Have you been to Nigeria?
And you have ever dipped a lump of starch into a rich, golden soup and tasted something that felt delicious? Even if you are from here, you might have encountered Owo soup. This iconic dish is very peculiar to Niger Delta part of Nigeria. it’s a story simmered in palm oil and tradition which gives a lasting flavour and satisfaction.
Notably, this Owo soup unlink other type of soups, is made with a smooth blend of palm oil, potash, smoked fish or meat, and sometimes crayfish. Owo soup is popular among the Urhobo, Bini, and Itsekiri people. It's often served at certain events such as weddings, festivals, and important family gatherings in the communities. The starchy side typically made from cassava or yam which makes it sticky, stretchy, and perfect for scooping up every bit of the flavourful soup. But, this is just one delicious corner of Nigeria’s vast culinary landscape which everyone talks about irrespective of people having different tastes for different foods.
However, away from the Owo soup, tuwo shinkafa which is common in the north (a soft rice meal) is another tasteful paired with miyan kuka, a soup made from dried baobab leaves. It’s often prepared in a such a way that it beats other soups in the other regions, so they feel. These meals are hearty, nutritious, and seasoned with locally grown spices that reflect the region’s dry terrain and agricultural style. One special thing about this tuwo soup is that, it doesn’t go sour easily.
Going to the east, they have their own peculiar soups which stand as the pride of Igbo kitchen. Igbo love for soups like Oge onugbu (bitterleaf soup) and ofe nsala (white soup) is unquantifiable. Although these soups are costly to cook or prepare considering assorted condiments they require. For instance, making ofe nsala or ofe onugbo, you need assorted meat and dried fishes, or sometimes fresh fishes which are usually expensive. These are bold in flavour and rich in ingredients. GOAT meat, snails, or stockfish are not left behind while making the above set of soups thickened with yam or achi flour and loaded with leafy greens or oha leaves.
In the southwest part, the Yoruba people serve up spicy, colourful stews like efo riro (vegetable stew) and ayamase often called “designer stew.” This region also boasts some of the most beloved versions of jollof rice, which you’ll find at virtually every Nigerian party, usually with fried plantains and peppered meats or fishes. One special uniqueness of the Yoruba soups is the enough pepper they add to them. They don’t joke with pepper while making any soup at all. The amount of pepper usually present in their soups is the one some average southerner cannot clip with.
Down by the coast, seafood shines. The people of the Niger Delta bring you banga soup and fisherman soup, packed with prawns, fresh fish, periwinkle, and thick palm fruit sauce. It’s rich, intense, and deeply satisfying. This is where some westerners and easterners draw their inspiration from in the process of making banga soup. There are some leaves that can be added to banga soup(nchianwu) usually green in colour.
More so, Nigeria’s food culture is not only about taste. it’s about identity, celebration, and connection. Each dish tells a different story of a people, a place, and a shared love for bold flavour. So, whether you’re savouring a spoonful of Owo soup, diving into onugbo soup at Awka restaurants, biting into crispy suya on a Lagos street corner, you’re tasting a piece of Nigeria’s soup which stand their different identity or stories as a region in a country.
Pinpointed soup recipe to look at is the egusi soup.
Egusi soup is a rich West African dish made with ground melon seeds which goes well with ugu vegetable leaves or bitterleaves.
Its preparation starts by blending onions, tomatoes, and peppers. Heat palm oil in a pot, add the blend, and fry until reduced. Add ground egusi (melon seeds), stir well, and cook for 10–15 minutes. Add meat after warning the meat differently or fish (goat, beef, or stockfish), seasoning cubes, salt, and crayfish. Pour in a bit of stock or water as needed. Simmer until thick and flavourful. Then, finish with chopped spinach or bitterleaf, cook for another 5-10 minutes, and your egusi soup is ready to serve hot with pounded yam, fufu, or eba. That’s how simple it’s to cook.
And if I may give you a poll, what’s your favorite dish to go with egusi soup?
1.Amala
2. Eba(garri)
3. Rice
4Fufu
Have you been to Nigeria?
