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Pepper Soup Efik Style

Efik-style Pepper Soup is the Calabar interpretation of the beloved Nigerian pepper soup tradition, distinguished by the use of the distinctive Efik spice palette — atama leaves, ehuru, uziza and a generous hand with fresh Atarodo — alongside fresh seafood and goat meat. The Efik pepper soup is lighter and more aromatic than the heavier Southern Nigerian pepper soups, reflecting the Efik preference for clear, perfectly spiced broths that showcase the natural flavour of premiu

Pepper Soup Efik Style, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • Half a small goat or 1 big handful of goat meat, cut into pieces
  • 1 big handful of fresh prawns
  • 1 big handful of fresh catfish pieces
  • 4 to 5 Atarodo (very hot chilli peppers), whole
  • 2 big handfuls of ground dried crayfish
  • 2 big handfuls of dried atama leaves, crumbled
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ehuru (calabash nutmeg)
  • A small handful of uziza seeds, roughly cracked
  • 1 piece of oburunbebe stick
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • 2 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 5 to 6 glasses of water

Method

  1. 01

    Cooking the Goat. Place goat meat in a pot with sliced onion, salt, 1 seasoning cube and 5 to 6 glasses of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes.

  2. 02

    Adding the Spices. Add the whole Atarodo peppers, crumbled atama leaves, ground ehuru, cracked uziza seeds and oburunbebe stick to the pot. Add ground crayfish and remaining seasoning cube. Stir well. Continue cooking for 10 minutes so the spices infuse deeply into the broth.

  3. 03

    Adding Seafood. Add the catfish pieces and prawns. Cook for 10 more minutes. The broth should be clear, brilliantly aromatic, intensely spiced and deeply comforting. Remove oburunbebe stick. Taste and adjust all seasonings.

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