Egusi soup is loved and preferred over most Nigerian soups because of its unique taste and how easy and fast it is to prepare. There are many recipes and ways to make egusi soup depending on the tribe cooking it or the preference of who is eating it. Nevertheless, there are two popular ways of preparing egusi soup; either start by boiling the egusi or quickly frying it. Both ways are good, but something to consider is that egusi itself contains a lot of oil, so frying increases the oil. Unless you use a non-saturated oil, this isn’t nutritionally good for you. Here is a simple egusi soup recipe (frying method) that you can try.
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INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING EGUSI SOUP
- Assorted meats or Fish
- Chicken
- Smoked fish
- Ground egusi (melon seed)
- Palm oil
- Meat stock
- Red bell pepper
- Shombo (cayenne pepper)
- Onions
- Chopped leaves (spinach, uziza, ugwu any vegetable of your choice)
- Ground crayfish (can be purchased through the egusi link above)
- Stockfish
- Prawns
- Maggi crayfish cube
- Salt
STEPS TO MAKE EGUSI SOUP
1. Boil your meat and fish with seasoning and onion. It has to be well seasoned, so if you can marinate it overnight it will be perfect.
2. Blend the red bell peppers and shombo roughly.
3. Roast your egusi in a frying pan for about five minutes stirring regularly.
4. Blend onions with crayfish until smooth and then mix with your egusi.
5. Inside a pot, heat palm oil and fry the sliced onions.
6. Add the blended pepper and shombo, and fry for some time. Then add the ground crayfish and Maggi crayfish cube.
7. Fry until liquid is reduced then add meat stock, and let it mix very well.
8. Scoop egusi into the pepper mix and stir very well.
9. Let it cook for 5 minutes, then add meat, stock fish, and smoked fish.
10. After some time of cooking, add your leaves.
11. Give it 5 minutes and bring your pot of soup down from the heat. The soup is now ready to be eaten, with the accompanying dish of your choice; eba, semolina, pounded-yam, or whole wheat.
NOTE; You can choose not to use meat and fish, or chicken and fish, not all at once. You can also use only one type of leaf (vegetable), although combining veggies are great!
Don’t forget you can click and buy the native ingredients that are not available in your local market or supermarket using my Amazon links.