Today was the 3rd time I made ogbono soup and I said to myself I am going to make a post next time I make it and so far I like the featured image one a lot better which is the one with the okra and of course I am always striving for perfection on now to keep it real. I very much like to try out new things and I am going to show you how I did it.
Vegetable choices are: okra, ugu leaves which are pumpkin leaves, oha leaves is what I am considering on a future batch of ogbono soup, taro leaves which I have used before on my first pot of ogbono soup, bitterleaf, uziza, ukazi and baby spinach. Some people put utazi leaves and since they are so hard to find here I may as well use baby spinach. I am also thinking putting egusi in this soup too and I will write to let everyone know how it turned out. If using egusi which is purely optional for it to become lumpy that would grind my 1 handful of egusi in a mortar and pestle and add 1 egg and mix it in to a paste.
Protein choices are: oxtails, lamb or goat’s feet, cow’s or lamb’s tongue, veal, goat, lamb, beef, chicken, turkey both regular and smoked, tripe, lamb liver, chicken liver, gizards, kidneys are the main ones I would choose. For fish I would go with mackerel, perch, catfish both smoked or unsmoked and tilapia. For shellfish since I can’t source periwinkles that I would use clams, scallops, crab, shrimp, oysters or mussels and they usually are in a can because the fresh ones are very expensive. Soak 2 pieces of dry smoked fish. If you are using smoked turkey do not add dried smoked fish because you do not want a salty soup. I soaked also 6 to 7 stockfish pieces. Soak the smoked dried fish if using and stockfish pieces in the fridge for 3 hours to overnight.
What I do is I precook my protien of choice before I make the ogbono soup. Today I used beef and cut them in tiny pieces to minimize the cooking time. I added 1 onion chopped, or sometimes I would add a shallot instead. I added 1 bullion cube, 1 clove of garlic and 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma and I boiled them until they were tender and on low heat. You can do this also if you are using veal, goat and lamb.
For tripe clean it first by taking the fat off of the smooth side of it and add a drop of dish detergent in a bowl to wash it then rinse it very well then add 1 tsp of vinegar to finish the cleaning process and rinse again in cold water if you are using tripe add red chili powder 3 cloves of garlic, 1 onion or shallot and cook in a pressure cooker in 1 liter or 1 quart of water for 30 minutes. Let the pressure subside and check and see how much water you have in there. If you think you do not have enough add 2 more cups of water and once more let the pressure build and the safety button pop up and cook for another 3 minutes. Let the pressure excape once more and tripe and stock are ready for use. If using cow’s or lamb’s tongue poke all over with a fork and cook in pressure cooker whole for 30 minutes let pressure subside then when safety button is lower open it make sure you have enough water 1 quart or 1 liter should be in there at the start. If meat is a little tough, add 2 more cups of water and let the pressure build up again.safety button comes back up let cook another 30 minutes. Let pressure subside again and when safety button is lowered again open it and for cow’s tongue and lamb’s tongue is soft at this point. Lamb’s tongue cut in small pieces and cow’s tongue you have to remove outer skin then cut in small pieces. Do not throw the stock. For oxtails or lamb or goat’s feet you add 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma and 1 quart or 1 liter of water. Pressure cook for 30 minutes after safety button pops up. Turn off stove let pressure escape and safety valve is lower open check water level and meat. If meat is still a little tough then add 2 more cups of water. Turn the stove back on and wait for pressure to build again with safety button up for 30 minutes again. When time is up shut the stove off and wait for pressure to escape. When safety button is lower open the lid and it is ready to be used in the soup.
If using chicken gizzards follow the cooking method I just gave for the tripe and let them cook for 20 minutes and use the stock from the gizards. If using a softer meat like kidney and livers clean and wash them in salt water then in vinegar. For kidneys cut around the white matter that is in the center and throw that away.
Fry them in peanut oil and add bullion cube for a seasoning. After they are done add 3 cups of water to make a stock add onion or shallot and 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma.
For chicken, fish and turkey I would turn on the oven to 350 F or 180 C and for poultry bake for 30 minute intervals or boil for 45 minutes until done and fish cook for 20 minute intervals until it is firm and before cooking season them with 1 bullion cube and 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma.
Since I have used the beef, I ended up with a nice stock. You can not do this with fish because it would scatter the meat is too soft and with kidneys and liver you have to fry then add to soup later and boiling them is going to make them taste horrible. They need to be fried before you add to the soup too. Chicken and turkey may work either way and I prefer baking them then adding to the soup later. Now the meat of choice is precooked it is time to make the soup.
The actual soup doesn’t take long at all I have taken 1 handful or two of ogbono seeds a little at a time and ground them with my mortar and pestle in to a powder. I took out a clean pot and added 1 cooking spoon of palm oil and added my freshly ground ogbono seeds.
I added it to the palm oil and cooked it then I added my meat of choice which was the beef that I cooked earlier. I added 1 scotch bonnet that I had ground in my mortar and pestle and added it to the soup. Habeneo or red chili powder can be used also. In making this soup there are a lot of choices. I added 1 pinch of dawadawa. I kept stirring until I got a nice draw. At times I put some nice okra in there that I have chopped for even more drawing action. However I did not feel like okra tonight and I added 3 pinches of ugu which are the pumpkin leaves, 2 big pinches of uziza. At this point there was nothing else I could do for this soup seasoning wise. I did not want it to become too salty.
I added 1 pinch of crayfish, I added my stockfish and dried smoked fish I had soaked earlier and 1 can of clams including the brine. If you want to use the egusi paste at this stage feel free, if not that is ok too.
The finished soup is ready to eat with your choice of fufu. I ate mine with pounded yam.
Addendum: Last night I got a better result by adding 1 habanero or scotch bonnet chili, seeds removed with 1 onion or shallot and 2 cloves of garlic with 1/4 cup of water for ease of blending. I blended it on high for 1 to 2 minutes then I added the ogbono seeds I ground in to a mortar and pestle in to a powder and added this to the onion, chili and garlic purée and again blended it and added it to the pot with the hot palm oil. This is a help with making a nice draw and a nice draw it did indeed.
Also this time I was able to get dried utazi leaves and added this too along with oha leaves.
