Moambe

For the TV news bulletins from Georgian Public Broadcasting, see Moambe (TV Program).

Oil palm fruit

African Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis)

Moambe, mwambe, nyembwe, palm butter, or palm cream is the name of a sauce or a dish prepared with a sauce usually made from the pericarp (not the seeds) of palm nuts, the fruit of the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) tree, in western Middle Africa.

Dishes made with the sauce often include peanuts, peanut sauce, or peanut butter. The meat usually used in the dishes is chicken but other meats such as beef, fish, mutton, or any wild game meat such as crocodile or venison are used as well. Moambe or Nyembwe Chicken is considered a national dish of three African countries.

It is sometimes said that the name refers to the number of ingredients in the dish but it actually derives from the word for palm butter.^[1]

Regional variations

Gabon

In Gabon, the sauce is usually called nyembwe from the Myene word for palm oil.^[2] The most important dish using nyembwe is Nyembwe Chicken (French: poulet [au] Nyembwe or poulet [au] Gnemboue) which is considered a national dish of Gabon.^[2]

Republic of the Congo

In the Republic of the Congo, the sauce is called moambé or mwambe. Moambe Chicken is considered a national dish of the country.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

In western regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mwambi or mwambe (Lingala: mwǎmba) is the name given to the sauce of palm oil or peanuts. Moambe chicken is also considered a national dish.^[3]

Angola

In Angola the dish is called "muamba" and is considered a national dish as well. It is usually served with funge, a manioc purée, and can be made with fish on occasions.^[4]

Ingredients and preparation

• palm nuts
• chicken
• fish
• peanuts
• rice
• cassava (manioc) leaves
• bananas
• hot pepper sauce

The palm nuts are boiled and then pounded. The pulp is mixed with water, sieved and boiled again. Canned palm soup base, also called sauce graine or noix de palme may be substituted. The chicken and fish is slowly stewed in palm oil.

See also

• Palm oil

Notes and references

1. ^ Cf. Lingala mwambe, "eight," and mwǎmba, "palm butter" See fr:Moambe for more information.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Oiling the Wheels of the Economy." Gabon. Winter 2007. p. 19. Retrieved 10 March 2009
3. ^ Travel: 192-Part Guide to the World Part 41 Congo (Kinshasa)
4. ^ Hamilton,Cherie. Cuisines of Portuguese Encounters New York: Hippocrene Books, 2001. p. 219

External links

• Jessica B. Harris "Recipe for Mwambe Beef." The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent. Reprinted at The Global Gourmet website. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
• Nyembwe Sauce Recipe at Celtnet Recipes website. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
• Poulet Nyembwe (Nyembwe Chicken) Recipe at Celtnet Recipes website. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
• Poulet Moambé / Poulet Nyembwe at Recipes Wiki
• Photo of and recipe for Chicken Moambe
• Photo of canned (tinned) palm cream