Bitter leaf Soup (Ofe Onugbu)
Aperçu
Bitter leaf soup, or ofe onugbu, is an Igbo soup from southeastern Nigeria that's closely associated with Anambra. To cook bitter leaf soup, you wash and squeeze bitter leaves to draw out most of their bitterness and boil assorted meat and fish into a stock. Then you add pepper, crayfish, the leaves, pounded cocoyam and palm oil, and cook until the cocoyam melts in. The leaf is Vernonia amygdalina, and straight from the plant it's properly bitter. That's why the cooking starts at the sink, washing and squeezing again and again. How far you go is a judgement call, and it's where cooks differ. Stop too early and the soup is harsh; go too far and you've washed away the thing it's named after. Some bitterness should stay. Cocoyam is the traditional thickener, though some families use achi instead. The corms are boiled, peeled and pounded smooth, then dropped into the pot in small lumps. They dissolve as it cooks and give the soup its heavy, slightly sticky body. Assorted beef with shaki, stockfish, dried fish, crayfish and ogiri igbo make up the rest. If you're cooking outside Nigeria, African grocers sell bitter leaf already washed. That takes care of the longest and trickiest step.
Note de Patrimoine AFN
Ofe Onugbu is an Igbo soup from southeastern Nigeria built on bitter leaf, Vernonia amygdalina, which is washed and squeezed to reduce its bitterness before use. Pounded cocoyam serves as the traditional thickener, and ogiri Igbo provides the fermented seasoning note.
Ingrédients
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Préparation
- 1
Make sure that the bitter leaves are well washed, such that there is no trace of bitterness left. If not, wash and squeeze it more.
- 2
If the bitterness cannot be completely washed off (which is usually the case with most washed bitter leaves sold in the market), boil it for about 15 minutes and wash it in cold water.
- 3
Wash and cook the cocoyam till soft.
- 4
Remove the peels and use a mortar and pestle to pound the corms into a smooth paste.
- 5
Boil the shaki (cow tripe), stockfish, and dry fish in 1 liter of water till they are well done. The first sign of a done shaki is that the cuts will start curling on themselves.
- 6
Wash the beef and add to the pot of shaki etc. and continue cooking.
- 7
When the meat is done, add 3 cubes of Maggi/Knorr and cook for 5 minutes.
- 8
Add pepper, ground crayfish, bitter leaves (if they have not been parboiled) and cook for 10 minutes.
- 9
Then add the cocoyam paste (in small lumps) and the palm oil.
- 10
Note: If the bitter leaves were parboiled to remove the bitterness, then for step 4; add pepper, ground crayfish, the cocoyam paste (in small lumps), the bitter leaves, and the palm oil. In other words, add all the ingredients at this stage.
- 11
Cover the pot and leave to cook on high heat till all the cocoyam lumps have dissolved.
- 12
Add salt to taste and the soup is ready.
Notes de l’Africook
- Wash the bitter leaf until most but not all of the bitterness has gone. Removing it entirely defeats the point of the soup.
- Pound the cocoyam properly smooth. Lumps that have not been worked will not dissolve into the soup.
- Add the cocoyam paste in small pieces and let each dissolve before adding more, or it clumps.
- Buy pre-washed bitter leaf if you can. It removes the longest and most judgement-heavy step.
Questions fréquentes
What is bitter leaf soup called in Igbo?
Ofe onugbu. Ofe is the Igbo word for soup and onugbu is the bitter leaf plant, Vernonia amygdalina, so the name means exactly what it says.
How do you prepare bitter leaf soup the Igbo way?
Wash and squeeze the bitter leaves, boil and pound the cocoyam into a smooth paste, and cook shaki, stockfish, dried fish and beef into a stock. Season it, add pepper, crayfish and the leaves, then the cocoyam in small lumps with the palm oil. Cover and cook on high heat until the cocoyam has dissolved, then add salt to taste.
What are the ingredients for ofe onugbu?
Washed bitter leaf, a handful of cocoyam, 3 cooking spoons of red palm oil, assorted beef (including shaki), dried fish and stockfish. For seasoning you'll need pepper, ground crayfish, 3 stock cubes, a teaspoon of ogiri igbo and salt.
How bitter should bitter leaf soup be?
Noticeably bitter, but not harsh. Washing and squeezing the leaves draws out most of the bitterness, and a soup with none left has lost the thing it's named for. Where you stop is a household choice, which is why two cooks working from the same recipe can end up with quite different pots.
How do I wash bitter leaf for ofe onugbu?
Wash and squeeze the leaves over and over until most of the bitterness has gone. If it won't wash out, which is usually the case with the washed leaf sold in markets, boil the leaves for about 15 minutes and rinse them in cold water. Parboiled leaves then go into the pot at the same time as the cocoyam and palm oil.
What do you eat ofe onugbu with?
Pounded yam, eba and fufu are the classic partners. The cocoyam gives it enough body to cling to a swallow.
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