Gabonese cuisine: seven dishes to know

Gabon, independent since 17 August 1960, brings together more than forty Bantu groups, among which the Fang, the Myènè, the Nzébi, the Kota and the Punu are the most numerous. Each brings its own touch: the Fang and their mastery of smoked fish, the coastal Myènè and their palm oil sauces, the Nzébi and the Punu with their seed sauces and their banana-leaf parcels. Here are seven dishes that give a glimpse of this forest and river cuisine, with the ingredients to make them in France.

History and influences of Gabonese cuisine

Gabonese cuisine is built around the equatorial forest and the rivers that cross the country: fish, often smoked or grilled, and meat complement locally grown starches, cassava, plantain, yam and taro. The word nyembwe, which means palm oil in the Myènè language, gave its name to the country’s best-known dish, a sauce made from palm nut pulp prepared throughout the Gulf of Guinea under different names.

Seven dishes from Gabonese cuisine

1. Nyembwe sauce

Nyembwe sauce is a smooth sauce made from palm nut pulp, in which smoked chicken is most often simmered. Considered Gabon’s national dish, it is called moambe among the peoples of the Congo basin, sauce graine in Côte d’Ivoire, and muamba in Angola: the preparation, a palm nut cream simmered with meat or fish, stays the same from one country to another. See our moambe chicken recipe, made with the same palm nut sauce.

2. Cassava leaves

Cassava leaves, pounded then simmered for a long time, are eaten by most groups in Gabon, each preparing them in their own way: with nyembwe sauce and smoked fish, with peanut paste, or simply seasoned with salt. They are served with cassava, rice or plantain.

3. Atanga (safou)

Atanga, the name given in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to the fruit of the tree Dacryodes edulis (called African plum or safou in neighbouring countries), is eaten braised or poached, the tender flesh then coming away from the stone. It traditionally accompanies plantain or cassava. See our atanga (safou) guide.

4. Okra sauce

Okra sauce combines fresh or dried okra, sometimes its leaves, with smoked fish, dried shrimp, beef skin and red palm oil, for a stringy sauce served over a starch.

5. Braised fish

Braised fish, most often capitaine (Nile perch) or sea bass, is one of Gabon’s national specialities: marinated then cooked over a wood fire, it is served with a broth spiced with chilli and lemon.

6. Nkumu ofula

Nkumu ofula is a dish of local green leaves, called nkumu, cooked in palm oil with onion and chilli, sometimes enriched with fish, meat or shrimp.

7. Wild boar with odika

Wild boar with odika is a festive dish, prepared for weddings and big occasions: the meat, marinated with herbs and spices, is coated with odika, a seed with a flavour close to cocoa that thickens the sauce. Odika, also called andok in Gabon, is the same seed as the ogbono used in Nigerian cuisine, that of the tree Irvingia gabonensis.

Ingredients of Gabonese cuisine to gather in France

Several ingredients recur from one Gabonese dish to another:

• the palm nut pulp, the base of nyembwe sauce
• the red palm oil, present in most of the sauces
• the dried cassava leaves
• the dried okra, for okra sauce
• odika, sold under its Nigerian name, ground sioko (ogbono), the seed of Irvingia gabonensis

Find this selection in our Central African grocery and our palm oil range.

Frequently asked questions

Are nyembwe sauce and moambe chicken the same dish?

Yes: Gabonese nyembwe sauce and Congolese moambe chicken are both a cream of palm nut pulp simmered with meat or fish. Only the name changes from one country to another across the Gulf of Guinea and the Congo basin.

What is atanga?

Atanga is the Gabonese name for the fruit of the tree Dacryodes edulis, also called safou or African plum in neighbouring countries. Braised or poached, it is eaten with plantain or cassava, the flesh coming away from the stone during cooking.

Where to find Gabonese ingredients in France?

NKOSI sells several ingredients of Gabonese cuisine (palm nut pulp, red palm oil, dried cassava leaves, dried okra, odika) in its shop and ships them from the Paris area within 24 to 72 working hours, to mainland France (2 to 3 working days) and to ten European countries. The minimum order is 39 €: in France, delivery to a pickup point is then free, and home delivery is free from 59 €.