Ogbono soup is a popular Nigerian delicacy enjoyed across the country. It’s a viscous soup prepared with fish and proteins and it’s also served with “Swallow”. It’s made from the seeds of the ogbono fruit, typically dried in the sun, ground, and sold in powdered form or whole. Its highly mucilaginous component thickens in soups is what most people enjoy. 

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Ogbono Fruit Vs Bush Mango Fruit (Ugiri)

There are several misconceptions involving ogbono and one of those misconceptions is thinking bush mango is ogbono when in fact ogbono fruit is totally different.  Now, Ogbono fruit is grown specifically for the seeds, not the fruit and this is because the fruit is NOT EDIBLE as opposed to wild bush mango which is grown for its fruit because it is edible. It’s also quite rare to see the ogbono fruit which looks similar to bush mango but way smaller because once its harvested, it is immediately cut open, the seeds extracted and dried whereas wild bush mango locally known as ugiri is harvested and the fruit taken to the market to be sold. Now the seeds extracted from Ogbono fruit are highly viscous while the seeds extracted from wild bush mango are not so viscous but look very similar to the real ogbono seed so it is not unusual for most market sellers to sell Ugiri seeds as Ogbono Seeds. One of the disadvantages of cooking with ugiri is the fact that it acts a lot like ogbono but a very slight mistake such as covering your pot while cooking could make your soup lose its thickness and viscousity.  In fact, its not unusual to find the water in the soup separate from the viscous slime. This is one of the reasons why most people advise you not to cover the pot while cooking ogbono soup. With the real ogbono, you will have no issues. 

Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Ogbono Soup:::

Ogbono seed, ogiri okpei, stockfish head, ponmo, sharki ,beef, fresh pepper or 2 tbsp. dry pepper, snails, crayfish, salt , Seasoning cubes, onion, palm oil, ugu ( pumpkin leaves)

HOW TO MAKE OGBONO SOUP

Preparation::

Step 1: Place the Ogbono and ogiri in the dry mill of your blender and grind into a smooth powder. Set this aside.

Step 2: Soak the stockfish in hot water and shred – Set this aside

Step 3: Chop the ugu – Set this aside

Directions:::

Step 1: In a medium-sized pot, place the meats: sharki, ponmo, beef snails in the pot. Add your chopped onion, crushed seasoning, salt to taste. Cover the pot and leave the meats to cook in its juices for 5-10 minutes. This ensures the seasoning gets into the meat.

Step 2: Add water and cook for 30minutes. Remove the beef and snail so they don’t get overcooked. Add the stockfish into the pot and cook alongside the sharki and ponmo for extra 20 minutes.

Step 3: Heat up palm oil in an empty pot for 30 secs and Add pepper. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

Step 4: Turn down the heat from the burner and add the ogbono. Stir on very low heat for 30 secs then add the meat stock. Mix well.

Step 5: Add water into the pot. If you want it to be very thick, add little water. if you don’t want the soup to be too thick, add water as desired.

Step 6: Here’s the tricky part. If you’re sure you’re using the real ogbono, you can cover your pot. If you’re using Ugiri (An ogbono substitute), DON’T COVER YOUR POT else the soup will lose its viscosity. Once the ogbono thickens, Add the crayfish and cooked proteins into the pot.

Step 7: Mix to combine, then add your chopped vegetables. Leave to simmer for 2 minutes on low heat then turn off your burner and your ogbono is ready.

Serve with your favorite “Swallow”