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Okra Soup South-South Style

The South-South version of Okra Soup is enriched with the distinctive seafood abundance of the Niger Delta. Where the Yoruba Okra Soup (Recipe #039) uses assorted meats as its primary protein, the Delta Okra Soup leans heavily on fresh and smoked seafood — catfish, periwinkles, fresh prawns, crab and smoked fish — creating a soup that is simultaneously draw-textured from the fresh okra and deeply ocean-flavoured from the variety of Delta seafood.

Okra Soup South-South Style, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 20 to 25 fresh okra pods, very finely chopped or grated
  • 1 big fresh catfish, cleaned and cut into steaks
  • 1 big handful of fresh or frozen prawns
  • 1 big handful of periwinkles (isam), cleaned
  • 1 big handful of smoked fish, soaked and deboned
  • 1 big handful of stockfish, soaked
  • 2 cooking spoons of red palm oil
  • 3 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
  • 4 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ehuru
  • A small handful of uziza leaves
  • 2 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 glasses of water or fish stock

Method

  1. 01

    Preparing the Okra. Wash and finely chop the okra pods — the finer the chop, the better the draw texture. Set aside.

  2. 02

    Building the Seafood Broth. Heat palm oil in a wide pot. Add sliced onion and fry 2 minutes. Add blended Atarodo and fry 5 minutes. Add stockfish, smoked fish, ground ehuru, ground crayfish, seasoning cubes and salt. Pour in 3 glasses of water or fish stock. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 8 minutes.

  3. 03

    Adding Fresh Seafood. Add the catfish steaks and periwinkles. Cook for 8 minutes.

  4. 04

    Adding Prawns and Okra. Add the fresh prawns. Immediately add the finely chopped okra. Stir everything together. The okra will thicken and draw the soup within 2 to 3 minutes. Add uziza leaves. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes — do not overcook the okra. Taste and adjust all seasonings.

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