Light Soup
Overview
Light soup is Ghanaian, and the name describes its body rather than its strength. It is a thin, clear, tomato-based broth with no thickener at all, no palm nut, no groundnut paste, no ground seeds, which sets it apart from most of the soups it sits beside on a Ghanaian table. It is documented as originating with the Ga-Dangme people of the Greater Accra region, and specifically as a fishermen's soup. The early form was tomato-based and made with sea fish, called aklo or aklor, cooked on the coast around Accra. Over time it broadened to take goat, lamb or chicken, and today it is as likely to be made with meat as with fish. Its reputation is partly medicinal. A hot bowl of light soup, made properly peppery, is what many Ghanaian households reach for when someone has a cold, and it is common comfort food in a way that goes beyond flavour. The standard partner is fufu, and the pairing is close to fixed, fufu and light soup is a single idea in Ghanaian eating rather than two things served together. It is also eaten with omo tuo, the rice balls, and with banku. Because there is no thickener, everything depends on the stock: the soup tastes of what went into it and has nowhere to hide.
AFN Heritage Note
Light soup is documented as originating with the Ga-Dangme people of the Greater Accra Region, in an early form called aklo or aklor, a tomato-based sea fish soup made by fishermen off the Accra coast, before broadening to include goat, lamb and chicken.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Wash and clean your fish and meat thoroughly in a bowl of water. Remove bones if any
- 2
Wash pepper garlic, onion and ginger and blend together.
- 3
Season with garlic, ginger, pepper and onion mixture. Add a moderate amount of salt to taste.
- 4
Marinate for about 30 minutes.
- 5
Steam under medium heat for about 8 minutes. Take out the fish from the stock to prevent it from dissolving.
- 6
Peel and wash onions, tomatoes and peppers. Add to the stock and add fill 2/3 of the cooking pot or saucepan with water.
- 7
Boil under medium heat until the vegetables (onion, pepper and tomatoes) are soft.
- 8
Remove the vegetables, blend until smooth and pout it back into the saucepan.
- 9
Add a desirable amount of water.
- 10
Add the fish and little amount of salt to taste. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- 11
Your light soup is ready
Africook’s Notes
- Build the stock first and do not rush it. With no thickener, the broth is the dish, and a thin stock cannot be corrected later.
- Blend only part of the tomato and pepper, and leave some in pieces. Fully blending it turns the soup cloudy.
- Skim the surface as it simmers. Clarity is part of what makes it light soup rather than a stew.
- Add the pepper early so the heat has time to spread through the broth rather than sitting on top.
- It should never be thick. If it has reduced too far, add hot water rather than serving it heavy.
Reviews
2 reviews
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Steaming the chicken and cow meat together gave the stock so much flavor, but taking the dry fish out early was the real saver o. Last time I tried making this soup I left the dry fish in and it scattered inside the pot completely. Added extra fresh pepper sha because we like heat in lagos. E sweet well well.
tried this last night with about 500g beef and chicken pieces. garden eggs were hard to find in woolies so i used small aubergines instead. removing the dry fish after the 8 min steam works like a charm so it doesn't disintegrate into the broth. proper lekker soup, very light as promised