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Afang Soup (Efik style vegetable soup)

Dobby

Here’s a little Confession: I hadn’t made Afang for nearly two months before I started thinking about this post. I’ve been making Edikaikong, Abak Atama , Okazi but not afang. I only decided to make afang because I was getting tired of cooking edikaikong all the time. Now I’m like, WHAT WAS I THINKING?  One thing I’ve noticed whenever I make vegetable soup is, I never get to reserve some as everyone always seems to want more. This is one soup you can never go wrong with. 

Afang Soup “Efik” is a tasty Nigerian soup that originates from the South-eastern (Cross river….Akwa Ibom) part of Nigeria. It’s similar to the Igbo version known as Ofe okazi but slightly different. The major ingredient which the name of the soup was coined from is the wild spinach leaf (Ukazi/Afang leaf) “Gnetum Africanum” (View the full list of Nigerian leafy vegetables here). It’s got a tough (hard) papery glossy texture and is tasteless without any distinctive smell until cooked. Due to its tough texture, its usually sold pre-sliced in the Nigerian market by the vendors.

Sometimes after it’s sliced, it’s further ground with a dry mill as this tends to bring out the taste more in soups. Afang is a rich source of protein and both essential and non-essential amino acids. it also has anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant properties. 

Afang Soup (Efik style vegetable soup)

Afang Soup

Here’s a little Confession: I hadn’t made Afang for nearly two months before I started thinking about this post. I’ve… Eastern Nigeria Recipes Afang, Okazi, Efik Sou Nigerian Print This
Serves: 4 Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 2 voted )

Ingredients

  • • 1500g Afang leaves (4 Handfuls), Sliced thinly
  • • 2500g Mmong mmong ikong "Water leaves"
  • • 400g Mfi "Shelled Periwinkles"- Optional
  • • 2000g Unam; Assorted meat such as Beef ,Tripe, Pomo - as desired
  • • 2 Ntokon (Fresh pepper), Yellow/Red Habanero or Scotch Bonnet
  • • 2 seasoning cubes 
  • • 1 small Stock fish part 
  • • 2 small Nsat Iyak "dried fish" (i used Agbo & Asa)
  • • 1 cup Obu, crayfish 
  • • 1 cup Palm oil 
  • • Inun , Salt to taste

Instructions

Preparation:::
Step 1: To prepare the Afang leaves, you'd have to choose between Grinding or pounding the leaves. If you want to pound, wash and place the leaves in a mortar and pound with a pestle till it breaks up further. You can also grind the leaves at home or with a commercial mill in the market (This is usually done with a little bit of crayfish to make it grind smoothly). - Set this aside.
Step 2: For this meal, i used shelled periwinkles "Mfi/isam". You could either use the shelled or un-shelled type. To prepare, wash the shelled periwinkles thoroughly to remove the mud. You can place it in a bowl with a lid, add water , cover the lid and shake vigorously. Chop off the sharp edge of the Isam/ Mfi with a Knife or pincer as shown in the pic below, Rinse clean and set aside.
Step 3:  Remove the bones from the fish and soak in hot water  set aside.
Directions:::
Step 1: Wash the Beef, Sharki, Pomo and place in a small pot. Add the seasoning cubes,  and  Salt . Add a little water, just enough to cover the contents of the pot and cook for about 20 mins till tender and the stock almost dries up.
Step 2: Once the stock almost dries up, add the crayfish, Pepper and rinsed water leaves into the pot and cook with the lid uncovered till the leaf gives off its juice. By now, the soup would have lots of liquid in it. Simply add the palm oil and mix. Add the periwinkles, fish and mix. Leave to cook for about 5 - 10 mins then turn down the burner to the lowest.
Step 3: Add the ground Afang into the pot and leave to simmer for 2 minutes. And your Afang soup is ready.
Turn off the burner and Serve with your favorite swallow; Garri/Eba, Fufu, wheatmeal, pounded yam, Semolina e.t.c. O! and don't forget to suck out the periwinkles, that's the best part 😉

Notes

- Shelled periwinkles "Mfi/isam"is usually really dirty within so, to clean properly, place it in a bowl with a lid, add water , cover the lid and shake vigorously befor rinsing several times.

Preparation:::

Step 1: To prepare the Afang leaves, you’d have to choose between Grinding or pounding the leaves. If you want to pound, wash and place the leaves in a mortar and pound with a pestle till it breaks up further. You can also grind the leaves at home or with a commercial mill in the market (This is usually done with a little bit of crayfish to make it grind smoothly). – Set this aside.

