Back in the day, i used to have a phobia for preparing this soup. This was because the very first time i cooked it, i ended up throwing the whole pot of soup away due to the unbearable bitter taste – the whole fam went to bed hungry that day and i didn’t hear the last of it for the rest of the week. The next time i made it, i unknowingly released a stink bomb throughout the whole house due to adding excess ogiri. This was a milder blunder compared to the first and the smell left within a day after emptying about two cans of air freshener. I guess my experiences made me a pro in the preparation and right now, i can proudly say i’m totally in love with onugbu soup.
Ofe Onugbu “bitter leaf soup” is a tasty Nigerian soup native to the igbos from the eastern part of Nigeria. The name ‘bitter leaf soup’ is derived from the fact that the leaf used in preparation Vernonia Amygdalina is bitter until washed thoroughly. Preparation is quite easy as i’m about to show you. Click HERE to view full list of Nigerian leafy vegetables
How to make Ofe Onugbu (Bitter leaf soup)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: Over an hour
Serves: 4-6 people
Ingredients:::
•3 handfuls Bitter leaf
• 600g Red Beef
• 500g Assorted meat: Tripe, Ponmo – Optional
• 1 Cup Periwinkles (Isam) – Optional
• Stock fish/ Dry Fish
• 1 Red scotch bonnet pepper – diced
• 2 cooking spoon Palm oil
• 1 cooking spoon Crayfish
•2 Seasoning cubes
•Salt to taste
Directions:::
Step 1: The major misconception about this soup is that it’s bitter. In actual fact, it’s not meant to be bitter if prepared well. The first thing to do is to wash the bitter leaf by hand thoroughly to remove the bitter taste. A shortcut to this would be to place it in a pot and boil for 10mins. While doing this, make sure the pot is left uncovered otherwise it’d bubble out. Once you’re done boiling, strain with a sieve and rinse severally with cold water. Squeeze off excess water – Set Aside.
Step 2: Place the Washed beef, assorted meat, Periwinkles (Isam), Stock fish/ Dry Fish, pepper in a medium sized pot, add some salt and boil with little water for 15 mins. Pour some more water just enough to cover the content of the pot.
Step 3: Check for salt and add more if necessary, add the crushed seasoning and ogiri into the pot and mix. Leave to boil for 5mins till the liquid in the pot starts to bubble.
Step 4: Gently add the Cocoyam paste, leave to dissolve in the bubbling liquid. Remember, the cocoyam being used is the non-edible type that draws and not the edible type that can be boiled and eaten like yam. As it boils, it’d begin to thicken. Add the palm oil and Crayfish – Leave to thicken further.
Step 5: By now you should notice a considerable reduction in the volume of liquid in the pot. Gently add the washed bitterleaf and mix to incorporate. Leave to boil further for 10mins more before turning off the burner. Serve hot with your favorite swallow
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29 comments
oooh my!!!! Thnks for the recipe– u present your dishes well 😀
Dobby apart from Cocoyam, what else can be used to thicken the soup. Secondly, can Achi be used in place of Ogiri?
Nice one. But must one use ogiri? and must the cocoyam be mashed with only motar? What else can I use?
Achi can be used to thicken the soup instead of cocoyam. Ukpo and offor can also be used to thicken it. Egusi can also be used to thicken it but in this case, it's better to use the smaller cut bitter leaf when preparing this type. The bitter leaf added is should also be less and the egusi should be made in form of lumps before adding to the soup. Ogiri and cocoyam is more common with people from anambra and therefore is not compulsory.
Thank you olufunmi 🙂
Hi supermom, Ogiri is not compulsory in the preparation and can be skipped. An electric grinder or local stone grinder could be used.
thumps up u did justice to this soup!
As I'm going thru the recipe, it was as if I could perceive the aroma of this wonderful soup. It's my favorite soup by the way… Thanks Dob-star!
Dobby wen next i cook ofe onugbu ndi idemili north Anambra i will send in pix…..We are d owners of ofe onugbu n onugbu mgbo. i will give u a 70/100 on dis and we add oil or fresh palm fruit extract bfor d ede.
You can also use a mixture of equal quantity of offor and achi, it turns out perfect. you can also use a little yam with the ede as your thickener
Cool.. So dobby I tried your ofe owerrii soup and ginger tea recipe sha o.. Make I send u pics? Will give this one a shot
this is sumptous/.. Dobby we still need to finallise our tete-a-tete..
Nne, this is a comprehensive recipe, and looks tantalicious. Do you buy the pre-washed bitter leaf? if yes, do you wash it again? i love the way you assembled the garri. Very creative.
Thanks Amanda
you're welcome Angie 🙂
Da'alu chioma:)…Thanks for the correction.
i'd be expecting 'em..thanks for the feedback favour.
Thanks Maja 🙂
You are welcome .. I`m really learning a lot from your traditional food ensemble. I dont have to call home nowadays to seek for guide on how to prepare some natural delicacies.. Weldone dobby.
Glad i could be of help Maja 🙂
Thank you ChiO. yes, sometimes i do buy the pre-washed bitterleaf and when i do, i wash it several times more.
hi there,tnx 4 sharing buh I want to knw how to present and roll my eba wit food colours.pls I need a tutorial on that.
dobby I found a place to shop now will start cooking 9ja food again
Hi Tys, you could Click HERE for How to roll garri/ eba
Where's the place Elizabeth.
SO LUVLY, I LIKE YOUR BLOG.
Thank you chinenye 🙂
please i am in malaysia and how do i know the edible cocoyam and the non edible cocoyam
Edible cocoyam is mostly larger, red once peeled and not sticky. Non edible is smaller, white and sticky.