🇳🇬 Nigeria and 🇨🇲 Cameroon · Cross River and Akwa Ibom (Efik, Ibibio)
Afang soupNigerian okazi leaf soup
A rich leafy soup of shredded or pounded afang (okazi, Gnetum africanum) leaves with waterleaf, palm oil, assorted meat, stockfish, periwinkles or other seafood and crayfish, eaten with a swallow.
Origin and history
Afang is a leaf soup of the Efik of Cross River State and the Ibibio and Anang of Akwa Ibom in south-eastern Nigeria. The name is Efik, and the neighbouring peoples all treat it as part of their own table. It is cooked at home and served at weddings, burials and festivals. It is the sister of edikang ikong, built on a different leaf.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h 30 min
- Hands-on
- 45 min
Ingredients
- 1 kg2.2 lb goat meat or beef, with some tripe (shaki) if you like, cut in bite-size pieces
- 100 g3.5 oz stockfish (dried cod), soaked until soft, bones removed, flaked
- 60 g2 oz dried afang leaves (Gnetum africanum, also sold as okazi or eru), soaked, then ground or finely shredded
- 900 g2 lb waterleaf (Talinum triangulare), washed, tough stems removed, chopped
- 120 ml1/2 cup red palm oil
- 1/2 cup periwinkles or cooked snails, shelled, cleaned
- 4 tbsp ground crayfish (smoked dried shrimp)
- 2 onions, 1 sliced, 1 chopped
- 2 Scotch bonnet peppers, chopped, to taste
- 2 seasoning cubes, optional
- salt, to taste
Method
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1. Put the meat in a large pot with the sliced onion, half the pepper, a seasoning cube and a little salt. Cover and cook gently for 30 to 40 minutes, adding a splash of water only if it threatens to stick, until the meat is nearly tender.
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2. Add the flaked stockfish and enough water to just cover everything. Simmer another 15 minutes, then set aside the pot with its stock.
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3. While the meat cooks, wash the waterleaf in several changes of water to get rid of grit, and drain it well in a sieve.
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4. Grind the soaked afang leaves in a mortar or a food processor, in short pulses, to a coarse shredded texture. Do not purée them.
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5. Stir the palm oil into the pot of meat and stock, with the chopped onion, remaining pepper, crayfish and periwinkles. Simmer for 5 minutes. The oil should shimmer on top; do not let it smoke or boil hard.
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6. Add the waterleaf and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until it has collapsed and released its water.
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7. Stir in the afang leaves and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes on low heat until the leaves are tender and the soup is thick but still moist.
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8. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, turn off the heat, and leave the pot covered for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Afang is a Cross River and Akwa Ibom soup: Efik and Ibibio cooks each claim it, and sources describe it as a sister dish to edikang ikong. The difference is the leaf: afang (Gnetum africanum) in place of the fluted pumpkin (ugu) of edikang ikong.
- The usual swallow is eba (garri), pounded yam, fufu or semolina; firmer swallows hold up better to this thick soup. Plain boiled rice also works.
- Afang leaves are sold dried or frozen in African markets under the names afang, okazi or eru. There is no real substitute for their chewy, nutty, slightly resinous flavour. If you cannot find them, use finely shredded collard greens or kale and expect a milder, greener soup that is no longer strictly afang.
- Waterleaf is hard to find fresh outside West Africa. Baby spinach (use about the same weight) is the usual swap; it holds less water, so add a splash of the stock and expect a slightly less juicy, less succulent texture. Malabar spinach is a closer match.
- Periwinkles and snails can be replaced with shelled clams, mussels or shrimp, or left out; the soup then loses a little of its sea flavour. Habanero stands in for Scotch bonnet. Smoked dried fish can replace part of the stockfish.
- Some Efik cooks pound the leaves rather than grinding them; keep the soup thick and not watery. It reheats well and keeps for 3 days in the fridge.
Adapted from Yummy Medley, Afang Soup, Afrifood Network, All you need to know about afang soup, and BusinessDay Nigeria, Edikaikong (Efik and Ibibio leaf-soup tradition).
At the festivals
No festival we list has printed it on a menu yet.