Senegalese · main

Ceebu Jën (Thieboudienne)

Ceebu Jën (Thieboudienne) reads umami 5.9, heat 3.9 and allium 3.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Senegalese main, about 1 hr 39 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 6.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.3 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.6 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.6 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.9 · Heat 3.9 · Allium 3.9 · Salinity 3.7 · Richness 3.7 · Sweetness 3.7 · Funk & Ferment 3.6 · Marine & Briny 3.1 · Nutty 2.9 · Earthy 2.4 · Fruity 2.2 · Sourness 2.0 · Herbaceous 1.9 · Citrus 1.6 · Bitterness 1.3 · Floral 1.1 · Warm Spice 0.8

What's in it (18)

• grouper — 1200 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 60 g
• garlic — 24 g
• scotch bonnet chillies — 200 g
• peanut oil — 166 g
• onions — 400 g
• tomato paste — 140 g
• netetou — 15 g
• guedj — 40 g
• yeet — 20 g
• cabbage — 600 g
• cassava — 300 g
• carrots — 200 g
• eggplant — 200 g
• diakhatou — 400 g
• white rice — 700 g
• water — 2000 g
• salt — 15 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 39 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 64.5 kcal, 4.6 g protein, 0.4 g fat, 10.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (12 steps)

1. Pound the parsley, the garlic, one scotch bonnet and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a mortar for about 3 minutes into a coarse green paste. This is the rof.
2. Cut a deep pocket into the side of each fish steak and press the rof into it. Any left over goes into the pot later.
3. Heat the groundnut oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat and fry the stuffed fish 3 minutes a side, until sealed and golden. Lift the pieces out.
4. Lower the heat to medium, add the sliced onions and cook 8 minutes until slack.
5. Add the tomato paste and fry it, stirring, 6 to 8 minutes, until it darkens and the oil separates around it. The deep brick colour of finished ceebu jen comes from this step and from nothing else; there is no colouring in the dish.
6. Pour in the water and add the netetou, the guedj and yeet, the remaining whole scotch bonnet, left unbroken so it perfumes without scorching the pot, and the remaining salt. Boil 10 minutes.
7. Add the cassava and carrots and simmer 10 minutes; add the cabbage, aubergine and diakhatou and simmer 12 minutes more.
8. Return the fish and cook 8 minutes, just until the flesh flakes at the bone.
9. Lift out the fish and all the vegetables with a slotted spoon and keep them warm under foil.
10. Rinse the rice twice and stir it into the broth; there should be roughly twice as much liquid as rice. Cover and cook on low heat 25 minutes, until the rice has drunk the broth and turned red-brown.
11. Raise the heat to medium for the last 5 minutes to build the toasted crust on the bottom of the pot, the xoon, which is scraped up and shared out.
12. Pile the rice on a platter, arrange the vegetables and fish on top, and set the xoon in the middle.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Ojingeo Bokkeum (오징어볶음) — Korean
• Korean Spicy Squid Stir-Fry (Ojingeo Bokkeum) — Korean
• Prahok Ktis (Minced Pork and Coconut Dip with Fermented Fish) — Cambodian
• Asian Nachos With Pecorino, Cheddar & Shrimp — Fusion
• Thai Green Shrimp Curry — Thai

Keep reading: what umami, heat, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.