How to Cook Palm Oil Rice

How to Cook Palm Oil Rice

Palm oil rice is a native version of jollof rice popularly known as the Nigerian jollof rice. This recipe is prepared using palm oil and and rice. It is one of the day to day meals of average Nigerian households. It is sometimes referred to as red oil rice or concoction rice. Because of it’s popularity, this recipe has been modified over the years to suit individual’s needs.

But in this recipe, I will be showing   how to prepare the local version of this meal. It is very easy and fast to prepare, not forgetting it’s pocket friendliness. 

Ingredients for Palm Oil Rice 

• Rice
• Palm oil
• Seasoning cubes
• Salt
• Onions
• Pepper
• Crayfish
• Smoked fish or fresh fish/meat (optional)
• Scent leaves

How to Prepare Palm Oil Rice (Without Frying)

You will need to begin with washing the rice. Put the rice in a bowl, add water, then proceed to wash the rice for about 2-3 times. This will help remove any dirt and factory preservatives in the rice before cooking it.

Put the rice in a pot add a generous amount of water, then parboil the rice gently. Once it boils, filter out the water from the rice, this will further remove additional preservatives from the rice and also reduce the overall cooking time. Add water to the rice then cook again.

When the rice boils, add seasoning cubes, onions, pepper, salt, fish, meat and crayfish then stir adequately. When the rice tenders, and the water level is reduced and almost leveled with the rice, add scent leaves and palm oil. Taste if all the ingredients added are enough for the meal.

Continue cooking till it tenders completely and the water dries off. Your yummy rice and palm oil is ready to be served.

How to Cook Palm Oil Rice Frying

The ingredients for cooking palm oil rice otherwise known as red oil rice using the frying method is the same as the one listed above. Also the process of preparation is the same, but the difference is only with the frying.

Steps for Cooking Red Oil Rice (Frying)

You will need to follow the following steps:

• Parboil the rice.
• Sieve it out and keep aside.
• Put a dry pot on your cooker, heat it gently then add palm oil into the dry pot.
• When the oil heats up, add salt, onions, fish, seasoning cubes, meat(optional) and a little water, stir completely.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the parboiled rice.
• Add enough water that will be enough to cook the rice till it tenders.
• Add crayfish and continue cooking.
• Taste to determine if the rice has tendered.
• When the water is close to drying off, add the scent leaves.
• Keep observing the meal, once the water dries off, your delicious palm oil rice is done.

How to Cook Palm Oil Rice with Vegetables

Adding vegetables to your palm oil rice is a whole different experience entirely, in terms of taste. You can decide to either fry the palm oil or cook it directly. This means any of the two methods I discussed above can be used in preparing this version of the meal.

The only difference here is with the vegetables. You can chose to add any vegetable you want to the rice. Cook the rice following the procedure given above, till it tenders just before you add palm oil, add your sliced or shredded vegetable leaves. Boil for some minutes till the vegetables tenders also, then add palm oil. Cook for some extra minutes till the water in the rice dries off.

If you are using the frying method, add vegetables as the last ingredient, cook till it tenders and the food is ready to be served.

Conclusion

Palm oil rice is one of the staple food in Nigeria for the average citizens. It’s popularity is made possible by the ease of preparation and pocket friendliness. You can prepare a pot of palm oil rice with as little as 1,000 Naira. This post shows the different recipes for cooking rice and palm oil in Nigeria.