Table Trotter

Dinner night · South Sudan

Kajaik-style Fish Stew

A South Sudanese fish stew of tomato, onion and a spoon of peanut butter, made weeknight-friendly with fresh tilapia and a little smoked fish, over rice.

South Sudan · back to the map
On our list — not yet cooked
Kajaik-style Fish Stew: A South Sudanese fish stew of tomato, onion and a spoon of peanut butter, made weeknight-friendly with fresh tilapia and a little smoked fish, over rice
AI-generated illustration
Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Total
45 min
Serves
2 adults + 1 child, with a little stew left over
Budget
$16–$26

Kajaik is the fish stew of South Sudan, traditionally built on dried fish from the Nile and its wetlands, simmered with onion and tomato into a thick, smoky, deeply savory sauce and eaten with asida (a sorghum or wheat porridge shaped into a mound) or kisra, the thin fermented sorghum flatbread. Many versions stir in ground peanuts, which thicken the sauce and round off the smoke, and some add okra. This adaptation uses fresh tilapia for the body of the stew and a small piece of smoked fish for the depth that dried fish gives, served over rice, the easiest honest stand-in for asida on an American weeknight.

Why it's on our list

South Sudan is one of the youngest countries on the map and one of the least written-about kitchens anywhere, and I would rather put a modest, honest fish stew on the table than skip it. The flavor combination I want to learn is smoke, tomato and peanut together, which runs through a lot of cooking along the Nile and across the Sahel. It is weeknight-feasible because the sauce comes together in 20 minutes, the fish poaches in it for 8, and rice cooks alongside. The stew is only gently spiced, so my son can eat it as it comes, with the chile on the side for us.

Field notes · Origin & culture

South Sudanese cooking is built on sorghum, maize and millet, eaten as kisra (a thin, fermented sorghum flatbread), asida (a smooth porridge) or wala-wala (millet porridge), with stews of greens, beans, okra, peanuts and meat or fish on the side. Drying fish from the White Nile and the vast Sudd wetlands is an old way of keeping a catch through the year, and kajaik is the stew that dried fish most often becomes. Recipes differ by community and household, so this is one practical version rather than a definitive one; the peanut element reflects the importance of groundnuts in the country's farming and in dishes like combo (greens with peanut butter and tomato). Mango, papaya and banana are the common fruit, and karkade (hibiscus tea) and strong coffee are the everyday drinks.

Noteworthy ingredients

  • Smoked fish: The traditional dried fish is hard to find in the US; a 3–4 oz piece of smoked whitefish, smoked trout or smoked mackerel (deli counter or fish counter) gives the stew its smoky backbone. Skip it and the stew is milder but still good.
  • Tilapia: A Nile fish by origin and the easiest fresh fish to find; any firm white fillet (cod, catfish, haddock) works. Cut into large chunks so it does not fall apart.
  • Natural peanut butter: Unsweetened, just peanuts and salt; two tablespoons is enough to thicken and round the sauce without turning it into satay.
  • Okra (optional): A handful of sliced okra, fresh or frozen, is a common addition and thickens the stew further.
  • Rice as the side: Asida takes practice; plain long-grain rice catches the sauce just as well. Store-bought flatbread is the other reasonable substitute.

Prep — 15 min

  1. Start the rice: rinse 1 1/2 cups rice, bring to a boil with 2 1/4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt, cover, cook on low 15 minutes and rest 5.
  2. Cut the tilapia into 2-inch chunks and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Flake the smoked fish, discarding skin and any bones.
  3. Dice the onion, mince the garlic and dice the tomatoes. Slice the okra if using. Slice the chile for the table.
  4. Stir the peanut butter with 1/2 cup warm water until smooth so it blends into the sauce without lumps.

Cook — 30 min

  1. Heat the oil in a wide deep skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 6–7 minutes until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
  2. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne (if using); cook 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes and cook 5 minutes, until they soften and the oil begins to separate at the edges.
  3. Add the flaked smoked fish, the peanut-butter mixture, 1 1/2 cups water and the bouillon cube if using. Simmer 8–10 minutes, uncovered, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add the okra for the last 5 minutes if using.
  4. Taste the sauce and season with salt; the smoked fish is salty, so go gently.
  5. Lay the tilapia chunks into the sauce in a single layer, spoon a little sauce over them, cover and simmer gently 7–8 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily. Do not stir hard; shake the pan instead so the pieces stay whole.
  6. Squeeze in half the lime, scatter with cilantro if using, and rest 3 minutes off the heat.

Serving

Spoon rice into shallow bowls and ladle the stew over, making sure each bowl gets whole pieces of fish and plenty of sauce, with lime wedges, the sliced chile and extra cilantro on the table for the adults. My son's bowl is the stew as cooked, which has only a gentle warmth from the cayenne (leave it out entirely if your table is chile-shy); if the smoked-fish flavor is too much for him, the tilapia pieces can be lifted out and served with a little sauce. Leftovers keep two days in the fridge; reheat gently in a covered pan with a splash of water, because fish toughens if boiled.

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