Preparing Nigerian Vegetable Soup
Vegetable soup is also referred to as edikang ikong soup by the Ibibio and efik speaking people on Calabar and Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria. This soup is primarily made up of two vegetables; flutted pumpkin (nkong in Ibibio and Ugu in Igbo) and waterleaf.
There are other different recipes for fluted pumpkin, which are also popular in Nigeria. Vegetable soup is enjoyed by majority of people and households in Nigeria. It is very nutritious, tasty and easy to prepare.
Ingredients for Vegetable Soup
There are different ingredients that will be combined to makeup our yummy soup. You can read more on the different vegetable soup ingredients on this post.
- 1 big bunch fluted pumpkin (Nkong or Ugu leaves)
- 1 bunch waterleaf
- 1kg goat meat
- 2-3 fishes (smoked or dry)
- 5 scotch bonnet pepper
- 1/2 cup grounded crayfish
- 500ml palm oil
- Salt
- 3 Seasoning cubes
- Stockfish
- Ponmo
- Periwinkle
Prepping the Ingredients
Flutted Pumpkin
Wash the pumpkin leaves carefully, then drain off the water. Chop the leaves into very thin slices, you can do this repeatedly to achieve a thinner slice. Becareful to avoid knife cuts.
Waterleaf
Waterleaf
The process of preparing waterleaf is very similar to that of the pumpkin above. You will also need to wash it first before embarking on another slicing journey lol. But for waterleaf, most times it’s was too slimy and to get rid of the slime, place it in a kitchen filter then add water to drain out the slime.
Meat
Cut the meat to your desired sizes, you can also ask the butcher to do this for you while buying. Wash and put them in a pot, boil for a few minutes then add salt, pepper and 1 seasoning cube. Cook till it tenders, then set it aside.
Periwinkle
Cut periwinkle
Buying an already cut periwinkle if you want to use shelled periwinkle will save you a considerable amount of time and stress. If you’re going for the shelled one, ensure you wash it repeatedly to get rid of all the dirt stucked inside and on the surface of the shells. For the unshelled, a single wash is okay.
Ponmo
Cowskin which is commonly known as ponmo, kanda or Ikpa is another great ingredient you won’t want to miss in your vegetable soup. It comes in two variety; same day and the one that has been stored for sometime. Depending on the one you prefer, their method of preparation differs.
Washed uncut ponmo
- For same day, you will need to wash, cut it into smaller pieces, add salt and cook it till it tenders.
- For the stored one, you also will wash it but more carefully this time, peeling off the inside gray covering. After you’re done washing, cut it to desired sizes then set it aside.
How to Cook Vegetable Soup Step by Step
In this section, I will discuss the easiest and fastest method of cooking vegetable soup in Nigeria. Add the meat you prepared earlier in a pot, boil it for several minutes. You won’t need much water for this soup, so the water used in cooking the meat will be enough for it.
When it boils, add waterleaf then stir for a minute or two. The waterleaf will cook and reduce in quantity and also add additional water to the soul. Add palm oil, seasoning cubes, fish pepper, crayfish and stockfish. Stir well for it to mix together.
Cover the pot and boil for 5 extra minutes. Add ponmo, periwinkle, and the pumpkin leaves, stir very well, then allow the soup to boil for another 5 minutes for all the ingredients to mix properly. If extra oil is needed after adding the pumpkin, you can add it as well. Your delicious vegetable soup is ready to be served! Happy eating.
How to Prepare Vegetable Soup
Equipment
- Pots
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Flutted pumpkin
- 1 bunch waterleaf smaller leaves
- 1 Kg Meat
- 3 Seasoning cubes
- Salt
- 3 Scotch bonnet pepper
- Ponmo
- 500 ml Palm oil
- Periwinkle
- Stockfish
- 1/2 cup Crayfish
Instructions
- Wash and slice the pumpkin leaves into thinner sizes.
- Also wash and slice the waterleaf. If it's too slimy add water and drain it off, using a kitchen filter.
- Cook your meat, adding salt, one seasoning cube and pepper till it tenders.
- Add waterleaf, crayfish, fish, stockfish, pepper, palm oil, seasoning cubes to the meat, stir well and allow it to boil for 5 minutes.
- Add ponmo, pumpkin leaves and salt, stir well, then boil till it tenders completely. Your food is done.
Notes
Conclusion
For this recipe, I have outlined and simplified all the steps you need to follow for it to be successful. If you are unsure of any step, you can go through it again or ask a question concerning it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you Cook Vegetable Soup Without Waterleaf?
Actually yes. But you will need another softer vegetable to replace the waterleaf. This is because cooking pumpkin alone will take a lot of time to tender and it will loose it’s freshness.
How to Cook Nigerian Vegetable Soup with Ugu and Waterleaf?
You can simply follow the steps in this post to get it done. Ugu is the igbo name for flutted pumpkin.
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