Nigerian Chicken Pepper Soup is a well-sought-after delicacy in many Nigerian homes. It is also known as African Pepper Soup, and as the name implies ‘Pepper Soup’ is a hot and spicy chicken broth recipe made with a blend of aromatic African spices. This fragrant soup serves different purposes - It is celebratory and served at parties or special occasions. It is healing and clears the sinuses to help recover from a cold. The soup also stimulates and opens the taste buds and is served as an appetizer or to encourage people to eat when they are ill.
This is not everybody’s bowl of soup. To like Nigerian pepper soup you have to have a really hot tongue. I have had pepper soup in Nigeria that made me cry and sweat at the same time. It’s a spicy, clear soup that can be made with chicken, fish, beef or offal.
Nigerians, like most West Africans, love spice. An exception being the pepper soup. I love hot and spicy!!! If you don’t like hot and spicy I got you covered. Simply reduce the quantity of pepper in this recipe or skip it all together.
African hot pepper soup is a simple yet intensely flavored soup that’s a kitchen staple throughout West Africa, especially in Nigeria, Cameroon, and neighboring African countries. In fact, there are almost as many variations as cooks, with everyone insisting that Grandmother’s take on this peppery soup is the only authentic way.
It is perfect for the rainy season as well. This Nigerian Chicken Pepper Soup is an easy and hearty comfort food. Like other Nigerian pepper soups, this chicken soup is a great pick-me-up and makes you feel better if you're coming down with a cold.
Read also: Chicken Indomie Recipe
This is a perfect recipe for the colder months in the year like the early spring, autumn, winter months. Nigerian pepper soup is the perfect winter warmer. It is an iconic Nigerian food with fish or meat in broth and dried local spices. Nigerian pepper soup is a thin soup, usually cooked with a lot of meat, fish or seafood.
The Nigerian chicken pepper soup is filling and very nutritious, so it can be eaten as a standalone meal. This soothing soup will also help kick-start your appetite if you don't have any.
The Quintessential Nigerian Spice Mix
It’s not just about the peppers though, the spice mix that goes into the soup is quintessential Nigerian. Pepper soup is prepared with different local spices, with some variations depending on who is cooking. Unfortunately, the ground spice mix is what many people have access to, so it isn't easy to know what goes into it.
According to Jessica Harris’ The Africa Cookbook a traditional pepper soup spice mixture contains atariko, uda, gbafilo, uyayak, rigije and a little ground ginger. Apart from the ginger I have to admit I have never heard of these spices. The substitute spice mixes that I have found are very similar, and using what I had at home I came up with the pepper soup recipe below. My spice mix omits Sechuan pepper, which Harris’ recipe and some others include. I didn’t have any and couldn’t find it in the store, so I added a couple of fresh scotch bonnet peppers (habanero) to my soup instead.
The traditional spices used in pepper soup differ according to who makes it and what they have access to. Uziza seeds (Ashanti pepper. Don't let this long list scare you. Most people who eat pepper soup have no idea what goes into the spice mix; as the powdered spice blend is readily available.
Read also: Flavorful Moroccan Chicken
Spice Options:
- Roasted whole spices - Could be ground in the market or at home. This is my preferred option.
- Individual spices - You put your preferred spices together to use at home.
So what does pepper soup taste like? If you open the spice blend it's deeply smoky and earthy and didn't smell like anything I was familiar with, which I loved. Once it was cooked the taste was incredibly familiar but I couldn't place it at first. Then it dawned on me, this was reminding me of gumbo. But a richer, fuller, much deeper flavored gumbo.
Chicken Pepper Soup Recipe |The perfect jacket on a cold winter day
Making Chicken Pepper Soup: Step-by-Step
This chicken pepper soup is another well-sought-after delicacy in many Nigerian homes. Basically, you can use almost any part of a chicken for your pepper soup. I personally prefer to use chicken breast for mine since it is boneless.
Choose either chicken or goat for this-you guessed it-peppery broth. African pepper chicken soup is a spicy, brothy soup prized in West Africa for good reason. African pepper soup is simple yet flavorful and an absolute delight to eat.
The taste of pepper soup is amazingly delicious but difficult to describe. It is prepared by cooking the meat or fish with a blend of aromatic African spices to create complex flavours which explode in the mouth.
Here is a basic guide to making your own delicious pot of Chicken Pepper Soup:
Read also: Washington D.C. Ethiopian Cuisine
- Wash the chicken breast and then cut it into small pieces.
- Place the washed and cut up chicken in a pot. Add about 6cups of water, the chopped onions, salt and 2 seasoning cubes and bring to a boil.
- Add the pepper soup spice and habanero pepper. Taste for salt before adding any.
- When the contents in the pot begins to boil, add the pepper soup spice, Cameroon pepper and crayfish ( if using). Cook till chicken meat is tender then lower heat.
- Add the chopped scent leaves and palm oil. Allow to simmer for about a minute, then turn off the heat. Your Chicken Pepper Soup is ready. Enjoy!!! You can eat it on its own, with some hot white rice, boiled unripe plantains or boiled yam.
Tips and Variations
- While cooking, add a tablespoon of the pepper soup spice mix first and check if it tastes okay. Chop the habanero pepper for more heat, use it whole for less heat.
- Add just almost any vegetable to this soup for more flavor and nutrition. That’s your cue to get creative.
- You’ll also love how easy it is to make! This delicious African chicken pepper soup is also easy to customize. You can make it more or less spicy, keep it simple with chicken and broth, or add vegetables and other add-ins.
- Use a different protein.
- Nigerian pepper soup enjoys an herb called scent leaf (also called clove basil).
- Use the whole chicken. I mean the whole chicken. I even include the feet and head.
Here are some other pepper soup options:
- Yam Pepper Soup: This version has chunks of yams added along with some extra special spices.
- The different types of Nigerian pepper soup recipes depend on the protein source. There is fish, goat meat, oxtail, assorted meat (offal meat), beef, cow leg, smoked turkey etc.
Storing and Reheating
- To preserve it properly, store this pepper soup in an airtight container.
- If frozen, allow the pepper soup to thaw entirely before reheating. Keep watch and turn it with a spoon so it doesn't burn.
- Make this soup up to three days in advance, let it cool, then store it in the fridge in an airtight container. The same goes for leftovers.
- Can I freeze chicken pepper soup?Sure! Pepper soup is easy to freeze. Make more than you need and keep the remaining in the fridge or freezer.
