Delicious Authentic Anambra Bitterleaf Soup Recipe
Bitter leaf soup is an icon of Igbo cuisine, especially to the Anambra Igbos of Eastern Nigeria. It is an embodiment of who they are…Bold and resilient. It is to the Anambra person what Ofe Owerri is to the Owerri person. Bitter leaf soup is what an Anambra woman will cook to show her competence in the kitchen (reminds me of the first time I cooked it). No menu for an occasion for them, is complete without onugbu soup and fufu or pounded yam.
Ingredients
- Washed and squeezed bitterleaf
- Cocoyam
- Red Palm Oil
- Assorted Beef: best cut, cow skin, offals
- Assorted Fish: Dry Fish and Stock Fish
- Cameroun Pepper
- Seasoning cubes
- Crayfish
- Ogiri Igbo (castor seed paste)
Instructions
- Wash and boil bitter leaf to remove the last bit of bitterness and soften it. The colour of the leaves will be dull and very slightly browned.
- Meanwhile, process your cocoyam. Wash and boil cocoyam till soft. Peel and pound with mortar and pestle, blender or food processor. Set aside.
- Wash dry fish. Soak dry fish in boiling hot water for 2 minutes, drain and rinse well in cold water.
- Wash and boil meat and stockfish, till almost tender, add dry fish and boil for 5 minutes.
- Add enough water to the stock to make up to 8 cups of broth. Bring to a boil.
- Add palm oil, bitter leaf, pepper and cocoyam paste in big lumps.
- Cook for 5-8 minutes till cocoyam has almost all dissolved and the soup has thickened.
- Reduce heat to medium high and add crayfish, ogili and seasoning cube, stir and taste, add salt.
- Cook till the oil has lost all its raw taste and the taste of the ingredients have blended well, about 8 minutes.
- Reduce the heat further and cook for another 5 minutes, it is a long cooking soup. Take off the heat.
- Serve with any swallow of your choice.
Video
Notes
- If you prefer your leaves small, then squeeze the washed bitter leaf into a tight lump and shred with a sharp knife.
- Mixed meat simply means different parts of the cattle put together in a dish e.g, the flesh, tripe, intestine, cow leg, cow skin (kpomo, canda), tongue etc.
- Bitter leaf soup (onugbu soup) benefits from ‘mixed meat’. When boiling your mixed meat, bear in mind that different parts of the cattle cook at different times, check each part to be sure it is done. If not remove the cooked parts like the flesh and continue cooking the parts that are still tough.
Nutrition
Calories: 105kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!