Moi Moi

I’ve been craving moi-moi - A Nigerian Steamed Bean Pudding - for over a week now, ever since seeing Black Panther.

The movie never made mention of moin-moin, btw. I don’t think it made mention of food at all, now that I think about it... but the MUSIC.

The music made me homesick for Winnipeg, by way of Folklorama, where my husband and I love the African pavilions in particular.

(... and the Greek pavilion... and the First Nations pavilion... and the Ukrainian pavilion... the Africa-Caribbean Pavilion - Jamaican Beef Patties! - well, basically everything!)

Being immersed in that music for a couple hours brought me back to the first time I had moi-moi, at the Africa Pavilion.

We always try a bit of everything when we go to Folklorama, and I think we paid $1 for a serving of Nigerian moi-moi.

It was warm - which surprised us - and had a texture sort of like mousse, but more solid.

I was instantly in love, and broke my “don’t order more than one of the same thing at Folklorama!” rule... a few times. Whoops. Whatever, it’s healthy - moi-moi is MINE-MINE!

Anyway, yes... Black Panther -> joyous African music -> Boom, week long craving activated.*

* It’s not the only time we’ve had powerful Folklorama cravings brought on by music.

The song “Hot” (by Middle Phinger) on the “Beatclub - A Celebration of Canadian Dance Music” CD reminds us of the music Afro-Caribbean pavilion dancers use for the limbo dancing, and it always makes us crave Roti.

What is Moi-Moi?

Moi-Moi (or moin-moin) is a Nigerian steamed bean pudding that’s served in many different ways.

Nigerian moi moi can be vegetarian or not, it can be served straight up, or with any number of items baked into it - hard boiled egg, corned beef, etc.

Sometimes it’s wrapped in ewe eran or banana leaves, sometimes not. Here in Canada, they’re expensive and hard to come by, so you really only see them brought in for special occasions.

It can be served warm or cold, and is just a really great, healthy dish.

It may not be THE most famous of the Nigerian foods (that’s probably Jollof rice?), but it’s my favourite!

I’m very much “the way I first have it is the RIGHT way” when it comes to things (even when I know otherwise - again, the brain is a funny thing!), so I make it based on the way I had it that first time- vegetarian, no “extras” baked in, served warm.

I don’t get Nigerian bean pudding QUITE as smooth as they do, because I kind of mail it in when it comes to peeling the beans.

Theirs was silky smooth, my end result is usually just slightly short of that. Still has an amazing texture, and the flavour is amazing.

You know, I hate the term “greater than the sum of its parts”, but this is one instance where that phrase really applies.

This is such a simple dish, with pretty basic ingredients... I have no idea how it ends up so flavourful and amazing. It doesn’t sound like much, on paper!

I like to eat this straight out of the oven, or sliced and reheated. Serve it with rice or a salad for a meal, or just munch on it alone as a high-protein snack.

Ingredients

Most of the ingredients are pretty easy to find - especially if you happen to live near any large South Asian markets or African grocery stores.

A few notes for you:

Black Eyed Peas

When I first started making moi moi, skinning the black-eyed peas was the WORST.

I’d soak and drain the whole beans before blitzing them in a food processor, then go through endless rounds of “soak, agitate, pour the water off, along with the skin of the beans”.

The moi moi is totally worth the effort, but it turns out that there’s a better way!

When I moved to Hamilton, I found Davisol African Caribbean and Tropical Foods Store, which is AWESOME.

Among the many harder-to-find foods they carry is the utter *magic* known as peeled beans, or moin-moin beans.

These are fantastic because you can skip the whole peeling step!

For me, this means a smoother finished product, as I get so annoyed with the peeling step, that I end up mailing it in.

LOVE the pre-peeled beans, 10/10 would recommend, the easiest way to get your moin-moin fix!

Apparently you can also find the pre peeled beans in some Indian grocery stores.

Produce

This recipe contains 2 different kinds of red peppers - bell pepper and Scotch Bonnet.

If you can’t find any Scotch bonnets - I had a hard time finding them in Minneapolis, when I first posted this recipe - then feel free to use habanero pepper instead.

Along with the peppers, you’ll need an onion and some fresh garlic cloves.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Vegetable Oil
Chicken or Vegetable Bouillon cubes
Smoked Paprika
Salt

... you know, straight-forward enough that I don’t really have anything to add!

How to Make Moi-Moi

The full recipe follows - in the recipe card at the end of this post - but here’s a pictorial overview, and additional tips.

Prepare The Beans

The night before you want to make this, get the beans started. How this goes is going to depend on what kind of black eye peas you get.

If Using Whole Beans

In a large bowl, cover the beans with hot water, allow to soak for 1 hour.

Drain the water off, transfer beans to a food processor, and blitz about ten times, just to break them up a bit.

Return beans to the large bowl, cover with hot water, and agitate – the skins will start to float.

Stir the beans with your hands a bit, rubbing beans together as you go – more skins will float. Skim those off, and repeat.

Once skins stop floating, I pour the water off carefully – it’ll bring more skins with it. I’ll scoop bits of skins off the surface of the beans – sometimes they don’t get carried off by the water.

Cover with more water, and repeat.

Once I’m happy with the amount of skins removed, I’ll cover it with hot water one more time, and allow it to soak overnight.

If Using Peeled Beans

Put your peeled beans in a large bowl of hot water, leave it overnight.

To Make the Moi-Moi

AFTER the beans have soaked overnight:

Preheat oven. Liberally spray two glass bread pans (or several ramekins) with cooking spray, set aside.

Chop and seed the bell and habanero peppers, peel and chop the onion. Add peppers, onion, garlic, and bouillon cubes to food processor, process until smooth.

Note: If you have a high powered blender this should go relatively quickly, normal blenders can take a while. I tend to let the food processor run for about 5 minutes, your mileage may vary.

Add a little water, if you need it, just enough water to get it going – but not a lot. Too much water will make for a runny moi moi!

Once smooth, add salt, paprika, and vegetable oil to the ground beans mixture, blitz again until well incorporated.

Divide the blended beans mixture between the prepared pans.

Bake for about 2 – 2 ½ hours, until the sides of the moi-moi start to pull away from the baking dish. Allow to cool a little, before inverting onto a serving plate.

Serve warm, enjoy!

More Vegetarian Recipes

Looking for more delicious vegetarian recipes? Check these out!

Boneless Vegan Ribs
Paleo Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Paneer Burgers
Trader Joe's Tofu Edamame Nuggets
Vegetarian Chorizo Burger
Vegan Donair Meat / Vegetarian Donairs
Vegetarian Salad Rolls
Wild Rice and Edamame Salad
Wild Rice Polenta Sandwich

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

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