How to make Ofe Okazi Soup

Nigerian woman and her soup…

There is a Nigerian expression which says ‘she who has the soup holds the man’ which is why soup continues to be the central point of many Nigerian meals. I had thought that with the abundance of rice in Nigeria, swallows will take a second place but no. Most of us just like the simplicity of eating which is use your hands, cut the swallow, dip it in the soup, accompany it with small fishes and vegetables and swallow or chew. Come to think of it this process I just described in a few words is quite complex. Have you thought of how our brain processes this? I mean when the soup gets to the mouth the ball of the pounded yam is swallowed and the vegetables and meats remain in the mouth before is chewed and enjoyed before being swallowed? This is quite intriguing.

So back to the matter of soups, it’s Ofe Okazi soup from Abia state, Nigeria and trust me this soup was so good that there were no leftovers after cooking.

The discovery for me in this soup was the Ogiri Isi and the way it is wrapped. You get this big ‘packaging’ made of leaves only to find a very small quantity of the Ogiri hiding in the last layer of leaves. Now the smell? Oh no this one was something else, which is why it is called Ogiri Isi meaning smelly Ogiri. But again fermented products like yoghurt and cheese are good for the gut so I believe Ogiri Isi is same.

The other ingredients I was using for the first time was Ofo another Nigerian soup thickener. I understand that some people use Achi for this soup but ofo is preferred for its texture. As I wanted to be sure I was buying Ofo and not Achi, I bought the unground one and blended myself at home.

So here is how to prepare Ofe Okazi soup.

 

Recipe for Ofe Okazi Soup

You will need:

6- 8 pieces Beef

1-2 segments smoked Asa Fish

Handful Stock fish pieces

6-8 pieces Pomo (cow skin)

1/2 cup Okazi

1/4 cup Uziza leaves

1/4 cup Achara (optional)

1 table spoon Ofo powder

1 wrap Ogiri Isi

1 table spoon ground Crayfish

2 cooking spoons Palm Oil

About 4 -6 cups water

1-2 yellow or Cameroun Pepper (chopped)

Beef seasoning to taste

Salt to taste

How to cook Ofe Okazi soup?

1. Season the beef with dry pepper or one of the yellow pepper, beef seasoning and salt and allow beef to marinade for about 20-30 minutes
2. Start by steaming beef in its juice till the beef juice dries up, then add water and cook till beef is soft to your desired texture. If you are using stock fish and tough Pomo then cook with the beef. You can also add the fish to the meat pot and cook in the meat stock towards to end of cooking the beef. When fish is soft take out and set aside so it does not completely crumble in the soup
3. To start cooking the Ofe Okazi soup, add the water to the meat and bring to boil. Add the Crayfish, Ogiri, the remaining pepper and palm oil and cook for about 10 minutes to reduce the flavor intensity of the Ogiri
4. Stir, check to correct the seasoning, reduce the heat so the soup is just simmering. Sprinkle on the Ofo in the pot and stir rapidly to mix it in the soup and then raise the heat slightly so the soup starts to thicken. The consistency of the soup is like Ofe Nsala or white soup.
5. When soup thickens enough which will take just about 2 minutes, add the Okazi and Uziza leaves and cook for about 3 minutes. Voila! Your Ofe Okazi soup is ready. Serve with any swallow of choice.