🇳🇬 Nigeria · Cross River and Akwa Ibom (Efik, Ibibio)
Edikang ikongNigerian vegetable soup
A dense Efik-Ibibio vegetable soup of steamed fluted pumpkin (ugu) leaves and waterleaf finished with palm oil and assorted meat, stockfish, periwinkle or prawns, cooked down until thick.
Origin and history
Edikang ikong is a vegetable soup of the Efik and Ibibio peoples of Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, in south-eastern Nigeria. It is an everyday and celebration dish, and in some local circles being able to make it well is taken as a sign that a young woman is ready for marriage. It is closely related to afang soup.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h 15 min
- Hands-on
- 40 min
Ingredients
- 600 g1.3 lb beef, with some tripe (shaki) and cow skin (kanda), cut in bite-size pieces
- 100 g3.5 oz stockfish (dried cod), soaked until soft, flaked
- 1 small dried or smoked fish, cleaned, in chunks (optional)
- 1 kg2.2 lb ugu (fluted pumpkin leaves, Telfairia occidentalis), washed, shredded fine, drained well
- 500 g1.1 lb waterleaf (Talinum triangulare), washed, chopped, drained
- 200 ml3/4 cup + 2 tbsp red palm oil
- 1 cup periwinkles, shelled and cleaned; or shrimp
- 3 tbsp ground crayfish
- 2 onions, chopped
- ground hot pepper (cayenne or Scotch bonnet), to taste
- 2 seasoning cubes, optional
- salt, to taste
Method
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1. Cook the beef, tripe and skin with half the onion, a seasoning cube, salt and a small amount of water, covered, for about 45 minutes until nearly tender. Tripe and skin take the longest.
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2. Add the stockfish and dried fish and just enough water to cover. Simmer for 10 minutes.
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3. Pour in all the palm oil, then add the crayfish, remaining onion and pepper. Boil for 10 minutes. The soup should be more oil than liquid, as tradition has it.
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4. Add the periwinkles and the waterleaf and cook for 5 minutes, until the waterleaf wilts. Do not overcook it.
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5. Add the shredded ugu and salt, stir well and cook for just 2 to 3 minutes.
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6. Switch off the heat and cover the pot for 5 minutes. The soup should be thick and dark green with a golden red sheen, with barely any liquid.
Notes
- Edikang ikong (also spelled edikaikong) is the Efik-Ibibio vegetable soup of Cross River and Akwa Ibom. Its leaves are ugu and waterleaf, with very little water: the leaves cook in their own steam and the palm oil. Afang soup is its neighbour, built on afang leaf.
- The usual swallows are fufu, eba (garri), semolina or pounded yam; it is also eaten with boiled yam.
- Ugu is sold frozen or dried in African markets. If you cannot find it, use baby spinach or a mix of spinach and kale: the flavour is less earthy and the soup is a little less thick. Fresh waterleaf is also rare; spinach again is the swap, add a splash of stock for the water it will not release.
- Periwinkles can be replaced by clams, mussels, shrimp or left out; habanero stands in for Scotch bonnet. Skip the tripe and skin if you wish, using more beef.
- Drain the washed leaves well but do not squeeze them dry; the pot should not need extra water. Make-ahead: it keeps 3 days in the fridge and tastes better the next day.
Adapted from BusinessDay Nigeria, Edikang Ikong (Edikaikong): a delicious and nutritious soup from the South-South of Nigeria and Google Arts & Culture, Edikang ikong story.
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