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Fisherman Soup

Also known as Fisherman Soup (Rivers State)

Fisherman Soup is the legendary seafood pepper soup of the Niger Delta — a dish born on the water, cooked by Ijaw fishermen in their boats using the freshest catch of the day. It is a wild, intensely spiced, deeply aromatic soup that showcases the extraordinary seafood wealth of the Niger Delta region.

Fisherman Soup, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 big fresh catfish (point and kill), cleaned and cut into large pieces
  • 1 big handful of fresh tilapia or croaker fish, cleaned and cut
  • 1 big handful of fresh large prawns, deveined
  • 1 big handful of fresh periwinkles (isam), cleaned
  • 1 big handful of fresh crab pieces — optional
  • 2 cooking spoons of red palm oil
  • 4 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
  • 4 to 5 Atarodo (very hot chilli peppers), blended
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • A small handful of uziza leaves, shredded
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ehuru (calabash nutmeg)
  • 2 pieces of oburunbebe stick
  • A small handful of dried atama leaves, crumbled
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 5 glasses of water or light fish stock

Method

  1. 01

    Cleaning All Seafood. Clean all fish thoroughly. Remove slime from catfish using alum and salt, rinse well. Devein the prawns. Wash periwinkles in salted water. Wash crab pieces. Season all seafood lightly with salt.

  2. 02

    Building the Broth. Place the oburunbebe sticks in a wide pot with 5 glasses of water. Add the crumbled atama leaves, ground ehuru, sliced onion and blended Atarodo. Add palm oil and ground crayfish. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes to infuse the water with the Delta spices before adding any seafood.

  3. 03

    Adding the Firm Proteins First. Add the crab pieces and periwinkles to the spiced broth. Add seasoning cubes and salt. Cook for 8 minutes.

  4. 04

    Adding the Fish. Add the catfish and tilapia pieces to the pot. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. The fish should be just cooked through and beginning to flake — do not overcook.

  5. 05

    Adding the Prawns Last. Add the fresh prawns in the final 5 minutes of cooking — they cook very quickly and become rubbery if overcooked. Stir gently. Add the uziza leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove the oburunbebe sticks before serving. The broth should be clear, intensely spiced, brilliantly aromatic from the Delta spices, and packed with fresh seafood.

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