I should probably start with the disclaimer that I no longer eat Tilapia, I created this recipe late in 2014 when Tilapia was still a part of my diet. I had really terrible experiences twice with the frozen Tilapia I got at my local store which motivated me to remove Tilapia from my diet. I honestly just think the aquaculture (fish farm) conditions must be unsafe and unsanitary for the fish to arrive at the store the way they do. I noticed bad smell and unnatural amounts of fat (which is very unusual for wild caught Tilapia) after defrosting the fish.
That being said, this is a great recipe; it’s light, healthy and fitfam approved. If you have access to wild caught tilapia, you should definitely use it. You can also use any other similar size fish like milk fish, croaker, white fish or cod.
- 2 whole tilapia fish (scaled and cleaned)
- 1 large onion (divided) ( thinly slice half)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 medium tomatoes
- Hot pepper – chili or habanero ( rodo) – to taste
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 cubes maggi
- Salt- to taste
- 1 bell peppers (thinly sliced)
- Combine ingredients 2 through 7 in a blender or food processor. Process until coarse.
- With a sharp knife, make some deep incisions on both sides of each fish.
- Place the fish in a large baking dish and pour over the puréed sauce. Top with chopped onions & peppers.
- Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 25 – 35 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
- Serve with rice and plantain
Could I fry this fish too with this recipe ?
yes you can
Would this work with those frozen tilapia fillets? seen them before? any advice if I want to use that?
yes it will
The problem with farmed tilapia is the farming methods and the amount of fat they have. Like you say we don’t know how these are farmed on China, Vietnam etc and what chemicals they put in them . In Nigeria wild tilapia is difficult to come by with oil spillages affecting the ones that used to swim freely. In our village we used to catch a lot until the Mobil oil spillages affected the quality of the fish. I haven’t eaten wild ones for over 15yrs
very well said
I tried it and it was de-li-cious!
Awesome! thanks for the feedback
I am so trying this today…I will give you feedback
aww just wot i needed i ordered some tilapia today and was wondering wot to do wit it aside from fish stew. ronke hats off to u
yeiii!! let me know how it goes.
i cooked this today ,it was so good ,thank you
Awesome!! thanks for the feedback.
i want to try this!!
do it!!
Just what i needed! My husband loves this dish. Thank u for ur recipe. Will definitely try it out ?
Yeiii! let us know how it turns out.
Interesting recipe!!! Can’t wait to try it! Can I try to marinate it before putting it in the oven tho. I am obsessed with marinating *face palm*
Marination helps ALWAYS. you definitely can.
Yes yes yes!!!, I’ve made this before and I loved it, the ginger gives it life. Great minds think alike jare. Sorry about the awful experience with the tipalia, I prefer using croaker for this recepie. Thumbs up 9ja foodie your the best
Great minds indeed. Thanks thanks
It was delicious!! Added ginger as well. Thanks 9ja Foodie!
awesome! thanks for the feedback.