Panla Fish

Panla is a name with several jobs, so check what your pack means

Among the dried fish names in this range, panla is one of the slipperiest. Here is what the sources say.

• Stockfish. The Norwegian Seafood Council's stockfish guide says that in Nigeria stockfish is known as okporoko or panla, a Nigerian business outlet likewise reports that Yoruba speakers call stockfish panla, and a popular white soup recipe lists its ingredient as stockfish/panla.
• Hake. African grocers list frozen hake as panla, and smoked, dried hake as panla or eja kika, a Yoruba name for smoke-dried fish.
• Cod. One Nigerian recipe blog calls smoked panla smoked cod, and another site treats panla as the fresh form of the fish that becomes stockfish.

This page follows the hake reading, because that is how most African grocers in the US list the smoked product. But the name alone does not prove the species, and the term eja kika may cover more than one fish. If the pack says only panla, ask which fish it is and whether it was smoked or air-dried.

What hake is, and what that means in the pot

Hakes are lean, white-fleshed relatives of cod in the genus Merluccius. Fresh hake is a gentle fish: NOAA describes Pacific whiting, a hake, as mild and slightly sweet, with soft flesh that flakes less than cod or pollock. FishBase places the Senegalese hake off northwest Africa, well north of Nigeria, so panla in a Nigerian or American kitchen is generally a traded fish, and the species behind any particular pack is not established, so the label is the best guide.

Smoked and dried, the fish changes completely. One US retailer describes its smoked panla as golden and crisp, and another advises an overnight soak. A recipe blogger who cooks it describes the flesh as tender enough, once simmered, to soak up the stew.

Panla and stockfish side by side

Different tools, then. Panla gives a smoky, soft backbone to a pot. Stockfish gives chew and an unsmoked depth.

Obe eja kika: a smoked panla stew, step by step

A community cookbook recipe for this Yoruba stew runs as follows. Grind tomatoes, habanero, red tatashe peppers, green bell pepper and onion. Cook that mixture in palm oil and vegetable oil for ten to fifteen minutes. Add fish seasoning powder, shrimp powder, salt and a stock cube together with the panla, pour in water, and simmer gently for another ten to fifteen minutes. Finish with scent leaf and serve with rice, pasta or boiled yam.

Another Nigerian recipe blog does it differently. The fish is washed and seasoned with pepper, onion, crayfish seasoning and salt, then steamed for about five minutes with very little water. Onions fry in smoking palm oil for two minutes, tomato and pepper cook until the sauce dries, and the fish goes in with its steaming liquid for another ten to fifteen minutes. Effirin leaves go in at the end, and it is served with fried plantain or boiled yam.

Soaking, pressure cooking and the snack route

One US seller advises soaking its dried panla overnight, or cooking it in a pressure cooker for fifteen to twenty minutes on high. If you soak overnight, do it in the refrigerator: the CDC's limit for perishable food at room temperature is two hours. Smoked panla listings name eru soup and efo riro as typical homes for the fish. Others describe it as a snack eaten with soaked garri, so some people buy it just to nibble.

Is panla a cheaper stand-in for stockfish?

It is a fair question, since stockfish prices are in the news. A Nigerian business outlet reports a bag of stockfish costing about five times the price of everyday fish like croaker, and a Norwegian Seafood Council director has said the cod catch is at its lowest since 1991. But no published source compares panla's price with stockfish's, so this page makes no price claim. What is clear is that the swap is not neutral. Replace stockfish with panla and you should expect a smokier, less chewy result.

Frozen panla is a different product

Search for panla and you will also find frozen hake, sold whole with the head on or off and as steaks, and described by retailers as suited to grilling, frying or stock. That is fresh-style fish cooked in the usual way. Everything on this page is about the dried and smoked form.

Reading the pack

US allergen labeling rules call for the type of fish to be declared, so a pack sold here will usually say hake or cod somewhere. Check that line first. Then check whether the fish is whole or cut, gutted or not, and smoked or air-dried. Those three details predict how long you will soak it and what flavor to expect.

Panla: not yet in stock

Panla fish is not in stock yet. Press Notify me on this page if you want an email when it is listed. Its natural neighbors are smoked bonga, which is also smoke-dried, and mangala, another dried fish with an unsettled name. Efo riro and eru both go well with a swallow, and you can order our 2 lb bag of pure pounded yam flour today. The full list is in the dried fish and seafood category.