Happy Black History Month! Each year, there is anticipation in celebrating culture through cuisine. Okra soup is a savory main dish that combines okra, meat, fish, and spices cooked in palm oil. It has traveled with ancestors from Nigeria to be adapted in South America and the American South. And since Black history isn't taught everywhere, we'll trace how okro soup has influenced well-known Black cuisine in the Western hemisphere.
In 2023, the theme of Black History Month is Black Resistance and Eat the Culture is recognizing the remarkable and, frankly, underrated resistance of our ancestors in bringing culinary traditions across the Atlantic to shape the vibrance of Black cuisine that we know and love today.
This Nigerian Okra soup recipe is a delicious, brightly colored medley of delectable meats, vegetables and spices. Have you tasted it? My goodness!! I don’t know who or how the first Nigerian cook stumbled upon this recipe but they FINISHED WORK!
What is Okra Soup Made Of?
Okra is the base of the soup and what gives okro soup its characteristic draw or viscous texture. Finding the ingredients for okro soup in the United States is much easier nowadays. Spinach adds additional fiber, color, and texture. Fresh and chopped or frozen and thawed works. Shrimp or prawns is a beloved part of seafood okro soup. Fresh or frozen and thawed works. Crayfish is a Nigerian pantry staple ingredient that seems small but you'll notice when it's missing! Palm Oil is indigenous to Africa and adds earthy, savory flavor.
Read also: Explore the flavors of African Okra Stew
Other common optional ingredients include ground egusi (gourd seeds), iru (locust bean) and collard greens. Nigerian okro soup is made to taste outside of the core ingredients so it can be spicy, smoky, etc. depending on what you add. The flavors are unimaginable! Kid-friendly; this soup is super kid-friendly.
Key Ingredients:
- Okra
- Spinach
- Shrimp or Prawns
- Crayfish
- Palm Oil
Variations and Preferences
Okro soup is popular with most Nigerian ethnic groups and differences are from person to person or family to family as everyone has their preferences. There are several ways to serve okra soup. As one of the most popular Nigerian soups, most of the ethnic groups we have in Nigeria have a thing for okra. In other words, it isn’t a kind of soup reserved for one particular ethnic group. I grew up eating okra, and I loved it.
Okra and Ogbono Soup
As a kid, sometimes my mother would cook okra and ogbono together, and for today’s recipe, I am recreating my mother’s okra and ogbono soup recipe. This super delicious okra ogbono soup recipe, packed with assorted meat, dry fish, okra (well obviously), and spinach, is rich, hearty, and satisfyingly delicious. Okra with ogbono is a very famous Nigerian soup within Nigeria and on the West African continent. It is indeed one of Nigeria’s most sumptuous delicacies. Okra and ogbono combo are a match made in food heaven; it combines the freshness of okra and on the other hand the magic-ness of dry ground ogbono seeds.
Okro Vegetable Soup
Okro Vegetable Soup is one of the delicious ways people from Eastern Nigeria make their okro /Okra Soup. This soup can be made with more vegetables that it almost looks like Edikang ikong but I prefer mine with a little less of the leafy greens. Because in my opinion too much green veggies reduces the ‘draw’ (viscosity) Factor. Traditionally okro vegetable soup is made with fresh Ugu leaves but those my friends I don’t have access to here.
Read also: Nigerian Spinach Soup
What Kind of Meat Goes with Okra?
You can use any combination of meats and/or seafood in okro soup. I like okra soup with dried fish, shrimp, and turkey. Popular options include oxtail, goat meat, catfish, and shrimp. Just keep in mind that changing the proteins will impact the cooking time. I aim for about one to 1 ½ pound of protein, in total for a nice texture and balance of nutrients. Note: In Nigeria, it is not unusual to see different kinds of meat inside a pot of soup. For instance, a bowl of okra soup may consist of beef, beef tripe, oxtail, cow feet, goat meat, fresh fish, dry fish, smoked fish, smoked turkey, and so on. Assorted meats refer to a mix of different cuts of meats of your choice.
Note: Remember, you can use any quantity of assorted meat and fish you want. You can reduce this recipe or increase it.
How to cook a Perfect Nigerian Okro Soup
How to Prepare Okra Soup
Grab a sharp knife and cutting board to prepare your produce. I slice okra by hand for soup but you can also use a mandolin or food processor. You'll also need a blender or food processor to puree some of the okra.
Read also: Exploring Nigerian Soup Traditions
Soup Ingredient Prep
Debone and wash the dried fish thoroughly and set aside. Remove shells and tails from shrimp and clean. Cut onion and bell pepper into chunks and pulse in a blender or food processor to form a puree. Wash okra, pat dry, and divide in half. With one half, cut off and discard the tops then slice the okra into thin rounds. Set aside. Add remaining okra to a blender or food processor with a splash of water and pulse until a puree forms (about 20 seconds). The puree should be very thick and sticky. This is good!
Cooking the Soup
Add palm oil to a large pot over medium-high heat and warm it through (about two minutes). Add onion and pepper puree to hot oil and cook until fragrant and slightly thickened (about 5 minutes). Add turkey meat, reserved cooking water, smoked fish, remaining crushed maggi, and crayfish to pot and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium and vigorously stir in okra puree until uniform. The puree will meld with the other ingredients the more you stir it and the more it warms up. Add in sliced okra and shrimps. Cook until shrimps are opaque and have a bright coral color (about three minutes). Taste the soup then add salt and pepper to preference.
Detailed Recipe
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Fresh Okra | 200 g |
| Stockfish head | 1 kg |
| Beef | 400 g |
| Frozen Mackerel | 3 |
| Seasoning cubes | 3 |
| Scotch bonnet peppers | 2 |
| Red palm oil | 200 ml |
| Ground Crayfish | 1/2 Cup |
Instructions:
- Season the beef and mackerel and cook together, remove the mackerel and continue to cook the meat till it becomes soft.
- Add the washed stockfish and add to the cooking meat, allow to cook for another 10 minutes.
- Add ground crayfish, palm oil, 1 seasoning cube, pepper and salt to taste.
- The sliced okra should be added at this point, stir.
Tips and Tricks
- Sliminess: Okra itself is slimy and while few people find that appalling, most don’t mind the mucusy nature of the soup.
- Palm Oil Substitute: Yup! If you don’t like palm oil you can take it out of the recipe completely and your soup will still turn out delicious. All you have to do differently is season the base with crayfish and iru instead of the oil. You can also try the okra and stew method with any of my stew recipes for fantastic results.
- Adjusting Consistency:If you want it chunky with no elasticity, you can chop the, all or blend all if you don’t fancy any chunkiness. I prefer mine both ways.
- Don't Overcook Okra: I don't like my okro overcooked that's why I turn off the heat as soon as I add the okro and Kale and moving the pot away from the heat.
Serving and Storing Okra Soup
Okro stew is commonly served with a swallow food like pounded yam, eba or amala. This soup is commonly eaten with garri or eba in Nigeria. You can also eat it with pounded yam/poundo or amala. Nigerians and most people typically pair okra with fufu (swallow). While this soup is hearty and filling by itself, you can enjoy a bowl by itself.
Refrigerate extra okro soup in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can freeze okro soup for up to three months. When storing, pack in individual freezer-safe and microwave-safe containers. This way, when needed, you can pick up one serving (one bowl), defrost, reheat, and enjoy. If you store it this way, this Ogbono/okra soup will always taste new whenever you eat it.
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tags: #Nigeria
