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Akibiye
Akibiye: Sumi Naga taro cooked creamy with chilli and fermented soybean
Akibiye is Sumi Naga comfort food from Nagaland: colocasia boiled until it melts into a thick, creamy stew, flavoured with chilli and axone, the fermented soybean that gives Naga cooking its deep savour. It is eaten with rice, especially in winter. For homemade axone, keep boiled soybeans wrapped in leaves at 30–40 °C for 3–5 days until sticky and pungent, then dry or use fresh; discard if black, green or pink mould appears or it smells rotten. The mistake is handling raw taro with bare hands, which itches; wear gloves or oil your hands. Chef's tip: bought axone, kinema or natto work well.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the stew
- 1 ⅛ lb colocasia (taro)peeled and cubed
- 1 ⅜ oz axone (fermented soybean) or nattomashed
- 2 green chillies or king chillicrushed
- 1 tbsp gingercrushed
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 ½ cups water
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Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Simmer 1 ⅛ lb colocasia (taro) in 2 ½ cups water with 1 tbsp ginger, 2 green chillies or king chilli and 1 tsp salt until completely soft.
25 minStep 2: Mash some of the taro against the side of the pot so the liquid turns thick and creamy.
3 minStep 3: Stir in 1 ⅜ oz axone (fermented soybean) or natto and simmer 5 minutes, until the stew is thick and fragrant. Serve with rice.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does akibiye take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
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