Bouyon Blan

The bouyon, in all of its variations, is arguably the most popular food among Seychellois, and it is eaten virtually every day. It is always served with simple boiled rice and a variety of chutneys, such as pumpkin or aubergine chutney, as well as a freshly produced spicy chilli sauce. The term "bouillon" stems from a 17th-century French word that means "cooked liquid." While bouillon can be used to make soups and sauces, it is essentially a transparent, seasoned liquid with no solid constituents. Bouillon and broth are interchangeable terms.

The bouyon that has been bred can be either a simple bouyon or a fish bouyon. The basic bouyon can be made with a local spinach variety called as bred. The basic bouyon bred is actually a soup that is sometimes flavored with fried fish oil. The fish bouyon is cooked in the same way as the normal bouyon, but with fried bite-size pieces of fish added. The cordonnier -kordonnyen-or rabbit fish, also known as stinging bream, black spinefoot, or joyful moments, is the most popular fish used in bouyon in Seychelles. Other fish, particularly those of the emperor family, particularly the Red Snapper, are also popular.

Ingredients

• 750 g white firm-flesh fish, 1 young ridge gourd or loffa (Pipangay), 1 medium size onion, sliced, 3 cloves of garlic, crushed, 1 tsp crushed ginger, 6 bilenbi , washed and sliced, 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped, 1 litre water , 2 sprigs parsley,, roughly chopped, 1 sprig of thyme, salt and cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Clean the fish, cut into bite size pieces and season.
• Wash the ridged gourd and cut off the ends. Use a sharp small knife and peel off all the ribbed skin. Wash and cut into cubes of about 4 cm.
• Heat oil in a large pot and sweat onion and then add ginger,and garlic , stir for a minute and add tomato, parsley and thyme and cook for about three minutes.
• Add the fish and bilenbi, gently stir and let it steam for about three minutes by placing a lid on the pot.
• Add about 1 litre of water, cover pot with lid and cook on moist heat for about 20 minutes.
• Season and serve