Liboké with boiled plantains is a popular recipe in the Congo-Kinshasa (DRC) where I am from. Liboké is usually steamed fish or meat that is cooked in banana leaves in a homemade steamer of any sort. Nowadays it is done on a grill, stove top or in a regular oven. What makes the liboké so delicious is how the aromas of all the spices in the banana leaf get infused in the fish or meat with the steam. You don’t need too many spices, but you want to make sure that those you use are effective.
How do you make liboké with boiled plantains?
First, you want to make sure that your plantains are ripe. You know they are ripe when the skin is turning black and they are soft to the touch but not too soft.
If they are not yet ripe, you can boil them in water until you get no resistance when piercing them with a knife.
For the liboké, I got the banana leaves in the frozen section at the international market. One pack of frozen leaves is plenty for the recipe. I prefer to use the leaf first then cover it with the foil paper to prevent any leakage. The reason why I do not use foil directly on my food is that I have read that the aluminum might leak into the food, which is not good. You might want to do your own research on that.
What type of fish do you use for the recipe?
For this recipe, I used fresh seabass that was deboned at the fish market. You can certainly use a whole fish, but I don’t like to pick out bones while eating. Any type of FRESH fish with lots of flesh should work. I wouldn’t recommend frozen fish. When you thaw the fish, it tends to have extra water, even if patted dry, and the flesh doesn’t steam well in my opinion.
What type of spices did I used?
I used spices that have strong flavor but are not overpowering: onions, celery, green onions, habanero pepper, tomatoes, ginger. I would say that habanero pepper is a must back home. The spicier your liboké is, the better it is.
Do you have to cook it in a bain marie?
Yes, you need to use a bain marie, which is simply a hot water bath. The water will prevent direct heat from getting to the food, which will help cook the fish evenly. Also, direct heat could reduce the water inside the banana leaves and dry the food.
Can I make my liboké in advance?
Yes, you can make it in advance and just add water in the oven dish, if needed, while warming it up.
This is THE healthiest way of eating your fish since most of the nutritive elements are preserved through this process. Also, I love the feeling I have after eating it, which is not feeling full at all!
Liboké with boiled plantains
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 h
- Total Time: 1h15min
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: African
Description
Steam fish with boiled plantains.
Ingredients
- 4 fishes paves
- 2 tomatoes cut in quarters
- 2 yellow onions chopped julienne (chopped in big vertical slices)
- 2 greens onions stalks (chopped)
- 1 green peppers (chopped in big vertical slices)
- 4 green habanero peppers
- 1 thumb size ginger root peeled and sliced
- 1 tsp of bay leaves powder or 3 dry bay leaves
- 2 cups of water
- ½ cup of olive oil
- 2 ripe plantains
Instructions
- Put them in a bowl with all the ingredients.
- Use a wooden spoon to mix all them.
- On a platter, form three X’s with your foil paper by overlapping them in a way that there isn’t any more empty space.
- Put a parchment paper on top only if you plan to keep the banana leaves to serve.
- Add two banana leaves on top to form a cross
- Put two pieces of fish in the center with an assortment of all of the ingredients with some liquid
- Close your liboké one layer at the time starting with the banana leaves
- Make sure that all of the pieces get the liquid
Cooking on stove:
- Pour some water in a double boiler in a way that the water touches the bottom of your liboké.
- Put your liboké in boiler and cook it on medium to low heat for 1 hour.
- The fish is cooked when the flesh is white everywhere.
In the oven
- Preheat the oven at 350F.
- Pour some water in an oven pan so that the liboké bottom part sits in the water.
- Cook it for one hour
- The fish is cooked when the flesh is white everywhere.
To serve:
- Remove it from the water and let it cool for 20 min.
- Remove the foil paper first, then place your liboké on a crease plate.
- If the water hasn’t leaked from on the parchment paper, you can remove it and serve the fish with the banana leaves.
For the plantains:
- Cut them in three pieces with skin on
- Put them in a big pot with water covering them on medium high heat.
- They are cooked once you can pierce the plantains without effort with a butter knife.
You may also like:
Chicken Yassa with rice recipe
Interesting recipe and I love plantains! I am wondering if you remove the fish skin as I see it’s still on on the first photo but cooked photos later on look like the skin is removed. Also, I wonder if it could be done with a sous vide cooker?
Yes, I actually had both (with and without skin). The recipe works well with either one of them. The choice depends on personal preferences. I have never tried with the sous vide but I would bet that it can with it as well.
This looks so delicious! Can’t wait to try it for dinner this weekend. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you!