Step 2: For this meal, i used shelled periwinkles “Mfi/isam”. You could either use the shelled or un-shelled type. To prepare, wash the shelled periwinkles thoroughly to remove the mud. You can place it in a bowl with a lid, add water , cover the lid and shake vigorously. Chop off the sharp edge of the Isam/ Mfi with a Knife or pincer as shown in the pic below, Rinse clean and set aside.

Step 3:  Remove the bones from the fish and soak in hot water  set aside.

Directions:::

Step 1: Wash the Beef, Sharki, Pomo and place in a small pot. Add the seasoning cubes,  and  Salt . Add a little water, just enough to cover the contents of the pot and cook for about 20 mins till tender and the stock almost dries up.

Step 2: Once the stock almost dries up, add the crayfish, Pepper and rinsed water leaves into the pot and cook with the lid uncovered till the leaf gives off its juice. By now, the soup would have lots of liquid in it. Simply add the palm oil and mix. Add the periwinkles, fish and mix. Leave to cook for about 5 – 10 mins then turn down the burner to the lowest.

Step 3: Add the ground Afang into the pot and leave to simmer for 2 minutes. And your Afang soup is ready.
Step 4:Turn off the burner and Serve with your favorite swallow; Garri/Eba, Fufu, wheatmeal, pounded yam, Semolina e.t.c. O! and don’t forget to suck out the periwinkles, that’s the best part 😉

Afang Soup Recipe

Afang Soup "Efik" is a tasty Nigerian soup that originates from the South-eastern (Cross river....Akwa Ibom) part of Nigeria. The major ingredient which the name of the soup was coined from is the wild spinach leaf (Ukazi/Afang leaf) "Gnetum Africanum". It's got a tough (hard) papery glossy texture and is tasteless without any distinctive smell until cooked. Due to its tough texture, its usually sold pre-sliced in the Nigerian market by the vendors. Sometimes after it's sliced, it's further ground with a dry mill as this tends to bring out the taste more in soups. Afang is a rich source of both essential and non-essential amino acids. it also has anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, and antioxidant properties. 

Ingredients

  • • 1500g Afang leaves (4 Handfuls), Sliced thinly
  • • 2500g Mmong mmong ikong "Water leaves"
  • • 400g Mfi "Shelled Periwinkles"- Optional
  • • 2000g Unam; Assorted meat such as Beef ,Tripe, Pomo - as desired
  • • 2 Ntokon (Fresh pepper), Yellow/Red Habanero or Scotch Bonnet
  • • 2 seasoning cubes 
  • • 1 small Stock fish part 
  • • 2 small Nsat Iyak "dried fish" (i used Agbo & Asa)
  • • 1 cup Obu, crayfish 
  • • 1 cup Palm oil 
  • • Inun , Salt to taste

Instructions

Preparation:::
Step 1: To prepare the Afang leaves, you'd have to choose between Grinding or pounding the leaves. If you want to pound, wash and place the leaves in a mortar and pound with a pestle till it breaks up further. You can also grind the leaves at home or with a commercial mill in the market (This is usually done with a little bit of crayfish to make it grind smoothly). - Set this aside

Step 2: For this meal, I used shelled periwinkles "Mfi/isam". You could either use the shelled or un-shelled type. To prepare, wash the shelled periwinkles thoroughly to remove the mud. You can place it in a bowl with a lid, add water, cover the lid and shake vigorously. Chop off the sharp edge of the Isam/ Mfi with a Knife or pincer as shown in the pic below, Rinse clean and set aside.

Step 3:  Remove the bones from the fish and soak them in hot water set aside.

Directions:::

Step 1: Wash the Beef, Sharki, Pomo and place in a small pot. Add the seasoning cubes,  and  Salt. Add a little water, just enough to cover the contents of the pot, and cook for about 20 mins till tender and the stock almost dries up.

Step 2: Once the stock almost dries up, add the crayfish, Pepper, and rinsed water leaves into the pot and cook with the lid uncovered till the leaf gives off its juice. By now, the soup would have lots of liquid in it. Simply add the palm oil and mix. Add the periwinkles, and fish and mix. Leave to cook for about 5 - 10 mins then turn down the burner to the lowest.

Step 3: Add the ground Afang into the pot and leave to simmer for 2 minutes. And your Afang soup is ready.

Step 4: Turn off the burner and Serve with your favorite swallow; Garri/Eba, Fufu, wheatmeal, pounded yam, Semolina e.t.c. O! and don't forget to suck out the periwinkles, that's the best part 😉

© Dobby