seasoning at the end.","Gives you a workable rof paste from ingredients any supermarket carries, instead of a shopping list you cannot fill.","Explains how to get xoon, the toasted rice crust, without scorching the pot.","Honest about the fermented seasonings: it tells you what nététou and guedj do and what the dish loses without them.",[21,22,23,24,25,26],"Use fish steaks cut across the bone, not fillets. Bone and skin hold the pieces together through 25 minutes of simmering and give the broth its body.","Fry the tomato paste far longer than feels reasonable — until it darkens to brick and oil beads out at the edge. Undercooked paste tastes tinny and turns the whole pot flat.","Pull each vegetable out the moment it yields to a knife tip. Cassava and carrot need far longer than cabbage, and everything left in the pot to the end collapses into mush.","Measure the broth before the rice goes in: you want roughly 1.5 times the volume of the dry rice for broken grains, and it should taste slightly too salty on its own.","For xoon, stop stirring once the rice is nearly dry, turn the heat to its lowest setting and listen — a faint crackle means crust, a smell of smoke means you waited too long.","If you can find nététou (fermented locust bean, also sold as soumbala or dawadawa), crush two lumps into the broth. It is the single ingredient that makes a home pot taste Senegalese rather than generic.",[28,32,36],{"original":29,"swap":30,"note":31},"Guedj (dried fermented fish)","2 anchovy fillets mashed into the onion base","Anchovy gives you salt and fermented depth but none of the smoky note. It is a reasonable stand-in, not a match.",{"original":33,"swap":34,"note":35},"Tamarind pulp","Juice of 1 lime plus 1 tsp brown sugar, stirred in at the end","Tamarind gives a rounder, fruitier sourness; lime is sharper and hits earlier, so add it off the heat.",{"original":37,"swap":38,"note":39},"Broken rice","Short-grain white rice, rinsed twice","Broken rice is sold in African, Indian and Middle Eastern grocers and is worth seeking out. Long-grain basmati is the worst choice here — it stays separate and refuses to absorb the broth.",[41,44,47],{"name":42,"description":43},"Ceebu jën weex (white thieboudienne)","No tomato paste at all. The broth stays pale gold, the fish flavour comes forward, and the tamarind sourness reads much more clearly.",{"name":45,"description":46},"Ceebu yapp","The same method built on lamb or beef instead of fish, with the meat browned first and simmered until it shreds.",{"name":48,"description":49},"Thiebou dienne with bitter eggplant","Add small African eggplants (jaxatu) with the cassava. Their bitterness cuts the richness and is much loved locally, though it divides visitors.",[51],"Nothing else is needed — the dish is the meal. Serve from one wide platter with lime wedges and a whole simmered scotch bonnet on the side for anyone who wants to burst it into their own portion.","Keep the rice and the fish and vegetables in separate containers for up to 2 days in the fridge, or the fish will break down into the grain. Reheat the rice covered with a splash of water over low heat until it steams, and warm the fish and vegetables briefly in any leftover broth. Freezing is not worth it: the cassava turns fibrous and the rice goes gluey on thawing. The rof paste, on the other hand, freezes well in a small jar for a month.",[54,57,60,63,66],{"question":55,"answer":56},"Why is thieboudienne considered Senegal's national dish?","It is the everyday lunch of the shared bowl across most of the country, and it carries formal recognition too: in 2021 UNESCO inscribed ceebu jën on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, citing the fishing, cooking and communal eating practices around it rather than the recipe alone.",{"question":58,"answer":59},"What fish should I use if I cannot get thiof?","Thiof is white grouper, the prestige choice in Senegal. Any firm white fish cut into thick bone-in steaks works: grouper, sea bass, snapper, hake, kingfish or a thick cod loin. Avoid thin, flaky fillets, which fall apart during the simmer and cloud the broth you need for the rice.",{"question":61,"answer":62},"What is rof and can I skip it?","Rof is the green stuffing pounded from parsley, garlic, scallion, chilli and salt, packed into slashes cut in the fish so it seasons from the inside out. You can skip it and the dish will still be pleasant, but it will taste one-dimensional — the herb paste is what makes each bite of fish distinct from the broth around it.",{"question":64,"answer":65},"My rice came out mushy. What went wrong?","Almost always too much broth. Broken rice needs less liquid than whole grains, roughly one and a half times its volume, and it keeps absorbing after the heat goes off. Measure the broth rather than eyeballing it, and stop stirring once the liquid drops below the surface of the rice so the grains