And you have ever dipped a lump of starch into a rich, golden soup and tasted something that felt delicious? Even if you are from here, you might have encountered Owo soup. This iconic dish is very peculiar to Niger Delta part of Nigeria. it’s a story simmered in palm oil and tradition which gives a lasting flavour and satisfaction.
Notably, this Owo soup unlink other type of soups, is made with a smooth blend of palm oil, potash, smoked fish or meat, and sometimes crayfish. Owo soup is popular among the Urhobo, Bini, and Itsekiri people. It's often served at certain events such as weddings, festivals, and important family gatherings in the communities. The starchy side typically made from cassava or yam which makes it sticky, stretchy, and perfect for scooping up every bit of the flavourful soup. But, this is just one delicious corner of Nigeria’s vast culinary landscape which everyone talks about irrespective of people having different tastes for different foods.
However, away from the Owo soup, tuwo shinkafa which is common in the north (a soft rice meal) is another tasteful paired with miyan kuka, a soup made from dried baobab leaves. It’s often prepared in a such a way that it beats other soups in the other regions, so they feel. These meals are hearty, nutritious, and seasoned with locally grown spices that reflect the region’s dry terrain and agricultural style. One special thing about this tuwo soup is that, it doesn’t go sour easily.
Going to the east, they have their own peculiar soups which stand as the pride of Igbo kitchen. Igbo love for soups like Oge onugbu (bitterleaf soup) and ofe nsala (white soup) is unquantifiable. Although these soups are costly to cook or prepare considering assorted condiments they require. For instance, making ofe nsala or ofe onugbo, you need assorted meat and dried fishes, or sometimes fresh fishes which are usually expensive. These are bold in flavour and rich in ingredients. GOAT meat, snails, or stockfish are not left behind while making the above set of soups thickened with yam or achi flour and loaded with leafy greens or oha leaves.
In the southwest part, the Yoruba people serve up spicy, colourful stews like efo riro (vegetable stew) and ayamase often called “designer stew.” This region also boasts some of the most beloved versions of jollof rice, which you’ll find at virtually every Nigerian party, usually with fried plantains and peppered meats or fishes. One special uniqueness of the Yoruba soups is the enough pepper they add to them. They don’t joke with pepper while making any soup at all. The amount of pepper usually present in their soups is the one some average southerner cannot clip with.
Down by the coast, seafood shines. The people of the Niger Delta bring you banga soup and fisherman soup, packed with prawns, fresh fish, periwinkle, and thick palm fruit sauce. It’s rich, intense, and deeply satisfying. This is where some westerners and easterners draw their inspiration from in the process of making banga soup. There are some leaves that can be added to banga soup(nchianwu) usually green in colour.
More so, Nigeria’s food culture is not only about taste. it’s about identity, celebration, and connection. Each dish tells a different story of a people, a place, and a shared love for bold flavour. So, whether you’re savouring a spoonful of Owo soup, diving into onugbo soup at Awka restaurants, biting into crispy suya on a Lagos street corner, you’re tasting a piece of Nigeria’s soup which stand their different identity or stories as a region in a country.
Pinpointed soup recipe to look at is the egusi soup.
Egusi soup is a rich West African dish made with ground melon seeds which goes well with ugu vegetable leaves or bitterleaves.
Its preparation starts by blending onions, tomatoes, and peppers. Heat palm oil in a pot, add the blend, and fry until reduced. Add ground egusi (melon seeds), stir well, and cook for 10–15 minutes. Add meat after warning the meat differently or fish (goat, beef, or stockfish), seasoning cubes, salt, and crayfish. Pour in a bit of stock or water as needed. Simmer until thick and flavourful. Then, finish with chopped spinach or bitterleaf, cook for another 5-10 minutes, and your egusi soup is ready to serve hot with pounded yam, fufu, or eba. That’s how simple it’s to cook.
And if I may give you a poll, what’s your favorite dish to go with egusi soup?
1.Amala
2. Eba(garri)
3. Rice
4Fufu