Moi Moi Recipe

What Is Moi Moi?

Moi Moi is a dish with several aliases: Moin-Moin, Moyin-Moyin, or Mai-Mai. It’s a flavorful blend of steamed skinless black-eyed peas, onions, green, and habanero pepper. The end result is a delightful and hearty pudding with intense flavor and the potential for hidden treasures, depending on your taste buds.

You can tuck corned beef, boiled eggs, smoked fish, or smoked meat into them. Serve them as breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack – moin moin tastes amazing any time of day.

Recipe Ingredients

1. Black-Eyed Peas – The star of the show, black-eyed peas, gives these little bean puddings their smooth texture and unique, almost nutty flavor. 
2.  Veggies – Onion, red bell pepper, and habanero pepper are pureed into the mix for flavor, color, and heat. 
3.  Seasonings – White pepper, paprika, and bouillon powder add depth of flavor to an already flavorful assortment of fresh ingredients. Optionally, you can add ground crayfish, which adds some extra flavor and makes the moi moi a brighter red/pink color.
4. Canola Oil – A generous amount of oil contributes to the moi moi’s smooth texture, making it something akin to a tamale. 
5.  Toppers – You can enhance them further by topping them with boiled eggs, smoked fish, or smoked meat.

How to Make Moi Moi

Peel the Black-Eyed Peas

• Presoak – Place beans in a bowl, add water to cover them and soak them for about 15 minutes. (Photo 1)
• Process – Transfer beans to a blender or food processor. Pulse about 5 times for about 3 seconds each to break the peas. Do this in small batches. (Photo 2-3)
• Peel – Put the black-eyed peas in water and rub them between your hands to remove the skins. Most skins will float to the top, so you can pour them off into a colander. You may have to do this process several times. (Photo 4)
• Sort – Most of the skin will come off the peas. Sort through the remaining beans to remove all the skin. You can do this ahead and freeze them to save time later.

Make the Black-Eyed Pea Pudding

• Soak beans in water for at least an hour or overnight to make blending easier. Drain and proceed. (Photo 5)
• Puree – Put soaked black-eyed peas, onion, bell peppers, and habanero peppers with a cup or more of water or stock in a food processor or blender and puree until completely smooth. You may have to do this in two to three batches. (Photos 6-8)
• Add Oil – Pour the mixture into a large bowl, then add oil and mix well. (Photo 9)
• Season – In a small bowl, combine salt, bouillon powder, pepper, and paprika with some water. Add this spice mix and your crayfish to the ground beans and mix well. (Photos 10-12)
• Adjust – Make sure you have used up all the water and adjust the seasoning to taste.
• Prep Ramekins – Lightly oil (or use a vegetable oil spray) six (6-ounce) ramekins (baking cups) and set them into a large baking dish. You can also use a small baking dish instead of ramekins.
• Fill Ramekins – Pour mixture into ramekins about ¾ full. Add a boiled egg and or smoked fish. Proceed with either the stovetop or baking method. (Photos 13-14)

Stovetop Instructions

• Prep Steamer – Pour about half an inch of water into the bottom of a large saucepan. Then, put something like a steamer to raise the moin moin off the bottom of the pot.
• Steam – Gently place the ramekins in the steamer, cover them with a lid, and let them steam for about 45 minutes to an hour. Add a little water as needed to prevent it from drying out completely.
• Cool – Let your moi moi cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Baking Instructions

• Prep Oven – Before blending the beans, preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Adjust oven rack to center position.
• Prep Steamer – Gently place ramekins in the large baking pan. Carefully pour hot water into the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1-1½ hours.
• Cool – Let them cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Banana Leaf Instructions

• Prep Steamer – Pour about half an inch of water into the bottom of a Dutch oven or large pot. Then, put a steamer or a few banana leaves to raise the moi moi off the bottom of the pot.
• Prep Banana Leaves – Using small to medium-sized banana leaves, double up the leaves and fold them to make a funnel. Gentle fold back to the bottom of your funnel.
• Pour about ½ cup of moi moi batter into the leaf funnel and add the boiled egg and/or smoked fish. Then, gently twist the top of the funnel and fold it back firmly. Make sure to seal it well so there’s no leakage. (Photo 13)
• Steam – Place the bean pudding on the steamer or banana leaves and close the pot. Let it steam for about 45 minutes to an hour, adding a little water every 5-10 minutes to prevent it from burning or drying out. (Photos 14-16)
• Cool – Let your pudding cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Variations

1. No ramekins? No problem! Cook this dish in a regular old casserole dish, using the same water bath technique you would use for the smaller containers. Slice the bigger black-eyed pea pudding before serving. 
2.  Get creative with the toppers. Boiled eggs are a classic, but you can really put anything you think will taste good on top. Corned beef, bacon, jalapeno slices, smoked brisket, or smoked fish are all tasty ideas. 
3.  Add tomato. Some people like to add a can of diced or pureed tomatoes to the puree for an extra layer of flavor, so feel free to do the same! You may need to use less water or oil in this case. 🍅

Tips and Tricks

1. Some ethnic stores sell pre-peeled black-eyed peas! Peeled beans are an excellent option to save a few minutes. You can usually find them in the freezer section.
2.  The best part about this dish is the utterly smooth texture. My advice? Puree the ingredients a few more minutes than you might think necessary. Grainy moi moi isn’t nearly as tasty.
3.  Check the water level frequently when cooking! If the water runs dry in your pot or baking sheet, you’ll likely end up with burnt/dry pudding. That would be a real shame. 😟

Make-Ahead Instructions

Moi moi freezes exquisitely! Freeze it for up to 3 months, and then thaw it in the fridge the night before you want to serve it.

To reheat individual puddings, either wrap them in a damp paper towel and give them a minute or two in the microwave or use your oven. Wrap them in aluminum foil if you go the oven route to keep them from drying out. Set it to about 400℉ (205℃) and let them warm up for about 10 minutes. 

Serving and Storage Instructions 

Serve moi moi warm as soon as it has a chance to cool. Refrigerate leftover moin moin in an airtight container and reheat as indicated above.

What Goes With Moi Moi

Moi moi typically goes with steamy rice, Jollof rice, garri, or homemade bread. You can also enjoy it on its own as a delicious and nutritious snack. Whenever I have it for a snack, I enjoy it with a refreshing drink like mango juice or sorrel drink. 🍹

More Amazing African Dishes to Try

• Cabbage Egusi Soup
• Chin Chin
• African Fish Roll
• Njama Njama and FuFu
• Black Eyed Peas Fritters

Watch How to Make It

This blog post was originally published in September 2014 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.