steam instead of being agitated into starch.",{"question":67,"answer":68},"Can I make this in advance for a party?","Partly. Make the rof paste and cut the vegetables a day ahead, and you can even cook the fish and vegetables in the broth in the morning and set them aside. Cook the rice within an hour of serving, though — reheated thieboudienne rice never regains the loose, separate texture it has straight from the pot.",[70,71,72,73],"Wide heavy pot or Dutch oven with a lid, at least 6 litres","Mortar and pestle or small food processor","Slotted spoon","Sharp knife",6,40,100,"hard",[79],"main",[81,82],"pescatarian","dairy-free",[84,85,86,87,88],"white-fish","rice","cassava","cabbage","tamarind",[90,95,99,104,108,111,116,120,123,126,131,133,136,138,142,146,149,153,156,159,163,167,170],{"ref":91,"qty":75,"unit":92,"name":93,"group":94},"parsley","g","flat-leaf parsley, leaves and thin stems","For the rof paste",{"ref":96,"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":96,"group":94},"garlic",5,"clove",{"ref":100,"qty":101,"unit":102,"name":103,"group":94},"scallions",3,"piece","scallions, roughly chopped",{"ref":105,"qty":106,"unit":102,"name":107,"group":94},"scotch-bonnet",1,"scotch bonnet, deseeded",{"qty":106,"unit":109,"name":110,"group":94},"tsp","fine salt",{"ref":84,"qty":112,"unit":113,"name":114,"group":115},1.2,"kg","firm white fish (grouper, sea bass or hake), in 3 cm bone-in steaks","For the pot",{"qty":117,"unit":118,"name":119,"group":115},150,"ml","groundnut oil",{"ref":121,"qty":101,"unit":102,"name":122,"group":115},"onion","onions, 2 finely chopped and 1 sliced",{"ref":124,"qty":117,"unit":92,"name":125,"group":115},"tomato-paste","tomato paste",{"qty":127,"unit":102,"name":128,"optional":129,"note":130,"group":115},2,"nététou lumps (fermented locust bean)",true,"sold as soumbala or dawadawa",{"qty":75,"unit":92,"name":132,"optional":129,"group":115},"guedj (dried fermented fish), rinsed",{"ref":134,"qty":127,"unit":102,"name":135,"group":115},"bay-leaf","bay leaves",{"ref":105,"qty":106,"unit":102,"name":137,"group":115},"scotch bonnet, left whole and unpierced",{"qty":139,"unit":140,"name":141,"noScale":129,"group":115},1.8,"l","water",{"ref":86,"qty":143,"unit":92,"name":144,"group":145},400,"cassava, peeled and cut into batons","For the vegetables",{"ref":147,"qty":101,"unit":102,"name":148,"group":145},"carrot","carrots, halved lengthways",{"ref":150,"qty":151,"unit":92,"name":152,"group":145},"sweet-potato",300,"sweet potato, in thick wedges",{"ref":87,"qty":154,"unit":92,"name":155,"group":145},500,"white cabbage, in thick wedges through the core",{"ref":157,"qty":106,"unit":102,"name":158,"group":145},"eggplant","small eggplant, quartered",{"ref":160,"qty":161,"unit":102,"name":162,"optional":129,"group":145},"okra",8,"okra, left whole",{"ref":88,"qty":127,"unit":164,"name":165,"group":166},"tbsp","tamarind pulp, loosened in 100 ml hot water and strained","To finish",{"ref":85,"qty":168,"unit":92,"name":169,"group":166},750,"broken rice, rinsed until the water runs almost clear",{"qty":171,"unit":172,"name":173,"group":166},null,"to taste","salt, black pepper and lime wedges",[175,179,184,189,194,198,202,207],{"title":176,"text":177,"tip":178},"Pound the rof and stuff the fish","Pound the parsley, garlic, scallions, deseeded scotch bonnet and salt to a coarse green paste. Cut two deep slashes in each fish steak and push the paste well into the cuts, then set the fish aside while you start the base.","Work the paste in with your thumb until the slash bulges. Paste sitting on the surface washes straight off in the broth.",{"title":180,"text":181,"timerSeconds":182,"tip":183},"Fry the onion and tomato base","Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat and cook the chopped onions with a pinch of salt for about 12 minutes, stirring, until they are limp and just starting to colour at the edges. Stir in the tomato paste and keep frying for another 8 to 10 minutes.",720,"The paste is ready when it has gone from bright red to brick-dark and a clear ring of oil pools around it — not before.",{"title":185,"text":186,"timerSeconds":187,"tip":188},"Build the broth","Crush in the nététou and guedj if using, add the bay leaves, sliced onion and the whole scotch bonnet, then pour in the water. Bring to a boil, season generously with salt and pepper, and let it bubble for 10 minutes so the base dissolves into a smooth, dark broth.",600,"Do not pierce the whole chilli. Intact, it perfumes the pot; split, it takes it over.",{"title":190,"text":191,"timerSeconds":192,"tip":193},"Poach the fish","Lower the stuffed fish steaks into the simmering broth in a single layer and cook gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until the flesh has turned opaque to the bone and slides off it when nudged. Lift the fish out with a slotted spoon onto a platter and cover it loosely.",1080,"Keep the broth