🥗 STARTER
Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines)
Steamed eggplant, chopped and simmered with onion, green pepper, tomato, garlic, shrimp and flaked sardines into a soft, savoury stew, served warm as a first course.
Gabonese · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 65 min
~343 cal · 12g protein · 18g carbs · 26g fat · 6g fiber · 9g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Eggplant with shrimp and sardines is a great classic of Gabonese cooking, made very often in Gabonese kitchens and above all at the weekend. It is served as an entrée, a first course, with pieces of or , while the heartier dishes are still to come to the table.
The eggplants are steamed whole until they collapse, then the soft flesh is scooped out and simmered with onion, green pepper and tomato, with shrimp and sardines, often from a tin. Some cooks use smoked fish instead of sardines, add , or stir in a little , and a version with white African eggplants and is called zang.
The result is a soft, savoury stew rather than a smooth purée, rich with the taste of the sea, and even better the next day.
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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
- 2 large eggplants (aubergines)
- 3 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 150 g (about 1 1/2 tins) sardines in oil or water, drained
- 150 g (5 oz) raw shrimp, peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- to taste salt and black pepper
- 1 tbsp red (optional)
Instructions
- 1Steam the whole eggplants in a covered steamer or a covered pot with a little water for about 40 minutes, until they collapse and the skins wrinkle.
- 2Let them cool a little, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Discard the skins and roughly chop the flesh.✎ Chef’s noteChop rather than mash: the dish should keep some texture.
- 3Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat and fry the onions for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the green pepper and cook for 3 minutes, then the tomato and cook for 5 minutes more.
- 4Flake in the sardines, removing any large bones, and add the shrimp. Stir, then add the eggplant flesh, the garlic and the palm oil if using, and season with salt and pepper.
- 5Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the shrimp are pink and the flavours have come together.
- 6Serve warm as a first course, with boiled plantain, cassava or rice.
Gabonese home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Libreville. Libreville is a rainforest capital devoted to nyembwe, chicken simmered in the thick orange pulp of the palm nut. Gabonese cooking uses cassava sticks, plantain, smoked river fish, and the wild leaves and nuts of the forest around it.
🗺️
Gabon. Almost nine tenths of Gabon is forest, and rivers rather than roads have long been the way through it, which shapes the cooking towards river fish, smoked and grilled, and towards leaves and roots close to hand. Bushmeat is a real part of that history and a legally and ecologically fraught one, which is worth stating rather than celebrating.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Gabon
Poulet NyembweGabon's national dish: chicken simmered in a rich, tangy sauce of palm-nut pulp with chili and greens.
Bouillie de BananeA smooth Gabonese plantain porridge, gently sweet and spiced, to start a rainforest morning.
Poisson BraiséWhole fish marinated and grilled over coals, served with fried plantain and a fresh tomato-onion relish, Libreville's classic lunch.
Browse all Gabon recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Wok, Pot or saucepan, Steamer.
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 Gabon meal
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)Dessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines)?
Steamed eggplant, chopped and simmered with onion, green pepper, tomato, garlic, shrimp and flaked sardines into a soft, savoury stew, served warm as a first course.
Where does Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines) come from?
Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines) is a Gabonese dish from Libreville, Gabon.
Can Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines) 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Aubergines aux Crevettes et Sardines (Gabonese Eggplant with Shrimp and Sardines) take to make?
About 85 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 65 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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