---
title: Zilzil Tibs & Gomen
date: 2024-08-04 19:00:00
slug: ET-Tibs-Gomen
country: ET
tags:
  - beef
  - greens
---

<img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-1.jpg">

We continue our exploration of Ethiopian cuisine this week with another dish for special occasions: _zilzil tibs_. _Tibs_, generally, refers to grilled/pan fried meat, sometimes cooked with vegetables. From Yohanis Gebreyesus:

> **Zilzil** refers to meat that has been cut into long strips using a technique that unfurls a chunk of meat into a somewhat imperfect strip.

The _zilzil_ is finished in and served with _awaze_ dipping sauce, a blend of honey wine and _berbere_ spice. Along with this, we have _gomen_, simply sautéed collard greens. According to Yohanis, the _gomen_ is often a side dish in a larger platter.

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As you can see, we've [returned](/food/2024/07/27/ET-Doro-Wat) to Yohanis Gebreyesus's excellent "Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions From the Horn of Africa" for this week's recipes.[^1]

As a westerner, I was quite surprised to see collard greens pop up, since I associate them so strongly with the American South. Further research revealed that the collard green plant actually originated from what is modern-day Greece, so its appearance in Ethiopian cuisine makes sense.[^2]

<img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-6.jpg">
<center>The ingredients I used. Not pictured: an emergency yellow onion because one of my red onions had spoiled.</center>

I found the _berbere_ at my [international grocer](https://saragaindy.com/). Of note, I substituted homemade ghee in place of the _niter kebbeh_ and added in a tiny amount of the missing spices.[^3]

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First is the _awaze_, a mixture of _berbere_, honey, and white wine. While quite sharp at first, after sitting for 30 minutes or so, the spice blended with the wine much better. (A personal best for me: this was the first time I'd ever seen spices measured in _cups_.)

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    <div><img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-9.jpg"></div>
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    <div><img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-11.jpg"></div>
</div>

The collard greens are prepared by breaking down the leaves and washing them thoroughly. I prefer to remove most of the woody stem from the leaves. Then, we sauté an onion and some ginger/garlic.

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    <div><img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-12.jpg"></div>
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    <div><img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-14.jpg"></div>
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Once the onion is soft, we add in the collard greens, cover, and cook them down until tender. The _gomen_ is not supposed to be wet (as is customary with southern collard greens), but I did find I needed to add a few tablespoons of water occasionally to keep them from catching.[^4] This took about 30 minutes including time for the onion.

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    <div><img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-15.jpg"></div>
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    <div><img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-17.jpg"></div>
</div>

The beef is cut "into thin 1/2 inch wide strips" and fried in batches until brown and _almost_ done. It is then removed and some of the _awaze_ and _niter kebbeh_ are added to the pan. The _zilzil_ is then finished in the _awaze_.[^5]

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    <div><img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-18.jpg"></div>
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I served the _zilzil_ and _gomen_ with some of the reserved _awaze_ and, of course, _injera_.[^6]

<img src="https://static.garrettmills.dev/assets/blog-images/food/et-tibs/optimized/tibs-20.jpg">

I enjoyed this dish, though not quite as much as the _doro_ from last week. The _zilzil_ is extremely rich from both the inherent fried meat and the added _niter kebbeh_, so it takes the raw _awaze_ well. I continue to revel at how central the _injera_ is to the dishes we've tried. On its own, the _awaze_ is quite spicy, and the _zilzil_ is quite rich, but the strong sour taste of the _injera_ balances the flavor.

As always, my technique has room to improve. I with I had cut the beef thinner and in shorter pieces. As is, it isn't bite-sized, so you have to bite through it. However, because the pieces are -on the thicker side, biting through it isn't trivial.

I would like to make _tibs_ again in the future, but I'd probably try a different variation. _"Tibs"_ as a dish is a bit like "steak" in its generality -- while it is a "dish," there are dozens of different variations. For example, [this version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V4GR2oCqgo) by the fantastic Eden Egziabher, owner of the Makina Cafe in NYC.

--

All images in ths post were taken by me. I borrowed "Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions From the Horn of Africa" from the fantastic Indianapolis Public Library.

[^1]: Of course, these come from pages 45, 80, and 130. 

[^2]: As we discussed last week, this is far from the only appearance of mediterranean plants and spices in Ethiopian cuisine.

[^3]: Waste not.

[^4]: Although this might not have been necessary had I left the lid on instead of taking it off to photograph the endeavor. So... your mileage may vary.

[^5]: A fact that, as Yohanis notes, is rather unusual since _awaze_ is typically a dipping sauce served as-is.

[^6]: For more background on _injera_, see <a href="/food/2024/07/27/ET-Doro-Wat">last week's post</a>.
