The Efik method of preparing edikang ikong Nigerian vegetable soup is precise; one misstep and the recipe will go off course. Don’t let this fact intimidate you. Our step by step Nigerian vegetable soup guide will help you get it right every time you decide to cook it.
When to serve Nigerian vegetable soup
This soup is great for lunch. Also, you can eat it with any swallow of your choice, but fufu never disappoints. It is also an excellent accompaniment to white rice. Edikang ikong Nigerian soup is keto-friendly if you eat it on its own!
Tips for cooking edikang ikong the Efik way
This soup does not require lots of water. You want it to be nice and thick.
Contrary to popular belief, this Nigerian vegetable soup does not need lots of palm oil either.
Fluted pumpkin or ugwu leaves only. You can substitute with spinach, but that’s a whole different kind of soup.
The original recipe doesn’t have onions, but you can use a teenie-weenie bit when cooking the meats. By the time you use the stock to prepare the soup, the onion notes would have disappeared.
Use high quality smoked fish and red crayfish. These will add a delicious earthy flavour to your soup.
List of ingredients for Nigerian vegetable soup
4 cups fluted pumpkin or ugwu leaves, chopped
6 cups waterleaf, chopped
3 scotch bell pepper, blended
1 small smoked fish, shredded
1 ½ cup smoked crayfish, ground
1 small stockfish
1 cup periwinkle
600g meat medley (goat meat, beef, cow skin)
2 seasoning cubes
Salt to taste
1 small onion
½ cup palm oil
Cooking instructions
In a pot, cook meats with stockfish. Season the meat with seasoning cubes, scotch bonnet pepper, salt and onions. Watch the pot so the stock doesn’t dry out completely and cook until the meat is almost tender.
Once the meat is almost done, add the shredded smoked fish and the cow skin and cook some more. Continue watching your water level to make sure the pot doesn’t get completely dry.
Add the palm oil to the pot and let it cook until it blends in with the stock. By now you should be left with about a cup of stock, which is all you need for your edikang ikong.
Pour in your pre-washed periwinkles and stir.
Add water leaves and cook with the lid covered for 5 minutes.
Add ground crayfish and let it bubble over (tip: don’t stir the pot immediately after adding the crayfish).
For the grand finale of your Nigerian vegetable soup, add the ugwu leaves and stir, then leave it to cook for 5 minutes.
Serve your hot edikang ikong with fufu, eba, semo or wheat.
There you go! This recipe isn’t as hard to pull off as some people make it. You just have to follow our super simple recipe to get it done.
Resource: healthbenefits.com
Also Read: Your perfect recipe to prepare Jollof rice!
This article was first published on AfricaParent.com