Happy New Year! It’s 2024!! How time truly flies! Here’s praying for a year filled with good health, hard work which leads to a good harvest and lots of love from family!

Would you believe how much I’ve been craving Fante Fante? And I’m not even pregnant 😂. But do you ever crave for one particular dish so much that you’d either drive all the way for it or go to the market and cook from scratch, despite having other obligations? Yes, that was me for the past couple of weeks. I’ve simply been craving Fante Fante for some reason. I don’t know if it was the whole thought of delving into the succulence of fresh fish in a simple sauce or if I simply wanted a comforting food. But you see, that’s exactly what Fante Fante is. It’s both a comfort food with so much relish and richness yet prepared with such simplicity.

A bit of background on the sauce origins: Fante Fante is a traditional Ghanaian fresh fish stew made with palm oil originating from the Fante people who reside mostly in the coastal region of Ghana specifically CapeCoast and Elmina. Amongst the Fante’s it’s more popularly eaten with corn-based Etsew and Fante Kenkey.

Fante Fante is super quick and easy to cook than most traditional Ghanaian dishes due to the naturally quick steaming of fish and the tomato sauce which also isn’t prepared like most of the other tomato stews (Jollof stew for example). The ingredient’s list is also short, pocket-friendly and easily accessible in any market.

Sides To Eat With Fante Fante

Rice, Ga Kenkey, Banku, Etsew (Banku without cassava dough) Boiled Yam, Mashed Potatoes are great sides to enjoy with Fante Fante. My all-time favorite is freshly churned Banku.

Which Other Types of Fish Can I Substitute For Tilapia

Fante Fante is a fresh fish stew so be flexible with using any fresh fish of your choosing. Grouper and cassava fish would make excellent substitutes as well!

This recipe serves 2 adults.

Prepping: 10minutes Cooking: 30minutes

Ingredients

5 Fresh Tomatoes roughly chopped

1 Whole White Onion

7 Large Green Chilli Pepper

2 Large Ginger

1 Koobi soaked & cleaned (Salted Fish)

1 Whole Tilapia cut into large chunks

4 cloves of Garlic

4 Fingers of Okro

Salt

Palm-oil (1/2 cup)

Cooking Instructions.

Marinate the Fish

Blend half of the white onion, ginger, garlic and 4 pieces of chilli pepper and pour this over the fish leaving about 2 tablespoons for later. Top the seasoning with 1 tablespoon of salt. Push the chilli paste into every crevice of the fish. Set aside to marinate.

Cook the Sauce

Blend tomatoes and the rest of the white onion till smooth.
Heat the palm-oil in a deep pan. Palm-oil heats up faster than most oils, so keep a sharp eye for high smoking. Fry the koobi for about two minutes and add puréed tomatoes and onions mix. Spoon in the rest of the chilli paste. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes till it’s reduced.

Steaming the Tilapia

Place a dry pan on fire and gently place the tilapia in it. Reduce the heat to low to steam the tilapia without the addition of any water or liquid. Cover the pan and allow the fish to steam in its own juices for 10 minutes. Gently use a spatula to flip the fish to the other side.
Slice the okro and the rest of the chilli and add to the reduced tomato sauce. Add salt to taste.
Gently lift the Tilapia and place in the tomato sauce. Cook for 5 minutes and turn off heat.
Serve with your favorite side.

What I truly love about Fante Fante is the simplicity yet out of the world flavour from the fresh aromatics and spices used! The steamed fish is super flavorful and succulent. The okro is added as a color detail and texture ingredient and it’s just satisfying chewing on it amidst the juicy tomato sauce. You should absolutely choose a fleshy fish to fully enjoy the taste experience! It’s a guaranteed 10/10 👌🏾🥳

Is Fante Fante one of your favs as well?Let me know in the comments section. ❤️