Edikang ikong Soup

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So I have been planning to make a post for this recipe.  But each time I make Edikang ikong I forget to take pictures. My brother came over to see us from Massachusetts this past weekend, so I planned to make this delightful Nigerian delicacy for him. I made a mental note to make a post of it.

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As usual I prepared the meats ahead of time so making the soup was a breeze. I remember making Nigerian soups while growing up was a Herculean task? Everything was prepared on the same day the soup was to be made so it’s no wonder  some non Africans are weary of trying out African Dishes because the impression is that you would grow grey hairs getting food to the table.

Not to worry,  times have changed. And That change my friends is called planning and prepping ahead.? I learnt to do that while in the diaspora because there is no place that makes more sense of the saying TIME is of the essence than the Western world.

Now I think that the reason for those hours of cooking could be due to lack of constant power supply for storage, or lack of refrigerator space as the case may be.

Another reason could be that there were a lot of helping hands available to the preparer of the food. Now with that the thought of prepping ahead wouldn’t  be in her line of thinking would it. I thought so ?. It wouldn’t be in mine either.

Prepping ahead made this delicious soup available in time for us to enjoy. So much so I forgot to take some stages of the process but not to worry it is so easy that you wouldn’t miss those pictures I promise ?.

A little note here, The Original version of this Soup is made from water leaf and Ugu leaves. Those leaves are not easily accessible here but Spinach ( the frozen one) and fresh Kale are a very good substitute. Believe me when I say this Diaspora version is just like the taste from home.

Let’s get cooking…

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5 from 4 votes

Edikang ikong Soup

This is a delightful Delicacy from the South Southern region of Nigeria ( specifically Akwa Ibom and Cross River States) which never disappoints. This could well be the way to your Nigerian man's heart. 

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Nigerian

Servings: 10

Calories: 483kcal

Author: Chichi Uguru

Ingredients

• 350 g beef or smoked turkey precooked
• 300 g cow feet precooked
• 350 g stock fish precooked
• 1 piece African style dried fish deboned and washed thoroughly (optional)
• 1/4 cup crayfish coarsely blended
• 5-6 cups meat stock
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1-1/2 cup Palm oil
• 1 Tbsp ground Cameroon pepper or 2 Habanero peppers
• 226g (8oz) Fresh Kale vegetable chopped
• 907g (32 0z) Frozen Spinach completely thawed and all liquid squeezed out
• Salt and/or bouillon powder to taste

Instructions

• Bring meat stock to a boil, Add ground crayfish and dry pepper. .
• Pour Palm oil in a clean sauce pan over medium heat. When oil has heated up, pour chopped onions in. Stir and sauté for a minute.
• Pour pre cooked meats into boiling meat stock. Then pour in the palm oil and sauteed onion mix. 
• Stir in, taste and adjust for seasoning accordingly. Cover pot and allow to simmer for about 2 minutes.
• Stir in your completely defrosted and squeezed spinach, allow to simmer for about a minute, then stir in the chopped kale leaves. 
• Turn off heat and allow vegetable cook in residual heat. 
• Serve with any swallow foods of your choice. I served mine with oatmeal swallow.

Notes

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Tips For Recipe Success

1. Edikang Ikong is not a watery soup, so you have to go easy on the meat stock.
2. You can start with 4 cups, adding the 5th and 6th cup as the recipe progresses using your descretion
3. Squeezing out the water from the thawed spinach is vital to your water control in the soup.
4. For this recipe, more oil is better but you can use less based on your dietary needs.

If you decide to use fresh spinach leaves instead of the frozen one, you would need more than the amount specified in this recipe. since this recipe was made with frozen spinach. You will also have to pay a closer attention to the the water content of your soup because you won't be able to squeeze out water from the fresh spinach as you would from the frozen one.

Here are a  few steps  what you can take, this also applies to the Nigerian waterleaf.

1. Sun dry the vegetable a bit.
2. Remember to squeeze out as much water as you can after washing it.  
3. Transfer to colander and leave for a while to drain some more and to get air dried or you can use a salad spinner if you have one.
4. Steam a bit in a dry pot and if a lot of water still comes out drain it then set aside to put in the soup when ready

If you have more questions, drop me a few lines in the comment section, I would be happy to help

 

 

Now is it Edika ikong or Edikang ikong? I would like to know.

Did you try this recipe? leave me a feedback, would love to hear from you. Share the love with family and friends. I would love to connect with you find me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

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Chichi xx

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