#KFB Foodie Talk! Ofe Ukazi/ Okazi Soup (Afang Soup)

For our newbies, the KFB foodie talk column - handled by Dobby of Dobbysignature - is basically for ladies and 'guys' that are interested in learning how to cook better ;).

Yesterday, i came back from the market with my freshly brought periwinkles. For a moment, i thought they were all dead till i came back to the kitchen to find them everywhere on the kitchen walls. The actual thought that the main ingredient for my Okazi soup was crawling away sent shivers down my spine. It took me almost an hour to get every single one that crept away back in place.

From that moment, i vowed never to leave periwinkles by themselves Unguarded (Kitchen Tip no 1...lol!).
Ofe Ukazi "Igbo" or Afang Soup "Efik" is a tasty Nigerian soup which is quite popular in the Eastern & south eastern (Cross river....Akwa ibom) parts of Nigeria. The major ingredient which the name of the soup was coined from is the wild spinach leaf (Ukazi/Afang leaf) "Gnetum Africanum" (View full list of Nigerian leafy vegetables here). It's got a tough (hard) papery glossy texture and is tasteless without any distinctive smell until cooked. Due to it's tough texture, its usually sold pre-sliced in the Nigerian market by the vendors.



Sometimes after it's sliced, it's further ground with a dry mill as this tends to bring out the taste more in soups. The igbos prepare Ofe Ukazi in two ways; With Egusi Or With Achi which serves as the soup thickener. Usually when it's being prepared with Egusi, Achi wouldn't be added as egusi serves as a good thickener. Also, When prepared with Achi, some igbos (Especially those in the riverine areas) prefer Grinding the Okazi leaves a little bit more after Slicing. This helps in bringing out the real taste of the soup. Similarly, the Efiks prepare Afang soup slightly different from the Igbo version. For afang, Waterleaf is usually substituted for Achi or Egusi (Just like edikaikong). Also, The Efiks grind the okazi leaves further after slicing.
Afang or Okazi leaves is a rich source of protein and both essential and non-essential amino acids. it also has an anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant properties.

  

How to make Ofe Ukazi or Okazi / Afang soup
• Prep Time:   15 minutes
• Cook Time:  Over 45mins
• Serves:         4

Ingredients:::

• 450g Okazi leaves (4 Handfuls), Sliced thinly

• 400g Periwinkles "isam/ Mfi", Shelled - Optional

• 400g Red Beef

• A handful Achi (About 3 tablespoon full, ground)

• 2 Scotch bonnet pepper (Yellow)

• 1 Red Onion

• 2 Seasoning cubes

• 1 Small Stock fish part

• 1 small dry fish - optional

• 1 cooking spoon crayfish

• 1 cup Palm oil

• Salt to taste

Directions:::

Step 1: To prepare the Okazi leaves, you'd have to choose between Grinding, pounding or leaving the leaves like that. The consistency of the ground okazi soup is usually thick. If you intend using it like that, simply wash the sliced leaves and set aside. If you want to pound, wash and place the leaves in a mortar and pound with a pestle till it breaks up further. You can also grind the leaves at home or with a commercial mill in the market (This is usually done with a little bit of crayfish to make it grind smoothly). - Set this aside.

  

Step 2: Grind the Achi with a dry mill and set aside.

Step 3: For this meal, i used shelled periwinkles "Mfi/isam". You could either use the shelled or un-shelled type. To prepare, wash the shelled periwinkles thoroughly to remove the mud. Chop off the sharp edge of the Isam/ Mfi with a Knife or pincer as shown in the pic below, Rinse clean and set aside

Step 4: Wash the Beef, Stockfish, Dryfish and place in a small pot. Add the ,Seasoning cubes, Salt, ground pepper and Onions. Add a little water, just enough to cover the contents of the pot and cook for about 15 mins till tender. At this point, add more water into the cooked meat. This would serve as a base for the soup.

 

Kitchen Tip: To reduce stress, you could add onion and pepper whole so that once the stock is done, they could easily be removed before the real soup preparation. This doesn't prevent it from giving you the needed flavor and basic nutritional benefits.

Step 5: Once the stock starts to boil, Simply add the palmoil and mix. Add the Achi , mix and leave to cook for about 15mins till the soup thickens. (When cooking afang, skip adding the achi).

 

Step 6: At this point, you can now add the Crayfish and Periwinkles, Leave for 5 minutes

  

Step 7:  Add the ground or sliced Okazi/ Afang (if cooking Afang, mix the afang leaves with chopped waterleaves). Leave to cook futher for 12-15mins more.

 

Turn off the burner and Serve with your favorite swallow; Garri/Eba, Fufu, wheatmeal, pounded yam, Semolina e.t.c. O! and don't forget to suck out the periwinkles, that's the best part ;)

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ VERDANT STORIES SECTION TITLE>>>>>>FORBIDDEN CONTINUED FROM 03/SEPTEMBER/2014 "It won't hurt you," he said with a sarcastic edge echoing in his voice. He left the house after telling the interpreter to guide the new corners and tell them what to do. The interpreter told them his name was Ibrahim from Garin-Alewa. He had been educated in the school and was now able to read, write and speak the Whiteman's language. "Now, you must open your heart to accept the education the Whiteman teaches. It is quite different from our Arabic schools. Here you must do everything the white man does," Ibrahim said. Just then a bell rang. Ibrahim looked at his wristwatch. It was seven p.m. "It's time for supper. We will all go to the dining room to have food," Ibrahim said. Garba realized he had been famished. He followed Ibrahim with the other boys to the dining room. There were many boys there. Garba recognized some of the boys from Dogongari but he did not go to meet them. He was wondering if this was what the Whiteman's education was all about. "Garba, son of Dandogo, your father finally let one of his sons to come here," one boy named Sule said behind him. Garba turned and saw Sule. He and Sule used to be friends before Sule was taken away to the school and when he had returned to the village, he had become somewhat pompous, not associating with the village boys whom he now called 'villagers'. "Hello Sule," Garba said. He had long accepted that his friendship with Sule had long packed following Sule's change of attitude. "How are you? I never thought you'll ever come here. I am very happy for you because this is the place where your mind gets open," Sule said. Garba did not understand, however, he smiled lazily at Sule. Sule sat beside him on the same table. "There's 'Sawa, the son of Maitabba, and there's Abu son of Iliya. I think you also remember Tanko, son of Danlcura," Sule said, pointing at boys from Dogongari. Garba knew them all. He nodded. "And there's Yakubu. He's quite close to the Whiteman Mr. Jacobs. The white man says Yakubu is his name sake, that Yakubu is the same name with Jacob," Sule said. "He lives in the master's quarters with nim." When the meal was served, it was rice and fried fish. The aroma was too much that Garba almost began to eat had Sule not stopped him. "You must wait for the prayers before you eat. And you don't eat with your fingers. This is not your bush village. Use the cutleries," he said. Garba looked at the cutleries. He had never used cutleries to eat before. He only used wooden spoon to drink fura da nunu and his hands for every other food he ate. "Bless this food, gracious Lord, for Christ's sake," Mr. Jacobs said. "Amen,"' children chorused.

 TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW....PLEASE VISIT OUR BLOG AGAIN TOMORROW FOR A CONTINUATION OF THIS AMAZING STORY!}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}