🇳🇬 Nigeria · Anambra and Imo (Igbo)
Ofe nsala (white soup)Nigerian white soup
An Igbo soup of catfish in a pale, palm-oil-free broth thickened with pounded yam (or achi, cocoyam), seasoned with utazi leaves and ogiri and hot pepper, eaten with a swallow.
Origin and history
Ofe nsala is an Igbo soup of Anambra and Imo in eastern Nigeria. Its Igbo name means white soup, a reference to its pale colour, which comes from leaving out palm oil. Catfish and yam are the traditional heart; it is often cooked for guests and, in popular belief, as a remedy for colds.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4 to 6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h
- Hands-on
- 35 min
Ingredients
- 1 kg2.2 lb fresh catfish, cut in 2.5 cm (1 in) steaks; conger eel is a fair substitute
- 400 g14 oz white yam, peeled, cubed; boiled and pounded smooth (or 4 tbsp yam flour)
- 1 small piece dried fish or stockfish, optional, soaked, flaked
- 2 tbsp utazi leaves, fresh or dried, chopped
- 2 tbsp ground crayfish
- 1 tsp ogiri okpei, or iru/locust beans
- 1/4 tsp ground uziza seed
- 2 Scotch bonnet peppers, yellow or red, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 seasoning cube
- salt, to taste
Method
-
1. Pour very hot water over the catfish pieces and leave for 2 minutes to firm the skin. Rinse in cold water and scrub off the slime.
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2. Boil the yam until completely soft; pound until smooth (or blend with a little of its cooking water). If using yam flour, stir it into hot water until smooth. Set aside.
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3. Put the fish in a pot with the onion, cube, salt and enough water to cover. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until nearly done; it must hold together.
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4. Add the pepper, crayfish, uziza, ogiri and the dried fish. Stir the yam paste in, little by little, as small lumps.
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5. Cover and cook until the yam dissolves and thickens the broth; stir gently so the fish does not break. Remove undissolved lumps if it gets too thick.
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6. Add the utazi, adjust salt, simmer for 30 seconds and serve. It should be pale, peppery and a little bitter.
Notes
- Ofe nsala, white soup, comes from eastern Nigeria, especially Anambra and Imo. It is white because it contains no palm oil: the colour comes from the pounded yam.
- The usual swallow is pounded yam; also eba, semolina or fufu. Cooks also make it with goat, chicken or tripe in place of catfish, or with a mix.
- Utazi leaf is bitter and aromatic; fresh or dried utazi is sold in African shops. If you cannot find it, use a few leaves of arugula or a little chopped parsley with a pinch of ground uziza: the bitter note will be milder.
- Without catfish, use conger eel, or firm white fish such as cod steaks, cooked less to avoid breaking; the broth is lighter. Yam can be replaced by yam flour, cocoyam, potato purée or achi. Ogiri can be skipped, or replaced by iru; the soup then tastes cleaner and less funky.
- The Efik and Calabar equivalent is afia efere, a similar white soup seasoned differently.
Adapted from Tasting Table, What makes Nigeria's nsala soup unique, Ounje Aladun, Ofe nsala, and Nigerian Food TV, Ofe nsala (Igbo white soup).
At the festivals
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