Updated
Tilapia is Uganda’s favourite fish, caught in Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga and other lakes and increasingly farmed in ponds and cages. It is usually served whole: deep-fried until crisp, grilled over charcoal, or stewed in a tomato and onion sauce, and eaten with chips, matoke, posho or rice. Lakeside towns such as Entebbe, Jinja and Ggaba are the best places to try it fresh.
How tilapia is cooked
The most popular style is whole fried tilapia, scored and seasoned with salt, sometimes lemon and garlic, then fried in hot oil and served with kachumbari, a fresh tomato and onion salad, and chilli. Fish stew, or “wet fry”, simmers the fried fish in a sauce of tomatoes, onions and peppers. In central Uganda, smoked tilapia is added to groundnut sauce, and fish is sometimes steamed in banana leaves as luwombo. See our guide to groundnut stew.
Tilapia and Nile perch
Nile tilapia is native to parts of Uganda and was introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s, around the same time as the much larger Nile perch. Nile perch became the basis of an export industry, while tilapia remained the fish most Ugandans buy and eat. Overfishing and use of small-mesh nets have reduced wild catches, and fish farming now supplies a growing share of tilapia. Dried and smoked fish, including small mukene, are sold in every market. See our guide to Lake Victoria.
Where to eat it
Ggaba and Munyonyo on the edge of Kampala, Entebbe’s lakeside restaurants and Jinja near the source of the Nile are known for fresh fried fish, often served at simple tables by the water. Fish also features on lodge menus in Queen Elizabeth and around Lake Bunyonyi, where crayfish are a local speciality. Choose fish cooked to order and served hot. See our guide to Kampala street food.
Eating tips
Whole fish is eaten with the hands, working along the bones; the cheeks and crispy fins are considered the best parts. Ask for a bowl of water to wash your hands. Combine a lakeside fish lunch with a day in Entebbe before or after your gorilla trek, where the permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November. See our food market guide.
Frequently asked questions
Usually whole and deep-fried, grilled, or stewed in tomato sauce.
At lakeside spots such as Ggaba and Munyonyo.
Nile tilapia was introduced in the 1950s; the lake’s native tilapia species have declined.
Chips, matoke, posho or rice, with kachumbari salad.
