How to Cook Calabar White Soup
White soup is one of the prestigious soups enjoyed throughout Nigeria. This soup comes with different recipes depending on the region or tribe and also the preference of the individual cooking it.
It has been described as one of the nutritious soup since the olden days because of the excess protein and vitamins that is present in the soup.
In this post, I will be writing in depth on how to cook the Calabar version of white soup. Calabar is the capital of Cross River state in Nigeria. When people refer to any culture or dishes that are from Calabar, they are simply combining these two states; Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
In the context of this post, when I make references to Calabar, you now know what I refer to. It is a known fact that Calabar has the highest number of unique soups with varied recipes, so it won’t come as a surprise when you hear Calabar white soup.
Ingredients for Calabar White Soup
To make this recipe a success, there are lots of ingredients you need to take into consideration. There are some that are referred to as minor ingredients. This means you can choose to add them or not. But for the main ingredients, if you you skip one of them, the white soup is incomplete.
- Yam
- Goat meat
- Dried fish
- Fresh pepper (scotch bonnet)
- Crayfish
- Salt
- Seasoning cubes
- Hot leaf
- Stockfish
- Uyayak
- Periwinkle
Minor ingredients
- Periwinkle (shelled)
- Snail
- Lobster
- Prawn
- Any other meat type
Preparing the Ingredients
Before cooking the soup, there are a few preparatory steps for the ingredients you need to follow. These steps will be discussed below.
Goat Meat
Cut the goat meat to your preferred size. Cook it gently using medium heat. Add seasoning cubes, salt and pepper to bring out the tastiness of the meat. Cook until it tenders.
Yam
Using a knife, peel off the the brown part of the yam tuber to reveal the white soft part. The white part is what will be used to cook the soup. Cut it to smaller sizes, then boil it with an adequate amount of water. Boil till it softens.
Remove the boiled yam from the pot. Proceed to pound the yam using either a pounding machine, a yam pounder or the traditional motar and pestle. Ensure you pound it thoroughly for a smooth finish. There shouldn’t be lumps left in it.
Pounded yam
Preparing Calabar White Soup
Add water to the meat you cooked previously, if the water content left in it won’t be enough for the soup. This is the beginning of the main cooking proces. Once it boils, add the dried fish, salt, pepper, seasoning cubes, stockfish, uyayak(small portion), crayfish and all other minor ingredients you wish to add.
Allow the food to boil. Once it boils, cut the pounded yam in smaller bits into the soup. Add an adequate amount to the soup, because it will be acting as a thickener for the soup.
Boil the soup gently for the yam to soften into paste. If the soup is not thick as required, you can add more of the pounded yam. If it’s thick but the yam in it has not fully dissolved; that is there are still some leftovers in the pot, you can remove them. This is because if they are left inside, the soup will be too thick.
White Soup in pot
Once the soup thickens to your preference, add the hot leaf. This is to prevent the hot leaf from loosing it’s spicy taste by overheating. Allow it to boil for some minutes and your mouth watering Calabar white soup is ready to be served.
Served White Soup
Conclusion
White soup is a meal enjoyed by lots of people in Nigeria today. It is relatively easy and straightforward to prepare. Learning how to cook this soup will be a very rewarding experience for you. The Calabar white soup is considered as the sweetest of it all because goat meat is used as the main meat in the soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is White Soup Made of?
White soup is made up of primarily yam(pounded), meat, fish and other minor ingredients.
What is the Health Benefits of White Soup?
White is very useful and nutritious for the body. Since there is a high level of protein and vitamin in the food, it can help I’m building and reparing tissues in the body. The vitamins will help keep the body healthy and your immunity boosted.
What are the Spices in Nsala Soup?
Ofe Nsala is the Igbo name for white soup. The method of preparation might differ slightly from the Calabar recipe. The spices includes: cayenne pepper, hot leaf etc.
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