This pepper soup spice infused Egusi soup was inspired by one of my blog readers Uzo. She mentioned cooking Egusi soup with pepper soup spice. That lit a light bulb in my head I knew without thinking twice that it was going to be an amazing combo. Hubby wanted some pepper soup so I decided to buy oxtail and halal chicken and then we decide which of the meats he would prefer for the weekend.
Soup making was in the weekend plans too. You see weekends are my bulk cooking time. It helps me keepSane during the week. He decided that he wanted oxtail pepper soup , While that was cooking I started washing the chicken to store in the freezer for later use . With the aroma of the pepper soup it struck me…. why not make this Egusi soup with some chicken and pepper soup spice.
Here is another is winner for the Fall season. I am sure if fall existed in Nigeria, pepper soup spice would be our choice for everything fall??. Oh well pepper soup is the perfect kick for fall so let’s be prepared to enjoy it more often as the cold months approach.
[bctt tweet=”Peppersoup Spice and Egusi soup. A match made for the Fall season. Get recipe..” username=”mydiaspokitch”]
I was excited to try out this experiment of mine so I set out to make it awesome while keeping my fingers crossed. I knew I would love it but I wasn’t too sure about Mr K and the kiddos. I was hoping I won’t be confined to Egusi soup prison if they happen not like it and declare that swallow isn’t one of their favs until another soup appears or they keep shifting their requests to that other soup in the freezer ? ?. Making this soup definitely reminded me of when I decided to make egusi soup infused with Suya spice (Yaji) it was delish.
Guess what? The pepper soup infused Egusi soup turned out awesomely delicious as I expected and the good news…. everyone loved it. Have you tried Egusi soup spiced up with pepper soup spice or any other unique spice? I would love to hear about it. Please share in the comments section. Thanks Uzo for the inspiration for this soup.❤️ Hello Fall!! Good bye Summer..
Let’s get cooking.?
Chichi?
Peppersoup spice Infused Egusi Soup
Ingredients
- 3 lbs ( 1.3 kg) Halal Chicken cut up and washed ( If you are using the soft American chicken, please see recipe notes below)
- 1.1 lb ( 500g ) stock fish (pre cooked)
- ½ cup ground crayfish
- ½ lb ( 250g) ground egusi
- 2 large onions ( chop up one, the other will blended with the egos to form a paste)
- 2 habanero peppers
- 1-1/2 cup palmoil
- 12 oz Kale vegetable or any vegetable you like (chopped)
- 3 Tbsp pepper soup spice mix
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp ginger powder
- salt and/or bouillon powder to taste
Instructions
- Transfer chicken into an 8 quart stock pot, add enough water to cover the chicken. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic and bouillon powder and begin to cook
- To the jar of a blender, pour in the dry ground egusi, the second onion, habanero pepper, and 2 cups water. blend to form a paste.
- Pour the egusi paste into the cooking chicken. As this cooks you will need to top up water because the soup will begin to thicken and this will be cooking for about 45 mins to ensure the egusi is well cooked to prevent frequent visits to the toilet.
- When the soup begins to boil, add the the crayfish, pepper soup spice and precooked stockfish.
- Pour in the palmoil and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly
- When the soup has cooked for about 40 mins check chicken for doneness. it should be ready now. Allow soup cook for 5 more minutes, add in the chopped kale and stir in. Turn off burner and let the residual heat cook the kale.
- Don't cover the pot immediately. Let some steam out. soups like egos don't do well with steam
- Enjoy with any swallow of choice
Notes
- This Soup was made with hard chicken that's why I started cooking meats and egusi at the same time.
- If you are cooking with the soft American chicken, Mix Egusi paste with about 10 cups of water and begin to cook, add in all the spices when egos has cooked for about 20 mins, pour in palm oil, add in the washed chicken and cook till chicken is cooked through.
- Egusi needs to be cooked for at least 45 mins to reduce the purgative effect it has on some people. If you intend to cook with precooked meats like I do in most of my soups, you need to follow the same steps above to prevent meats from being overcooked.
- Always add vegetables at the end.
Hi ChiChi! You’re blog is awesome. At the ripe old age of 25, I’ve suddenly taken an interest in learning how to make proper Nigerian food, especially Igbo dishes. I’m tired oyinbo diet that consists of broiled salmon, butternut squash and spinach (LOL). I wanted to know if you know of any stores online where I can purchase ingredients?
Hello Chika,
I am glad you found my blog and took out time to leave a comment. Thanks so much for the compliment too. You are definitely in the right place. I try to make my recipes as easy to follow as possible and you would definitely have no issues getting them right. Feel free to drop a comment on any recipe you may have a question about. About online sources for Nigerian food stuff. I am not quite sure of any at the moment. I know some food stuff are sold on amazon but I find them a lot more expensive than the local stores. You may need to search online based on the your location. You may find that your local African store may offer online services. Let me know if you do get something. You can also subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss a recipe. Happy new year and have a blessed 2018.
I was tensed (for no reason) reading this but was glad to know that the fam loved it (and won’t they when it’s coming from the pro herself lol!) I feel touched for the shout out. . Thanks!
??. You are welcome. Sure they enjoyed it. Thanks for that comment that inspired this recipe. ? Comments from readers encourage me to do more.