Have you been wondering how to cook the famous ogbono soup? Ogbono soup is one of Nigeria’s culinary gems, capturing the essence of our rich cuisine. Crafted from the Ogbono seed, this soup embodies tradition, creating a wholesome, grounding experience. It’s a beloved draw soup across the nation, often elevated with the vibrant infusion of Uziza leaves and sometimes adorned with the delightful addition of Egusi (melon seeds).
What’s remarkable is the simplicity of its preparation, a mere 30-minute journey to culinary delight. If you find yourself curious about the art of crafting this exquisite dish, fret not. This blog post is here to guide you through the step-by-step process, ensuring that you’ll soon master the art of creating this delectable Ogbono soup.
Required Ingredients
If you want to prepare the ogbono soup, there are specific ingredients that you need to have and they include:
- ¾ palm oil.
- 1 large onion bulb.
- Salt to taste.
- ½ cup of ground Ogbono.
- Cooked goat meat.
- Cooked Shaki.
- Cooked beef.
- Cooked cow skin (pomo).
- 5 red scotch bonnet pepper.
- 5 yellow scotch bonnet pepper.
- 3 garlic cloves.
- Opeyi.
- 1 cup shredded dry fish.
- 1 cup shredded stock fish.
- 2 tablespoons of ground crayfish.
- ½ cup shredded Uziza leaves.
- 1 cup of chopped pumpkin leaves.
- 1.2 cups of chopped Okra.
- 7 cups of beef stock or water.
Those mentioned above are the ingredients that you need to have to be able to make the ogbono soup. Once you have the ingredients ready, then you can proceed to the next step.
How to Cook Ogbono Soup
Once you have all the ingredients prepared then you can proceed to cook the ogbono soup. Follow the guidelines below to cook the soup:
- First, you add some warm palm oil into a mixing bowl and then you add the ground ogbono.
- Mix them thoroughly with a spoon until it forms a thick paste.
- Then transfer your meat stock to a pot and place it on medium heat.
- Then you blend the onions, yellow and red scotch bonnet, and garlic cloves.
- Add the blended mixture to the pot.
- Then you add the powdered crayfish and Opeyi along with salt.
- Stir and cover the pot then you allow it to simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Then you add the ogbono paste and then stir it to dissolve completely.
- Then you have to allow it to simmer for about three minutes until it has become thick.
- Then you add beef, shaki, kponmo, and goat meat to the soup.
- Add the stock fish.
- Then stir it.
- Allow it to cook for about 7 minutes.
- Then you chop the vegetables.
- Add the chopped okra and vegetables and then stir.
Note: there is a myth that you do not close the pot when you are cooking the ogbono. However, this isn’t true because the form of the ogbono is not determined by whether you close or open the pot. In addition, you can eat the ogbono soup with any swallow of your choice.