Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce)
Salt cod soaked back to life and braised with onion, tomato and pepper, a pantry staple across the DR Congo table.
Congolese · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~331 cal · 33g protein · 16g carbs · 16g fat · 3g fiber · 7g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Makayabu is what dried, salted fish is called in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most often salt cod, and it is a cornerstone of the everyday pantry in a country where fresh fish cannot always reach far inland. Soaked back to life over many hours and many changes of water, it is then fried or in a savoury sauce of onion, tomato and pepper.
The long soak is the whole trick: salt cod is inedibly salty straight from the packet, so cooks change the water two or three times before it is ready, and season the finished sauce only cautiously at the end. Some fry the fish golden first, others it gently until the sauce clings to every piece.
Robust and deeply savoury, makayabu is spooned over rice or set beside pondu, the -leaf stew, and folded into the shared plates of Congolese home cooking.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 lb salted cod (makayabu), soaked overnight and drained
1/4 cup
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 , chopped
2 bay leaves
Instructions
1
Soak the salted cod overnight in cold water, changing the water two or three times, until it no longer tastes harshly salty, then drain and cut into chunks.
✎ Chef’s note
Do not skip or rush the soak. Under-soaked salt cod is too salty to eat, and there is no fixing it once it is in the pan.
2
Fry the fish chunks in the oil until lightly golden on both sides, then lift out and set aside.
3
Soften the onions in the same pan, add the garlic, bell peppers and scotch bonnet, and cook a few minutes.
4
Add the tomatoes and bay and cook down to a thick sauce, about 10 minutes.
5
Nestle the fish back in with a splash of water, cover, and simmer gently 10 minutes until the sauce coats it. Taste before adding any salt, and serve with rice.
Kinshasa home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Kinshasa. Congolese rumba went onto UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2021 on a joint nomination from both Congos, which suits a river city where the music and the eating happen in the same room. The fish comes straight off the Congo, grilled whole, with pili pili passed round on the side.
🗺️
DR Congo. Congolese cooking centers on cassava, as fufu and as pounded leaves (pondu), with grilled fish, moambe palm-nut stew, and fiery pili pili. Plantain, rice, and communal eating anchor a vast Central African nation's table.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from DR Congo
Pondu (Saka Saka)Cassava leaves pounded and simmered with palm oil, eggplant, and smoked richness, the Congo’s daily green.
MikateSweet Congolese fried dough balls, golden, pillowy, and dusted with sugar, for breakfast with tea.
MadesuWhite beans simmered in a savory palm-oil, onion, and tomato sauce, an everyday staple of the DR Congo table.
Browse all DR Congo recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a DR Congo meal
Tangawisi (Congolese Ginger Tonic)Drink
Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk)Dessert
MadesuLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce)?
Salt cod soaked back to life and braised with onion, tomato and pepper, a pantry staple across the DR Congo table.
Where does Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce) come from?
Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce) is a Congolese dish from Kinshasa, DR Congo.
Can Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce) take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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