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Ofe oha (oha leaf soup)
Ofe Ọha: Igbo palm-oil soup of tender oha leaves, thickened with cocoyam, with meat and stockfish
Tender oha leaves, with their mild, slightly sweet taste, are prized in Enugu and Anambra, and ofe oha is the soup many Igbo families bring out for Christmas, weddings and Sunday visits. Boiled cocoyam is pounded and melted into a palm-oil broth rich with beef, stockfish, dried fish and crayfish, giving a thick, velvety soup with the oha folded in at the very end, to eat with pounded yam, fufu or eba. Adding all the cocoyam at once is a frequent mistake that turns the soup gluey; add it in stages and stop at the thickness you want. Stockfish needs an overnight soak first unless you buy it pre-soaked. Chef's tip: tear oha leaves by hand rather than cutting them, as cooks traditionally do, and add them in the last 2 minutes.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the stock
- 1 ⅛ lb stewing beef or goat meatcut into 3 cm pieces
- 7 oz cleaned beef tripe (shaki) (optional)cut into strips
- 5 ½ oz stockfishsoaked overnight, cut into pieces; or pre-soaked
- 1 onionsliced
- 2 stock cubescrumbled; check they are gluten free
- 1 tsp salt
For the soup
- 10 ½ oz cocoyam (ede) or tarounpeeled
- ½ cup red palm oil
- 3 tbsp ground crayfish
- 1 tbsp ogiri or okpei (fermented seeds) (optional)sub: 1 tbsp iru or 1 tsp white miso
- 1 smoked dried fishabout 150 g, deboned, in chunks
- 2 ⅞ oz oha leavesabout 3 handfuls; sub: young spinach with a few bitterleaf leaves
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 1 ⅛ lb stewing beef or goat meat, 7 oz cleaned beef tripe (shaki) and 5 ½ oz stockfish in a large pot with 1 onion, 2 stock cubes, 1 tsp salt and 1.2 litres water. Simmer for 50–60 minutes, until the meat and tripe are tender.
55 minStep 2: Meanwhile boil 10 ½ oz cocoyam (ede) or taro in its skin for 20–30 minutes, until a fork slides in easily. Peel while warm and pound or blend with 3 tbsp water into a smooth, stretchy paste.
30 minStep 3: Add ½ cup red palm oil, 3 tbsp ground crayfish, 2 tsp ground scotch bonnet or dried chilli and 1 tbsp ogiri or okpei (fermented seeds) to the meat pot and simmer for 10 minutes until the oil has mixed into an orange broth.
10 minStep 4: Pinch off half the cocoyam paste in small lumps and drop them in. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring, until they dissolve. Add more only if the soup is still thinner than double cream.
10 minStep 5: Add 1 smoked dried fish and simmer for 5 minutes, until heated through and flaking.
5 minStep 6: Tear 2 ⅞ oz oha leaves leaves by hand into the soup, stir and cook for 2 minutes only, until just wilted. Taste for salt and serve hot with pounded yam or fufu.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 45 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ofe oha (oha leaf soup) take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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