Nigeria is fortunate to be blessed with several water bodies, making fishing a dominant profession among the riverine communities within the country. The fisherman’s soup is very popular among the Niger-Delta states of Nigeria, mainly; the riverine communities of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Bayelsa. This delicacy gained popularity amongst the people of these communities because of the large body of water available in their communities. As a result, most people from these regions live from the sea; as fishermen.
This Fisherman soup is native to the people of Rivers state in Nigeria. Well, I must say that I am sentimental about my choice of recipe, mostly because I grew up in the city of Port Harcourt and have always enjoyed this meal at home and whenever I visit my Ikwerre friends. Although you don’t have to be a fisherman to make it, the best soup is made with super fresh ingredients. It goes without argument that these fishermen invented this soup delicacy, born out of their passion for the river where they earned a living.
How to Make Nigerian FISHERMAN Soup
A Glimpse into History
As always, let’s start with a bit of history. Fishing generally encourages migration because tidal movements greatly influence the availability of fish. This makes fishermen move to different settlements by the water current flow to increase their chances of catching fish. Since the migrations were unavoidable, the fishermen thought it wise to establish temporal fishing settlements where they could return to after they migrated to the water bodies around their temporal settlements.
Back in the day, only men were allowed to migrate for fishing purposes. So, when the time came for migration, their wives would gather and pack foodstuff to sustain their husbands until they returned. At the settlement, the fishermen made meals with anything their nets caught.
Health Benefits of Seafood
Since the fisherman’s soup is prepared majorly with seafood, we will be discussing the health benefits of seafood. Seafood is a high-protein food with low calories, total fat, and saturated fat. It is high in vitamins and minerals. Studies conducted on seafood have proven that it has a lot of health benefits. Health benefits include; the ability to decrease the risk of heart attack, both in early and late life, it aids in reducing the risk of stroke incidence, and a decrease in risk of obesity and hypertension.
Read also: Nigerian Spinach Soup
Again, seafood, mainly fish, contains omega-three fatty acids, which contribute to the neurological development of infants. It also contributes to vision development and nerve growth in the retina of the eyes. A 2014 study published in the Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science journal suggests that those who consume the Omega-3 fatty acids in seafood are less likely to suffer from age-related macular degeneration. This disease can result in the loss of vision. Fish and shellfish can help enhance your night vision. Since seafood is rich in proteins, they help build up muscles and tissues.
Variations in Recipes
There are different recipes for making this soup, exclusive to different communities within the Niger Delta. While some people use Tomatoes in preparing this food, others do not. Some people use Okro while others do not. Again, some people decide to use Garri in thickening the soup, while others use pounded yam or cocoyam. The different styles for cooking this meal only show creativity in cooking and don’t show that one way is better than the other.
How to Make Fisherman’s Soup
This soup doesn’t take a long time to prepare at all. This is because seafood generally gets cooked within minutes. Remember that this soup is best enjoyed when it is spicy and steamy hot. This soup can be enjoyed with Pounded Yam, Eba, Semo, or Fufu.
Ingredients
- 2 pcs Fresh Fish (You can use tilapia)
- 1 Cup Chopped Jumbo Shrimps
- 1 Cup Isam (Periwinkle)
- 4 Pcs Crab
- 1.5 Cup Fresh Crayfish (Chopped)
- 1.5 Cup Chopped Uziza Leaf
- 1 Small Bulb of Onion
- 1 Cup Ngolo
- 2 tbsp Cocoyam Paste for thickening
- 2 cubes Seasoning (Knorr/Maggi) ...to taste
- 1 tbsp Powdered Crayfish
- 1 tbsp Palm Oil
- 1 tbsp Dry Pepper
- 1 pc Scotch Bonnet Pepper
- 2 tbsp Salt ...to taste
Instructions
- Place the peeled, rinsed, and chopped cocoyam in a pot. Add water and cook for 20 minutes, until tender. Drain, then purée in a blender until smooth.
- In a clean pot of boiling water, place your Cocoyam. Cook until it is soft. Once soft, peel it and pound till it is completely smooth, forming a paste.
- Heat up palm oil in a pot and add fresh pepper blend, add crayfish powder, salt and seasoning cubes fry lightly, .Turn heat down and add cocoyam paste. To make cocoyam paste, boil cocoyam, take of skin, pound or blend to a smooth paste. Add to the pepper base.
- Add all the seafood apart from the fresh pieces of crayfish in a separate pot. Season with the scotch bonnet pepper, onion, dry pepper, seasoning cubes, and salt. Allow the seafood to boil and cook properly in 1-2 cups of water.
- Put the sea snails in a pot with the stock cubes, cover with water, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the fish, clams, sea snails, shrimp, and ground uziza. If required, top up the water and simmer until fully cooked. Remove the fish from the saucepan and set aside.
- Add water and cook for 5 minutes.
- Once the sea foods are cooked, add the fresh pieces of crayfish and the crayfish powder. Allow to simmer for 1 minute.
- Add the cocoyam in small chunks. Add the palm oil, yellow pepper, and bitter leaves.Season with salt to taste.
- Add the cocoyam paste, and stir appropriately until the cocoyam has dissolved completely and is evenly distributed. Add your palm oil and Uziza and allow to simmer for a minute.
- Add fish, cover the pot and cook fish between 7 to 10 minutes. (Depending in the fish you are using. I used small barracuda and they cook really fast.)
- Add Crabs, Shrimps, prawn, lobster… And cook for 3 to 5 minutes DO NOT STIR soup with a spoon!
- Put the fish back in the soup pot. Stir, then cover and simmer.
- When the mixture becomes a slurry and is no longer soupy or stew-like, remove from the heat.
Your Rivers State fisherman’s soup is ready. You can serve with Garri, Pounded yam or any swallow of your choice.
What is “Ngolo”?
‘Ngolo’ in South-South Nigeria, also known as Whelks, are marine snails - also known as gastropods or edible mollusks. In the United States, they are more commonly known as scungilli. A well-known Nigerian dish from the southern regions of the country (particularly Akwa Ibom and Cross River), this fisherman’s soup is locally regarded as food for the affluent.
Read also: Exploring Nigerian Soup Traditions
Native Fisherman Soup is spicy, light not in a watery way, just enough to scoop morsels of swallow. Onunu is yam and slightly ripe plantain pounded together. I like to us a ratio of 5 chunky slices of yam to 1 plantain, so the morsel will hold together.
Read also: Learn to Make Nigerian Pepper Soup
