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Recipes with ugu

3 recipes that use ugu, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Iwuk edesi (palm oil rice), takes 60 minutes. It is most often cooked with crayfish, onion and red palm oil.

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Iwuk edesi (palm oil rice)

In Calabar and across Efik and Ibibio country, iwuk edesi is weekday cooking: rice simmered in one pot with red palm oil, onions, scotch bonnet, ground crayfish and flaked smoked fish, then finished with a handful of scent leaves or ugu so it smells peppery and green. Elsewhere in Nigeria people call it native or palm oil rice, and it turns up at village gatherings by the potful. The rice is orange-gold, a little oily and deeply savoury. Crayfish is shellfish, so take care with allergies. The common mistake is burning the palm oil until it smokes and turns pale; warm it only until it shimmers and it keeps its colour and nutty taste. Chef's tip: pick through the smoked fish carefully for bones and soak it in hot salted water for 10 minutes; it softens and loses its grit.

60 minNigerianRice & GrainsGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ofe Owerri (festive ugu and okazi soup)

Owerri people speak of their soup with pride, and it is famous for how much goes into the pot: goat meat, tripe, stockfish and dried fish, simmered in palm oil and thickened with cocoyam, then finished with two leaves, chewy okazi and soft, sweet ugu. It is festive food for weddings, Christmas and big family gatherings across Imo State, and it is served with pounded yam or fufu. Adding the ugu too early is a common mistake that leaves the leaves dark and mushy; it goes in last, after the okazi has had time to soften. Stockfish needs an overnight soak first unless bought pre-soaked. Chef's tip: soak dried okazi in warm water for 10 minutes before cooking so it softens evenly.

140 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ogbono soupWild mango seed soup

Ogbono is cooked all over Nigeria, from Enugu and Onitsha to Lagos canteens, and its stretchy, 'drawy' texture is the whole point: the ground seeds of the wild bush mango thicken the soup into silky strands that slide down with eba, fufu or pounded yam. The flavour is earthy and nutty, rounded out with palm oil, crayfish, stockfish and assorted meat, and finished with a handful of ugu or bitter leaf. It is a quick soup once the meat is cooked and a weekday favourite. Ground ogbono is sold in African shops; buy it fresh, as stale ogbono tastes musty. Chef's tip: dissolve the ogbono in warm palm oil off the heat before adding the stock, so it melts into the soup without lumps.

65 minNigerianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with ugu