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Recipes with stockfish

7 recipes that use stockfish, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Ogbono soup, takes 65 minutes. It is most often cooked with crayfish, onion and smoked dried fish.

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Ofe okazi

Okazi soup belongs to the Igbo southeast, from Owerri and Aba to Nsukka, and it is weekend food, cooked when the whole family is home. Shredded okazi leaves (the same plant called afang in Calabar) give a pleasant chew and a faintly nutty, bitter edge; the soup is thickened with pounded cocoyam and enriched with palm oil, crayfish, stockfish and beef. Many cooks add waterleaf or ugu for softness. Eat it with garri, fufu or pounded yam. Dried okazi is easy to find in African shops but needs soaking. Chef's tip: soak dried okazi in warm water for 15 minutes before adding it; leaving it dry is the usual mistake and gives a woody, gritty soup.

80 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ogbono soup

Ogbono is cooked all over Nigeria, from Enugu and Onitsha to Lagos canteens, and its stretchy, 'drawy' texture is the whole point: the ground seeds of the wild bush mango thicken the soup into silky strands that slide down with eba, fufu or pounded yam. The flavour is earthy and nutty, rounded out with palm oil, crayfish, stockfish and assorted meat, and finished with a handful of ugu or bitter leaf. It is a quick soup once the meat is cooked and a weekday favourite. Ground ogbono is sold in African shops; buy it fresh, as stale ogbono tastes musty. Chef's tip: dissolve the ogbono in warm palm oil off the heat before adding the stock, so it melts into the soup without lumps.

65 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Atama soup

From Abak and the Ibibio heartland of Akwa Ibom comes this palm-nut soup with a perfume all its own: atama leaves, which smell somewhere between mint, anise and fresh hay. The palm cream is cooked with assorted meat, stockfish, dried fish and periwinkles until the oil glistens on top, then the atama goes in near the end. It is weekend and visitors' food, eaten with pounded yam, fufu or eba. Dried atama is sold in African shops; dried tarragon is the closest substitute. Periwinkles should be bought cleaned, and any with cracked shells thrown away. Avoid adding the atama leaves too early: long boiling dulls their perfume. Chef's tip: go easy on the atama, as too much turns the soup bitter, so start with the amount below and taste before adding more.

90 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Edikang ikong

Edikang ikong is the soup of celebrations in Calabar: weddings, Christmas and the visits of in-laws, when the pot is crowded with assorted meat, stockfish, dried fish and periwinkles. The base is two leaves, ugu (fluted pumpkin) for body and colour, and waterleaf for moisture, cooked so briefly that the soup stays bright green and fresh-tasting under the palm oil. Serve it with pounded yam, fufu or garri. If you cannot find ugu, use spinach mixed with a little kale. Buy periwinkles cleaned from a trusted seller and throw out any with broken shells. Chef's tip: add the ugu last, off a high heat, and stop after three or four minutes; the usual mistake is stewing it until it goes black and slimy.

80 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Afang soup

Ask anyone from Calabar or Uyo what to serve a guest and afang will come up first. Finely shredded afang leaves, chewy and a little nutty, are cooked down with a mountain of waterleaf, palm oil, beef, cow skin, stockfish and periwinkles, and the waterleaf gives off all the liquid the soup needs. It is thick, dark green and deeply savoury, and it goes with pounded yam, fufu or eba. Outside Nigeria, frozen ground afang (also sold as okazi) and spinach stand in well. Periwinkles must be bought cleaned from a reputable seller; discard any with cracked shells or an off smell. Chef's tip: never add water to afang; if it looks dry, cover the pot for a minute and the waterleaf will release more.

90 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ofe Owerri (festive ugu and okazi soup)

Owerri people speak of their soup with pride, and it is famous for how much goes into the pot: goat meat, tripe, stockfish and dried fish, simmered in palm oil and thickened with cocoyam, then finished with two leaves, chewy okazi and soft, sweet ugu. It is festive food for weddings, Christmas and big family gatherings across Imo State, and it is served with pounded yam or fufu. Adding the ugu too early is a common mistake that leaves the leaves dark and mushy; it goes in last, after the okazi has had time to soften. Stockfish needs an overnight soak first unless bought pre-soaked. Chef's tip: soak dried okazi in warm water for 10 minutes before cooking so it softens evenly.

140 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ofe oha (oha leaf soup)

Tender oha leaves, with their mild, slightly sweet taste, are prized in Enugu and Anambra, and ofe oha is the soup many Igbo families bring out for Christmas, weddings and Sunday visits. Boiled cocoyam is pounded and melted into a palm-oil broth rich with beef, stockfish, dried fish and crayfish, giving a thick, velvety soup with the oha folded in at the very end, to eat with pounded yam, fufu or eba. Adding all the cocoyam at once is a frequent mistake that turns the soup gluey; add it in stages and stop at the thickness you want. Stockfish needs an overnight soak first unless you buy it pre-soaked. Chef's tip: tear oha leaves by hand rather than cutting them, as cooks traditionally do, and add them in the last 2 minutes.

120 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with stockfish