African Spinach Stew with Chicken and Shrimp

5 from 6 votes

African Spinach Stew with Chicken and Shrimp

This spinach stew is made by sauteeing onions then adding in tomatoes to cook and finally some chopped spinach. It is quick, easy and delicious. With only 30 minutes of cooking time, this is the perfect meal for busy weeknights! To make this vegan, use mushrooms in place of chicken and shrimp.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: African

Servings: servings

Author: Precious

Ingredients

4-5 cups chopped spinach - tightly packed -this came from 2 1 pound bags (about 1 kg) of frozen chopped spinach. I thawed the spinach, squeezed out the excess water and measured in cups.
5 cups chopped tomatoes -from about 6 large tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion -from half a LARGE onion or one medium onion
3 small seasoning cubes (Maggi) -about 4g per cube
Salt
1 cup canola oil or oil of choice
1 1/2 cup shrimps - peeled and de-veined 12 oz or 340 g
1/2 pound chicken breast - chopped into 1-inch slices -I used one chicken breast equal to about 1/4 kg
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Instructions

Season the shrimp with a pinch of salt and half of the white pepper. Mix well to ensure seasoning coats all of the shrimp.
Season the chicken with a pinch of salt and the other half of the white pepper. Mix well to ensure the seasoning coats all of the chicken.
Pour oil into a pot and heat on high for about 3-4 minutes then turn heat to medium. Put in shrimp and fry until they turn pink. Flip to the other side once one side is cooked. Remove once the other side is done. (Cook shrimps in total for about 4 minutes.)
Put chicken into the oil and cook on for about 5 minutes. Flip halfway through. Remove chicken once thoroughly done.
Pour chopped onions into the oil and saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add in tomatoes and cook on high heat covered for 10 minutes, opening to stir from time to time. Now leave tomatoes open to cook for another 5 minutes while you stir from time to time to prevent burning. The tomatoes are ready when they have greatly shrunk and you can see just the oil and tomatoes in the pot.
Add in salt, Maggi and stir well. Add the spinach and mix well. Finally add in the shrimp and chicken. Mix well to combine then turn off the heat.
Serve warm with boiled plantains, boiled rice or any favorite side. Enjoy!

Notes

1. To make this meal vegan, use mushrooms instead of chicken or shrimp. Follow the same procedure and it will taste just as good.

2. I use a lot of tomatoes in my vegetables so feel free to reduce if you feel the tomatoes are too much.

3. Also, reduce the oil in half to cut down the calories but note that the tomatoes may not fry well in less oil.

4. Now if you are in Africa, you might not have access to spinach, talkless of the frozen version. Our 'local green' in Nigeria and Cameroon work well in this recipe. All you need to do is chop the vegetables, boil water with a little salt then put the vegetables in the water and cover to rest for 2-5 minutes. Then strain, rinse with cold water, lightly squeeze and proceed with cooking as described.

Nutrition