By the way, do you want to hear something funny? This is what I did, I thought I used up all of the cocoyam last time I made kachaloo pera which is a Pakistani dish from the Peshawar area. I seen I had one cocoyam left in the fridge and I said I may as well use it way before it goes bad and my stomach was growling because I was hungry.
I came up with this recipe to get rid of it before it goes in the trash heap. Besides it is a very big sin to waste food. So it is a great thing I used it for this soup and I hope you will love my creation. I used 1 packet of Chings noodles. Indomie, Shan, Maggi or Knorr nootlles can be used too.
I boiled that 1 cocoyam in my pot for 20 minutes. I drained and let it cool before I peeled it. I put this in my mortar and pestle and started pounding it so it can be a mash to add as a soup thickener for later.
The rest of the ingedients I used comes from an African store. I bring 4 cups of water on high heat. Since Chings is quite spicy hot that I omited the the fresh chili, chili sauce and chili powder. With the others I wold have added either 1 habenero or scotch bonnet deseeded that I would have pounded in to a pulp in my mortar and pestle or I would add 1 pinch of either red chili powder or african yellow chili powder or 1 drop of chili sauce.
I add the seasoning packet that comes with the noodles that I am using, 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma, 1 pinch each of dawadawa, crayfish powder, country onion, boni bonga fish powder, 3 dried anchovies and 1 can of fish of choice. You can also boil 1 crab or fry 1 handful of shrimp that has been deveined and shells removed in palm oil if you want to. Just keep the water you boiled the crab in.
This can of fish of choice can be in brine, tomato sauce or oil. With the exception of titus sardines, octopus and squid this goes in at very last second. I used a can of oysters because that is what I was craving and I even threw the brine in there for added flavor. I added 1 tsp of red palm oil, 2 pinches each of ugu and sent leaf. the cake of noodles that came in the packet and cooked until the noodles was soft.
Add the cocoyam that is mashed up in the mortar and pestle, 1 pinch of achi and stir until mixture thickens. Enjoy with an icy cold non alcoholic bevrage of choice.
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