• Ekpang Nkukwo Recipe – Cocoyam pottage

    By 27 commentsCocoyam recipes, Efik Recipes, Yam Recipes, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Ekpang Nkukwo was a high in demand recipe from many of the Afrolems fans. I posted the photo of the meal seven days to Christmas and since then Ekpang Nkukwo has been on the mind of many of my Afrolems followers. It is a native Efik meal and apparently is also native to Cameroonians. The English name is coco-yam pottage and the Efik name is Ekpang Nkukwo. Here is the recipe below, hope you enjoy it.

    Ekpang Nkukwo

    Ekpang Nkukwo

     

    Recipe for Ekpang Nkukwo

    Ingredients

    8 medium tubers of cocoyam

    1 bundle of cocoyam leaves (Substitute : spinach or lettuce)

    1.5 cups of periwinkles with their shell

    Dry fish

    1 cup of crayfish

    1 cup of tiger shrimps

    4 cubes of maggi

    1.5 tablespoons of dry pepper

    ½ teaspoon Crushed dry bitter leaves

    1 tablespoon blended crayfish

    4 cups of water

    3 cooking spoons of palm oil.

    Method

    Peel and grate your coco-yam

    Wash your cocoyam leaves and cut into small pieces (alternative- baby spinach leaves)

    Grease your pot with a cooking spoon of palm oil

    Line your pot with periwinkles and season with a teaspoon of salt, pepper and 2 cubes of Maggi cube.

    Boil 1.5 cups of water

    Scoop some cocoyam onto your leaves and wrap them till the edges of the cocoyam are sticking out on both ends of the leaves.

    wrapping the ekpang nkukwo

    wrapping the ekpang nkukwo

    Once this is done, put the pot of the cocoyam on low heat and let it heat up for about 10 minutes.

    Season with 1 table spoon of salt, 1 table spoon of dry red chilli peppers, 2 cubes of maggi, a pinch of crushed dry bitter leaves and a tablespoon of blended crayfish.

    Add dry fish, shrimp, and dry crayfish but don’t stir in.

    Pour in the hot water slowly around the edges and still leave on low heat for 5 more minutes.

    Increase the temperature to medium heat and pour in 2 cups of water as your pottage cooks. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat with a covered pot.

    Add more water as need be until the cocoyam at the ends of the leaves start to harden.

    Stir your pottage gently at this point and reduce to low heat for cook for 5 more minutes.

    Pour in 2 cooking spoons of palm oil, stir in and leave to simmer on low heat for 5 minutes and ekpang nkukwo is served.

    Side note: the efiks traditionally mix the cocoyam with water-yam to improve the consistency especially if its new cocoyam. You may want to try that as well.

    27 comments on “Ekpang Nkukwo Recipe – Cocoyam pottage”

    2. Sharon Salu Reply

      Thanks for putting the alternative to cocoyam leaves (baby spinach). You saved me the trouble of looking for those. Can you also use water yam instead of cocoyam?

      • Afrolems Reply

        Hi Sharon, you cannot use water yam for this. You cannot even use the cocoyam for thickening soups. It has to be the hairy cocoyam.

        • Sharon Salu Reply

          Whoa, that was quick! Thanks for clarifying that. “Hairy” cocoyam, it is then 😀

    3. Ogo Reply

      If I don’t get baby spinach, can I use Pumpkin leaves? And also can I use the periwinkle that isn’t in the shell? Bcos that’s hard to get were I am..

      • Afrolems Reply

        You can use perwinkles that are not in the shell. You can use lettuce to replace spinach if you do not have baby spinach.

    4. Burberry Reply

      Pls where can I find prewinkles here in Canada? Since u here too..i guess u can help me out.

    5. N Reply

      could you occasionally give a pictorial representation of steps to cook the food. cos I’m still trying to imagine how to wrap the cocoa yam in leaves

    6. Amaka Reply

      Well i do cook mine wit water yam n i wrap it wt pumpkin leaves..
      grate ur water yam, salt it a little, take in small qtys n wrap in ur pumpkin leaves n line it up in a pot n heat for sm tym bt dnt allow it to burn, in a seperate pot, heat ur palm oil a little, pour in ur sliced onion n tomato ( u cld mix fresh n tin for redness). When d tomato is done, pour in ur stock water(enough water to cook ur cocoyam till it is done), pepper, crayfish n maggi n bring to a boil, then pour it into d cocoyam pot n allow to cook, do not stir) when u see that it is done, use a wooden spatula to turn, by then d water has turnd to porridge. Bring it down n serve.

    7. grace Reply

      Hi just like to ask where can I get periwinkle with shell in Mississauga or Toronto.

      • Afrolems Reply

        Hello Grace, Sometimes I get it from the chinese grocery stores. Either Yuan Ming or Oceans but sometimes they don’t have it.

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    9. ini Reply

      Then this isn’t the efik recipe because efiks use cocoyam and wateryam for this dish. I know cos I’m efik

      • afrolems Reply

        Ini you are right that efik people use wateryam but they use it to improve the consistency especially if the cocoyam is new cocoyam. I didn’t use new cocoyam in my post but I would make reference to it then.

    10. Michelle Reply

      Please would like to know, how can one know the right cocoyam to buy? i was thinking its the same as the thickening ones used to cook the ibo ede soup. I am in the US and i dont know how to identify the right cocoyam for this.

      Also which is the better choice for the leaves? Pumkin or Lettuce leaves?

      Would love a quick response. Thank you.

      • afrolems Reply

        I get my cocoyam from the Asian grocery stores. They would usually have two sections with it. it’s the one that is actually labelled cocoyam that is the right one to use. It is slightly hairier than the one for thickening soups

      • afrolems Reply

        I have tried also using just cocoyam. It all tastes amazing to me 🙂

    13. Alexandra Reply

      Will u be cutting the cocoyam leave into pieces to wrap in small sizes or u will use d smaller cocoyam leave?
      Its confusing

      • afrolems Reply

        Hello Alexandra, yes you would be cutting the cocoyam leaves smaller.

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