Ofe Onugbu (Ofe onugbu)
Overview
Ofe onugbu, or bitterleaf soup, is one of the best-loved soups of the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria. Bitterleaf is washed and squeezed many times to remove most of its bitterness while keeping a pleasant edge. Assorted meats such as beef, goat, cow skin and tripe are boiled with stockfish and dried fish, then palm oil and pounded cocoyam paste are added to thicken the soup. It is seasoned with ground crayfish, pepper and ogiri, a fermented seed paste with a strong smell, and the bitterleaf is stirred in at the end. It is eaten with fufu, pounded yam or eba.
History
Bitterleaf grows easily in Igboland and has long been used in cooking and in folk medicine. Ofe onugbu is a feast soup, often cooked for weddings, burial ceremonies and Christmas, and Igbo families take great pride in their recipe. In Anambra and Enugu, cooks say the art is in washing the leaves to exactly the right bitterness.
Main ingredients
Bitterleaf, cocoyam paste, palm oil, ogiri, assorted meat, stockfish and crayfish. The soup is built on meat stock and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · More soups from Nigeria
Recipe
Method
- 1
Boil the meats with seasoning until tender, adding the stockfish and dried fish.
- 2
Add enough water for the soup, then the palm oil, crayfish, pepper and ogiri.
- 3
Add the cocoyam paste in small lumps and cook until it dissolves and thickens the soup.
- 45 min
Stir in the bitterleaf, simmer for 5 minutes and serve with fufu.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 40m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