at a lazy simmer with bubbles just breaking the surface. A rolling boil shreds the steaks.",{"title":195,"text":196,"timerSeconds":197},"Cook the vegetables in stages","Add the cassava, carrots and sweet potato to the broth and simmer for 15 minutes, then add the cabbage, eggplant and okra and cook for 10 minutes more. Remove each piece to the fish platter as soon as a knife tip slides in with no resistance.",900,{"title":199,"text":200,"tip":201},"Season the broth for the rice","Stir the strained tamarind liquid into the pot and taste. The broth should be noticeably sour, savoury and a shade saltier than you would drink it — the rice will absorb all of that. Measure out roughly 1.2 litres and set any excess aside for reheating.","If the broth tastes thin, boil it hard and uncovered for 5 minutes to concentrate it before you measure.",{"title":203,"text":204,"timerSeconds":205,"tip":206},"Cook the rice and build the crust","Tip the rinsed broken rice into the measured broth, stir once to level it, and simmer uncovered until the liquid drops below the surface of the grains, about 10 minutes. Cover, drop the heat to its lowest setting and steam for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.",1200,"In the last 5 minutes you should hear a faint crackle from the base of the pot. That is xoon forming; if you smell smoke instead, take it off the heat immediately.",{"title":208,"text":209},"Assemble the bowl","Fluff the rice with a fork, scrape up the toasted crust from the bottom and fold it through. Spread the rice on a wide platter, arrange the fish and vegetables over it, and spoon a ladle of hot broth across the top. Serve with lime wedges and the whole chilli in the middle.",{"calories":182,"protein":211,"carbs":212,"fat":213,"fiber":214,"sodium":215,"estimated":129},42,96,20,7,980,[217],{"src":218,"alt":219},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-thieboudienne\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of orange broken rice topped with fish steaks, cassava, carrot and cabbage wedges with a whole red chilli",[221,222,223,224,225,226,227],"thieboudienne","ceebu jen","senegalese fish rice","broken rice","west african","national dish","one pot","2026-08-20","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":231,"total":237,"page":106,"limit":446,"hasMore":447},[232,262,287,308,330,351,374,395,418,425],{"slug":233,"title":234,"nativeName":235,"countrySlug":9,"region":236,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":237,"cookMinutes":238,"restMinutes":239,"difficulty":240,"course":241,"diet":243,"mainIngredients":248,"images":251,"keywords":255,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"bissap","Bissap (Senegalese Hibiscus Iced Drink)","Bissap","Dakar",10,15,90,"easy",[242],"drink",[244,245,246,82,247],"vegetarian","vegan","gluten-free","nut-free",[249,250],"mint","lime",[252],{"src":253,"alt":254},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fbissap\u002Fhero.svg","Tall glass of deep ruby hibiscus drink over ice with a mint sprig, jug of the same drink behind it",[233,256,257,258,259,260,261],"hibiscus drink","sorrel","flor de jamaica","senegalese drink","iced tea","caffeine-free",{"slug":263,"title":264,"nativeName":265,"countrySlug":9,"region":236,"baseServings":266,"prepMinutes":213,"cookMinutes":267,"restMinutes":268,"difficulty":240,"course":269,"diet":271,"mainIngredients":273,"images":276,"keywords":280,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"dibi","Dibi (Senegalese Charcoal-Grilled Lamb with Onions)","Dibi",4,30,120,[270,79],"street-food",[82,272],"halal-friendly",[274,121,275],"lamb","lemon",[277],{"src":278,"alt":279},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fdibi\u002Fhero.svg","Chopped charred lamb pieces on paper covered with pale softened onions, torn baguette beside the tray",[263,281,282,283,284,285,286],"dibiterie","grilled lamb","senegalese barbecue","charcoal lamb","mustard onions","street food",{"slug":288,"title":289,"nativeName":290,"countrySlug":9,"region":236,"baseServings":266,"prepMinutes":291,"cookMinutes":267,"restMinutes":267,"difficulty":292,"course":293,"diet":295,"mainIngredients":296,"images":298,"keywords":302,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"fataya","Fataya (Senegalese Fried Fish Turnovers)","Fataya",45,"medium",[270,294],"snack",[81,82],[84,297,121,250],"flour",[299],{"src":300,"alt":301},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ffataya\u002Fhero.svg","Golden fork-crimped half-moon pastries stacked on a plate beside a bowl of raw onion and chilli lime sauce",[288,303,304,305,306,307],"fish turnover","senegalese pastry","kaani sauce","west african street food","fried snack",{"slug":309,"title":310,"nativeName":311,"countrySlug":9,"region":312,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":313,"cookMinutes":76,"difficulty":292,"course":314,"diet":315,"mainIngredients":316,"images":319,"keywords":323,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"senegalese-mafe","Mafé (Senegalese Peanut Butter Stew)","Maafe","Sine-Saloum",25,[79],[82,272],[317,318,86,150,124],"beef-chuck","peanut-butter",[320],{"src":321,"alt":322},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-mafe\u002Fhero.svg","Thick rust-orange groundnut stew with chunks of beef, cassava and carrot, oil pooling on the surface, beside white rice",[324,325,326,327,328,329,225],"mafe","maafe","groundnut stew","peanut stew","tigadegena","senegalese beef",{"slug":331,"title":332,"nativeName":333,"countrySlug":9,"region":236,"baseServings":266,"prepMinutes":238,"cookMinutes":334,"restMinutes":335,"difficulty":240,"course":336,"diet":338,"mainIngredients":339,"images":341,"keywords":345,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"ndambe","Ndambé (Senegalese Bean Stew Sandwich)","Ndambe",75,480,[337,270],"breakfast",[244,245,82],[121,340,124,105],"tomato",[342],{"src":343,"alt":344},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fndambe\u002Fhero.svg","Split baguette filled with dark red-brown cowpea stew, scallions scattered over the top, held over paper wrapping",[331,346,347,348,349,350],"bean sandwich","black-eyed peas","senegalese breakfast","dakar street food","vegan west african",{"slug":352,"title":353,"nativeName":354,"countrySlug":9,"region":355,"baseServings":266,"prepMinutes":313,"cookMinutes":356,"restMinutes":357,"difficulty":240,"course":358,"diet":359,"mainIngredients":360,"images":362,"keywords":366,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"senegalese-poulet-yassa","Poulet Yassa (Senegalese Lemon and Onion Chicken)","Yassa ginaar","Casamance",55,240,[79],[82,272],[361,121,275],"chicken",[363],{"src":364,"alt":365},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-poulet-yassa\u002Fhero.svg","Browned chicken pieces buried in a tangle of softened golden onions with lemon wedges and white rice alongside",[367,368,369,370,371,372,373],"poulet yassa","yassa chicken","lemon chicken","onion sauce","senegalese","casamance","west african braise",{"slug":375,"title":376,"nativeName":377,"countrySlug":9,"region":355,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":267,"cookMinutes":378,"difficulty":292,"course":379,"diet":381,"mainIngredients":382,"images":384,"keywords":388,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"soupou-kandia","Soupou Kandia (Senegalese Okra and Palm Oil Stew)","Soupu kanja",50,[380,79],"soup",[81,82,246],[160,84,383,85],"shrimp",[385],{"src":386,"alt":387},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsoupou-kandia\u002Fhero.svg","Deep orange okra and palm oil stew with fish pieces and shrimp, ladled over a mound of white rice in a bowl",[389,390,391,392,393,394],"soupou kandia","okra stew","palm oil","senegalese seafood","west african okra","soupu kanja",{"slug":396,"title":397,"nativeName":398,"countrySlug":9,"region":236,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":238,"cookMinutes":313,"restMinutes":268,"difficulty":240,"course":399,"diet":401,"mainIngredients":402,"images":407,"keywords":411,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"thiakry","Thiakry (Senegalese Millet Couscous Yogurt Dessert)","Caakiri",[400],"dessert",[244,246,247],[403,404,405,406],"millet","yogurt","condensed-milk","nutmeg",[408],{"src":409,"alt":410},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fthiakry\u002Fhero.svg","Glass of thick pale millet and yoghurt dessert speckled with grated nutmeg, a long spoon resting inside",[396,412,413,414,415,416,417],"caakiri","degue","millet dessert","yogurt pudding","senegalese sweet","no-bake",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"romanized":7,"countrySlug":9,"region":10,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":75,"cookMinutes":76,"difficulty":77,"course":419,"diet":420,"mainIngredients":421,"images":422,"keywords":424,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},[79],[81,82],[84,85,86,87,88],[423],{"src":218,"alt":219},[221,222,223,224,225,226,227],{"slug":426,"title":427,"nativeName":428,"countrySlug":9,"region":312,"baseServings":74,"prepMinutes":267,"cookMinutes":429,"difficulty":292,"course":430,"diet":431,"mainIngredients":432,"images":434,"keywords":438,"publishedAt":228,"updatedAt":228,"authorSlug":229},"senegalese-thiere","Thiéré Bassi Salté (Senegalese Millet Couscous with Lamb)","Cere basi salte",95,[79],[82,272],[274,433,87,147],"couscous",[435],{"src":436,"alt":437},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-thiere\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of pale millet couscous hollowed in the centre and filled with lamb, pumpkin, cabbage and carrot in red sauce",[439,440,441,442,443,444,445],"thiere","bassi salte","millet couscous","senegalese lamb","nététou","steamed grain","celebration dish",24,false,1787360056680]