Tastes of Nostalgia:: Moi-Moi (Bean Cake)

Moi-Moi

I am so excited to be sharing another Taste of Nostalgia post. So today I bring you Moi-Moi (Bean Cake). This is mainly eaten as a breakfast meal in basically all Nigerian homes, but can also be enjoyed as a snack on the go at any time of the day.
It is protein-packed so it won't weigh you down whatever time of the day you decide to indulge in it. Growing up, hardly any Saturday morning was complete without the presence of Moi-Moi on the breakfast table.

Probably the best thing about this recipe is it's versatility. There's really not one list of ingredients you can put together to make it - For this post, I simply worked with what I had in the fridge.
I must apologise though because this post is more pictorial than my posts usually are, because I really wanted the entire process to translate across well enough. Enjoy!

Soaked Nigerian Kidney Beans

Peeled Beans

Palm Oil, Crayfish, Onions, Sweet Pepper, Scotch Bonnet, Eggs & Vegetable Stock Cube

Blended Mixture

Oven Ready

Oven Tray covered and sealed

Ingredients:

• 200g Nigerian Red Kidney Beans
• 4 tbsp Palm Oil
• 1/2 tbsp Salt
• 1 Vegetable Stock Cube
• 2 Hard Boiled Eggs (sliced)
• 2 tbsp Ground Crayfish 
• 100g Prawns (Fresh or Frozen). Alternative - Diced beef, Kidney or Liver
• 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (Use half for less heat)
• 1 Red Sweet Pepper
• 1 Medium sized Onion (quartered)
• 400ml Water

(Although there are different variations of moi-moi recipe, one ingredient I believe should be a constant is the ground dried crayfish. It is an acquired taste but it does something for the aroma and the flavour which adds to the authenticity of the dish.)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven at 200 degrees C.
2. Soak beans in warm water for at least 2-3 hours (personally I prefer to soak them overnight since this is usually a breakfast meal) to loosen the beans coat. 
3. Peel the coats off the beans by firmly rubbing them between the palms of your hands.
4. Separate the coats from the beans by sieving through with water.
5. To blender, add beans, scotch bonnet pepper, red sweet pepper, onions, crayfish, stock cube, salt and water. Blend until mixture is finely smooth. 
6. To 6 small stainless steel pudding bowls add 1 tsp vegetable oil, and coat insides.
7. Half fill the bowls with the mixture and add in prawns and egg slices into each.
8. Pour in more of the mixture to fill bowls to 3/4 level.
9. Fill an oven tray with water and arrange bowls into the oven tray.
10. Cover and seal tightly with aluminium foil and place in oven for 50 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and remove bowls from oven tray and allow to stand for about 10 minutes.
12. Use a knife to loosen the moi-moi from edges of the bowls and turn over onto plates.

This is usually served with a local breakfast porridge called Ogi/Akamu, but I have tried it with custard and oats.
Serves 6