Nigerian Grilled Peppered fish- Spicy oven grilled whole fish

 Nigerian grilled peppered Fish, always a crowd-pleaser and quiet easy to prepare;

soaked in extra flavors and saturated with great spices. You’ll surely love it

Nigerian grilled peppered fish also known as Nigerian spicy grilled fish is one of my go to recipes when I want something quick and easy , yet presentable to serve to my guests.

This oven grilled fish doesn’t require any expertise or hard-to -pronounce ingredients, all you need are the fish and some great tasting spices. 

Popular fishes used in most Nigerian grilled or roasted whole fish recipes include (but not limited to); tilapia, croaker, catfish, mahi-mahi or Sea Bass fish.  No matter the kind of fish you choose to use, just be aware that the bigger the fish , the longer it will take to cook. So here’ size does matter!

But all the same , you are guaranteed of a delicious and flavorful grilled fish. 

And as the recipe implies, this oven grilled fish recipe is a a bit spicy, so to start of I’ll be preparing my pepper sauce which will also serve as a marinate for the fish.
This marinade is a little spicy but if you don’t like a lot of heat, you can adjust the hot pepper to your taste.

I truly like a bit of heat in my Nigerian grilled fish, but if you don’t, you might prefer  our classic crowd-pleasing Grilled fish recipe  HERE. 

Now, here’s how to make grilled /roasted fish in oven. It is a party pleaser and a family favorite and of course very appetizing too. 

I also Included  a tasty veggie sauce that goes really well with this peppered grilled fish and I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients for this peppered fish recipe

-1 Whole fish(croaker, tilapia, mahi-mahi or Sea Bass fish)
-60ml vegetable oil
-2 medium sized red bell peppers
-1 medium sized green bell pepper
-1 scotch bonnet pepper
-3 large cloves of garlic
-1 thumb sized ginger

For frying the pepper sauce for the fish
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 teaspoon all spices
or mixed herbs of choice
-1 teaspoon black pepper
-1 teaspoon turmeric/curry powder
-1 teaspoon smoked paprika
-1 large seasoning cube
-Salt to taste

Ingredients for the veggie sauce
– 1 red onion
– 1 large carrot
– half teaspoon garlic powder
– half teaspoon seasoning powder
– 250 gr sliced spinach
– salt to taste

How to make Nigerian Grilled Pepper Fish

1. Pour 60ml vegetable oil plus the red bell peppers, green bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, cloves of garlic and ginger into a blender and blend thoroughly.
2. Heat up about 3 tablespoonful vegetable oil and gently pour in the blended pepper mix. Note: I could just add some herbs and spices to this blended mix and it will be good to go, but since we’re also going to be using it as a dip and pepper sauce for the fish, we’ll go a step a further and simmer it for a few minutes to intensify the flavor.
3. Add the ”All spices ”(if using) or use a mixed herbs of your choice. Add black pepper, turmeric/curry powder, smoked paprika, seasoning cube and salt to taste. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside to cool.
4. While the sauce is cooling , rinse the fish, remove the gut, scales and fins and dab dry with a paper towel or a clean napkin.
5. Using a sharpened knife, make some slashes on each sides of the fish
6. Massage the pepper sauce generously on the fish and into all the slashes and spaces on the fish. NOTE: use only a quarter of the sauce and keep the rest for later
7. Cover with foil or place into a zip-lock bag and leave to marinate in the fridge for one hour or longer
8. Take out the fish from the fridge , brush again with some of the sauce and place the fish on the grill
9. Transfer into the oven and leave to grill for 10 minutes on one side before flipping to the other side . Note: the time it takes to cook depends on how hot your oven gets)
10. Flip the fish and add more pepper sauce if necessary

While the fish cooks through , you can make this easy vegetable sauce to go with it.

• Heat up about 2 tablespoonsful of oil, add the red onions and stir fry for 2 minutes, also add the carrots and stir fry for 2 minutes.
• Add garlic powder and seasoning powder
• Also add the spinach, and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes (my children like their spinach softer, so I had to cook it for 5 minutes)
• Transfer into a small bowl and check on the grilled fish which should be fully grilled by now and ready to serve.

 

Nigerian Grilled Peppered fish

Yield: 3

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Nigerian grilled peppered Fish, always a crowd-pleaser and quiet easy to prepare; soaked in extra flavors and saturated with great spices. You’ll surely love it

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Ingredients

• 1 Whole fish(croaker, tilapia, mahi-mahi or Sea Bass fish)
• -60ml vegetable oil
• -2 medium sized red bell peppers
• -1 medium sized green bell pepper
• -1 scotch bonnet pepper
• -3 large cloves of garlic
• -1 thumb sized ginger
• For frying the pepper sauce for the fish
• -3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• -1 teaspoon all spices
• or mixed herbs of choice
• -1 teaspoon black pepper
• -1 teaspoon turmeric/curry powder
• -1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• -1 large seasoning cube
• -Salt to taste

See also  Oven BBQ chicken (barbecued chicken)

Instructions

1. Pour 60ml vegetable oil plus the red bell peppers, green bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, cloves of garlic and ginger into a blender and blend thoroughly.
2. Heat up about 3 tablespoonful vegetable oil and gently pour in the blended pepper mix. Note: I could just add some herbs and spices to this blended mix and it will be good to go, but since we’re also going to be using it as a dip and pepper sauce for the fish, we’ll go a step a further and simmer it for a few minutes to intensify the flavor.
3. Add the ”All spices ”(if using) or use a mixed herbs of your choice. Add black pepper, turmeric/curry powder, smoked paprika, seasoning cube and salt to taste. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside to cool.
4. While the sauce is cooling , rinse the fish, remove the gut, scales and fins and dab dry with a paper towel or a clean napkin.
5. Using a sharpened knife, make some slashes on each sides of the fish.
6. Massage the pepper sauce generously on the fish and into all the slashes and spaces on the fish. NOTE: use only a quarter of the sauce and keep the rest for later
7. Cover with foil or place into a zip-lock bag and leave to marinate in the fridge for one hour or longer
8. Take out the fish from the fridge , brush again with some of the sauce and place the fish on the grill
9. Transfer into the oven and leave to grill for 10 minutes on one side before flipping to the other side . Note: the time it takes to cook depends on how hot your oven gets)
10. Flip the fish and add more pepper sauce if necessary
11. After 10 minutes the grilled fish should be ready. Serve and enjoy!