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Okazi Soup

Also known as Okazi Soup (Igbo Afang Variant)

Okazi Soup is the Igbo preparation of a soup using Gnetum africanum — the tough, glossy, dark wild vine leaf known as Okazi or Ukazi in Igbo and Afang in Efik. This leaf requires very fine shredding or blending to be palatable and gives the soup an intensely earthy, slightly bitter, deeply complex flavour that is unique in Nigerian cooking.

Okazi Soup, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 3 big handfuls of fresh okazi (ukazi / Gnetum africanum) leaves, very finely shredded or blended
  • 3 big handfuls of fresh waterleaf, washed and chopped — to balance the okazi
  • Half a medium goat or big handful of assorted beef
  • 2 big handfuls of stockfish, soaked
  • 2 big handfuls of smoked fish, soaked and deboned
  • 3 cooking spoons of red palm oil
  • 3 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 4 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon of ogiri (fermented castor seed)
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. 01

    Shredding the Okazi. Fresh okazi leaves must be very finely shredded — the leaf is tough and will not soften unless cut extremely thin, into strips as fine as thread. Use a very sharp knife or blend briefly. This step is critical — thick okazi pieces will remain chewy and unpleasant in the soup.

  2. 02

    Cooking the Meat. Season and cook all meat in water with onion, salt and seasoning cube for 30 to 35 minutes. Add stockfish in the last 15 minutes. Reserve stock.

  3. 03

    Building the Soup Base. Heat palm oil in a wide pot. Pour in reserved stock. Add blended Atarodo, ogiri, ground crayfish, seasoning cubes and salt. Stir well. Add all cooked meat, stockfish and smoked fish. Bring to a simmer.

  4. 04

    Adding the Waterleaf. Add the chopped waterleaf to the soup. The waterleaf will release water and wilt quickly. Cook for 5 minutes.

  5. 05

    Adding the Okazi. Add the very finely shredded okazi to the soup. Stir thoroughly to distribute the leaves. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes — okazi requires longer cooking than most Nigerian leafy greens due to its tough nature. Stir occasionally. Taste and adjust all seasonings. The soup should be thick with leaves, deeply flavoured and intensely aromatic.

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