• How to Make Afang Soup

    Afang Soup is a nutritious dish that is served mostly in the Southern and Eastern part of Nigeria. This soup is typically associated with the Efik tribe in Nigeria amongst other dishes like; Edikang Ikong, Afia efere, Efere Abak etc. The people of the Efik tribe are located mainly in Cross River State and Akwa-Ibom State.

    Afang has an earthy flavour that people either really love or detest. In my experience, some other tribes that have tried to cook afang always try to cook it a little longer than recommended to get rid of the earthy flavour a little bit.

    Other cultures within Nigeria and Africa in general also indulge in this delicious dish but call it different names. For example, the Igbos in Nigeria call it Okazi soup, Cameroonians call it Eru and other countries like Angola and Gabon also enjoy this soup but unfortunately, I am not sure what names they call it. A suggested ratio of waterleaf to afang is 3:1 or you can increase the afang ratio if you prefer the earthier flavour.  Hope you enjoy my version of Afang Soup.

    Recipe for Afang Soup

    Ingredients

    1 cup of Afang leaves – Shredded and Pounded

    A small bundle of Shredded Water leaves (Substitute – Spinach)

    10 medium pieces of Beef

    7 medium pieces of Shaki (beef tripe)

    7 medium pieces Kpomo (Cow Skin)

    1 small piece of Dry Fish

    A small piece of stockfish

    4 pieces of snail (optional)

    1 cup of dressed periwinkle (if you have access to them)

    A Cup of Jumbo Prawns (optional)

    A handful of Crayfish pieces

    1 cooking spoon of Dry blended crayfish powder

    2 piece of yellow pepper(optional)

    Seasoning cubes

    1 teaspoon of chilli powder

    2 cooking spoons of palm oil (add more if you desire)

    Salt to taste

    Method

    Wash the beef, shaki, stockfish, snail, periwinkle and kpomo and place in a pot to boil with salt, chilli powder and seasoning cubes. Check on each item and if anyone becomes soft quicker than the others, take it out till the others are softer then pour them back in the pot.

    Shred and Pound the afang leaves till a smooth mashed texture is achieved. You may wish to chop the yellow pepper and pound with the afang once it is almost ready. (Side note: if you do not have a mortar and pestle, you can improvise by placing the shredded afang leaves in a blender with a little water and blend for 20 seconds. It may not come out as mashed as the pounded version)

    Wash the water leaves or spinach and shred and set aside.

    In a bowl, wash dry fish and and the crayfish pieces and add to the pot allow to boil for 5 minutes

    Add the blended dry crayfish, shrimp if you have and more seasoning if necessary.

    Pour in the palm oil to the stock and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.

    Add the water leaf or spinach and allow to cook for a minute then add the pounded Afang leaves and stir in.

    Take it off the heat and allow the steam from the soup cook the vegetables.

    NB: Remember the secret is to have the vegetables fresh tasting so do not leave it on the stove to overcook the vegetables.

    Serve with Pounded yam, Eba (Garri or Cassava flakes), Fufu or Semovita.

    afang soup

    26 comments on “How to Make Afang Soup”

    1. Pingback: Green Shades of Afang Soup 4th day of Valentine Cooking « Afrolems | Nigerian Food Recipes | Toronto Catering | African Recipes| Nigerian Food Blog

    2. Sonaya Reply

      4 maggi cubes is too many. there should be enough flavour from the dry fish and crayfish. 2 would suffice (1 to boil the meat, and the 2nd for the leafy stew).

      • Afrolems Reply

        It depends on the afang you have. If its from the village, then it requires more seasoning if not you have a very bland soup and you don’t want that.

    3. Gyang Reply

      Well , u don’t need that much Maggi seasoning, thats why u have the Blended crayfish and that’s when u would enjoy the real vegetable taste. so i stand with what Sonaya said.

      • Afrolems Reply

        Like i previously stated, I used Village afang in my recipe and that is harder to season. I don’t like my soups bland, I like them tasty even while I taste the vegetables. Remember recipes are just guidelines. You can modify to suit your needs at anytime also depending on the type of afang leaves you use.

    4. Gloria Reply

      Is there any substitute I can use for Afang leaves that can be bought in supermarkets in the US? i.e mustard greens, collard greens? many thanks. I really like the soup. Also when you say pound the leaf, how can I Pound the leaf? Many thanks

      • Afrolems Reply

        Hello Gloria,
        Unfortunately, afang leaves aren’t sold in US Supermarkets. african stores usually have them but they call it okazi and the way they are packaged sometimes do not give the desired effect. By pound I mean after shredding the leaves, in a mortar pound the leaves.

    5. sophia Reply

      Well…this is nice but I have never seen an Afang soup without Stockfish. its not just complete.

      • Afrolems Reply

        Afang has a lot more than I listed here but due to ingredients restrictions where i am at the time i make these, i make do with what i have.

    6. Elohor Idemi Reply

      Afang is my favorite Vegetable soup, eat mine with white rice and anything i fancy. Thanks Afrolems for sharing great recipes always

    7. Afam Reply

      Hi afrolems. The afang leaves I got were the dry ones. After pounding and pounding I don’t think I got the desired texture. In your recipe, were you referring to fresh or dry afang. If fresh, then how can we get the desired texture with dry afang leaves.

      • afrolems Reply

        Hello Afam, it is nearly impossible to achieve the same texture with the dry leaves. What i do when i get the dry leaves i blend it with a cup of water to help make it slightly close to the texture. However, in my post i was referring to the fresh leaves.

    8. chichi o Reply

      We say both ukazi and okazi where I come from,depending on your particular locality

    9. miss_zee Reply

      I made this soup for my man and my oh my… to say he was surprised would be an understatement.. twas sooo good that he looked like a baby whale after eating. lol..

    10. Pingback: Akwa Ibom Recipes We Know and Love - Foodie in Lagos

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