If you are a lover of Ofe Egusi and you don’t know how to prepare it I am sharing a recipe today on how to prepare your egusi soup. As we all know that egusi soup is one of the most loved Nigerian soups, enjoyed with pounded yam, fufu, eba, or semovita.
Learning how to prepare egusi soup is simple once you have the right ingredients and follow the proper steps. Firstly, i will list the ingredient needed for this soup.
Ingredients Needed
2 cups of ground egusi (melon seeds) This can be according to the quantity you want, but this one is for 2 cups.
Assorted meat (beef, goat meat, or cow skin) Any one you prefer
1 smoked fish or dry fish
Stockfish (optional) But I like using it
palm oil
crayfish
1 onion
2 seasoning cubes
Salt to taste
Pepper (fresh or ground), I prefer fresh for my egusi soup
bitter leaf, spinach, ugu leaves, uzuza, ukazi, choose any one you like, some people even use waterleaf, but I prefer uzuza and ukazi leaf.
Water.
Step-by-Step Preparation
1. Boil the Meat, fish, stock fish
Wash your assorted meat and the other proteins you prefer thoroughly and season with onions, seasoning cubes, salt, and pepper. Add a little water and boil until soft. Keep the stock aside because it adds flavor to the soup.
2. Prepare the Egusi Paste
Mix the ground egusi with a small amount of water until it forms a thick paste. Some people prefer frying the dry egusi directly, but making a paste helps create soft lumps in the soup.
3. Heat the Palm Oil
Place a pot on medium heat and pour in palm oil. Allow it to heat slightly, but do not bleach it. Add chopped onions and fry for a minute.
4. Add Egusi
Pour the egusi paste into the oil and fry while stirring gently. Let it cook for about 5–10 minutes until the oil begins to separate from the egusi. This helps remove the raw taste.
5. Add Meat Stock and Protein
Pour in the reserved meat stock and stir well. Add your cooked meat, smoked fish, stockfish, and crayfish. Allow it to cook for 10–15 minutes so all the flavors combine properly.
6. Add Vegetables
Wash and chop your bitter leaf, spinach, ugu leaves, or any of the vegetable mentioned above you selected then add them into the soup. Stir and let it simmer for about 3–5 minutes. Avoid overcooking so the vegetables stay fresh and colorful.
7. Taste and Serve
Check for salt and seasoning, then adjust if necessary. Once the soup thickens and looks rich, turn off the heat. Serve hot with your preferred swallow such as pounded yam, eba, amala, fufu or semovita.
Your Egusi soup is ready, and for my Yoruba friends that likes iru (locust beans) you can add a little but make sure you are mindful of salt.
Try it out then come back to the comment section and share your result with us.
