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Yam Pepper Soup

Yam Pepper Soup is a warming, therapeutic Nigerian soup where chunks of white yam are cooked in a well-spiced pepper soup broth — the yam absorbing all the intense heat and spice of the pepper soup as it cooks and becoming deeply flavoured throughout. It is a creative hybrid between the Nigerian swallow tradition and the pepper soup tradition — the yam serves simultaneously as the starch and the soup ingredient.

Yam Pepper Soup, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • Half a big white yam tuber, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • Half a medium chicken or big handful of beef, cut into pieces
  • 4 to 5 Atarodo (very hot chilli peppers) — whole
  • 1 teaspoon of ground Cameroon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of ground uziza seeds
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ehuru (calabash nutmeg)
  • 3 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • 2 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 5 glasses of water
  • A small handful of scent leaves (nchanwu / basil), torn

Method

  1. 01

    Building the Spiced Broth. Place the meat or chicken in a large pot with 5 glasses of water, sliced onion, seasoning cubes, salt, whole Atarodo, ground Cameroon pepper, ground uziza seeds, ground ehuru and ground crayfish. Bring to a vigorous boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until the meat is tender and the broth is intensely spiced.

  2. 02

    Adding the Yam. Add the yam chunks to the spiced broth. The yam must be completely submerged — add more water if needed. Cook on medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes until the yam is completely soft and beginning to slightly disintegrate at the edges, which naturally thickens the broth.

  3. 03

    Finishing. Add the torn scent leaves in the final 3 minutes. Taste and adjust all seasonings. The broth should be intensely spiced, slightly thickened by the yam starch and very warming.

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