Table Trotter

Dinner night · Mauritania

Chebujin (Mauritanian Fish and Rice)

Mauritania's national dish of herb-stuffed fish and vegetables in red tomato sauce, with rice cooked in the same pot: one big platter, no fuss at the table.

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On our list — not yet cooked
Chebujin (Mauritanian Fish and Rice): Mauritania's national dish of herb-stuffed fish and vegetables in red tomato sauce, with rice cooked in the same pot: one big platter, no fuss at the table
AI-generated illustration
Prep
25 min
Cook
55 min
Total
80 min
Serves
2 adults + 1 child, with rice and vegetables left over
Budget
$22–$32

Chebujin is fish and rice cooked as one dish. Thick pieces of white fish are stuffed with a paste of parsley, garlic and chile, browned, then simmered in a tomato-and-onion sauce with chunky vegetables: carrot, cabbage, sweet potato or cassava, eggplant. The fish and vegetables come out, and rice goes into the red broth to absorb every bit of it. Everything is heaped onto one platter, red rice underneath, fish and vegetables on top, and eaten from the middle outward. It is savory and tomato-rich rather than hot, and the herb stuffing is what makes the fish taste like more than fish.

Why it's on our list

Mauritania sits where the Sahara meets the Atlantic, and its national dish is a coastal one, a good reminder that the country is not only desert. I want to learn the one-pot rice method, where the rice cooks in the sauce that already cooked the fish and vegetables; it is the same principle as a paella or a jollof, and I expect the rice to be the best part. The herb stuffing, a parsley-garlic paste pressed into slits in the fish, is a small technique I have never tried. It is weeknight-feasible on a slow evening: eighty minutes, but most of it is a covered pot, and it produces one platter that everyone eats from, so there is little else to make or wash.

Field notes · Origin & culture

Chebujin (also cheb-u-jin or thieboudienne, from the Wolof ceebu jën, "rice with fish") is widely described as the national dish of Mauritania as well as of neighboring Senegal, and the two countries share it along their Atlantic coast and the Senegal River valley. In Mauritania it is tied to the fishing towns of Nouadhibou and Nouakchott and to the coast's long fishing tradition, including that of the Imraguen people. The sauce is tomato-based and the rice turns red from it; a "white" version made without tomato also exists. Dried or fermented fish is often added for depth in traditional kitchens, and the vegetables shift with the season. Meals in Mauritania are traditionally eaten communally from a shared platter, which is how this dish is meant to arrive at the table.

Noteworthy ingredients

  • Firm white fish: Thick cod, haddock, grouper or snapper fillets, or bone-in steaks if your counter has them. Fillets at least 1 inch thick hold together through the simmer; thin ones fall apart.
  • The herb stuffing (rof): A paste of parsley, garlic, scallion, chile and salt, ground in a mini food processor or mortar and pushed into slits in the fish. The chile is optional for a family version.
  • Tomato paste: It makes the sauce and colors the rice. Use a full small can; this is not a dish for a timid tablespoon.
  • Vegetables: Carrot, cabbage, eggplant and sweet potato are all easy to find and all traditional; cassava is more authentic than sweet potato if your store carries it (freezer aisle at Latin or Asian markets).
  • Broken or short-grain rice: Senegalese and Mauritanian cooks often use broken rice, which absorbs sauce well. Jasmine or any medium-grain rice is a fine substitute.

Prep — 25 min

  1. Make the stuffing: pulse the parsley leaves, 3 garlic cloves, scallions, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the chile (if using) in a mini food processor, adding a teaspoon of oil to help it move, until it forms a rough paste.
  2. Pat the fish dry and cut into 3–4 thick portions. Cut a deep slit into the side of each piece and pack in a spoonful of the paste. Rub any extra paste over the outside. Season lightly with salt.
  3. Dice the onion and mince the remaining 2 garlic cloves. Peel the carrots and cut into 2-inch lengths. Cut the cabbage into 2 wedges, the eggplant into 4 thick chunks, and the sweet potato into 2-inch pieces.
  4. Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear and leave it to drain.

Cook — 55 min

  1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Lay in the fish and brown 2 minutes per side, handling it gently. Move to a plate.
  2. Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir 2 minutes until the paste darkens to brick red. Add the diced tomatoes and cook 3 minutes.
  3. Add 4 cups water and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, add the carrots, cabbage, eggplant and sweet potato with 1 teaspoon salt, and simmer, partially covered, 15 minutes.
  4. Return the fish to the pot, laying it on top of the vegetables, and simmer 8–10 minutes until it flakes. Lift the fish and vegetables out to a plate and cover loosely with foil.
  5. Measure the sauce left in the pot; you want about 3 cups. Add water if short, or boil a few minutes if there is far more. Taste and salt it well. Stir in the rice, cover tightly, and cook over low heat 18–20 minutes until the rice is tender and has absorbed the liquid. Let it rest 5 minutes off the heat.

Serving

Spread the red rice on one large platter, set the fish in the center and the vegetables around it, and put lemon wedges on the side; everyone eats from the platter, or you plate it for a child who prefers borders. As written the dish is mild, with the stuffing's chile the only heat, so I'll make the stuffing without chile and pass hot sauce for the adults. Leftover rice reheats well in a skillet with a splash of water; the fish is best the same night or cold in a sandwich within a day.

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