When I was growing up matemba/kapenta were what you ate when you could not afford meat. What I have realised now as an adult us that matemba are actually more expensive per kilogram compared to beef or chicken. Of course because of their nature a kilogram of matemba will feed more people compared to a kilogram of beef or chicken.
Leo likes to snack on dry matemba so whenever I cook them he will not eat his sadza.
I do not like having matemba in a sauce so normally I pan fry with a little oil and some onions. Which makes for a really fast meal. I decided to try something different, mimicking Korean beef.
I made a sauce with honey, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes are optional. Matemba can be salty so I soaked them before pan frying . I then added the sauce. I sprinkled some sesame seeds 
Honey Soy Matemba
Ingredients
- 1 cup matemba
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
- toasted sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoon canola oil for cooking
- 1 scallion chopped finely
Instructions
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For the sauce, stir together garlic, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, water, and sesame oil.
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Heat a pan over medium heat. Add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is heated, add matemba and stir for about a minute until matemba starts to turn golden.
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Push the matemba to one side of the pan away from the heat. Tilt the pan and pour the sauce from step one into the pan so that the sauce is on the side of the pan that is directly over the heat source. Once the sauce starts bubbling and the garlic becomes fragrant, level the pan and stir matemba with the sauce. Mix well until the pan becomes almost dry; this should happen very quickly. Remove from heat immediately.
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Serve immediately topped with sesame seeds and and scallions.