Hi and welcome to my blog.
Happy Sunday, everyone. So on today's Creative Sunday, I'll be sharing the recipe I used to make this delicacy known as vegetable and water leaf soup, also known as "Edikiakong." Please pardon me Akwa-ibomites if I spelled it incorrectly.
This is really my favorite soup, and whenever my mother cooks it, I usually join her in the kitchen since I really enjoy it.
So, I suggested making the soup today, and of course I volunteered to cook it while my mother went to the market to purchase the ingredients. Although my mother purchased the ingredients yesterday, since most market vendors attend church on Sundays and will not be available until the late hours.
Below is a list of the ingredients:
- Vegetable(Ugwu leaf)
- Water leaf
- Onion
- Crayfish
- smoked fish
- Dried fish
- Beef
- Maggie
- Salt
- Palm Oil
- Pre-winkle(isam)
- fresh pepper
Recipe
- I began by picking the water leaf and vegetable leaf (Ugwu) one at a time and cutting the stems off.
That was a lot, so I needed my mother's help. I spent about one hour doing it.
- I then went ahead to properly and individually washed the different leaves with clean water. I washed them approximately three times to remove the sand that was inside of them after they were harvested.
- Next, after slicing the water leaf first and separating it into a pot, I cut the vegetable leaf separately as well.
I had to persuade my mother to slice the vegetables so that we could meet up going to church this morning.
Next I washed my beef with clean water and salt, put it in a small clean pot, cut some onions, added about two Maggie cubes, added two cups of water, and let it steam.
I then washed the fresh pepper and crayfish and blended them.
Next I rinsed the smoked fish, stockfish, and dried fish with hot water to remove any hidden insects.
Next, in order to extract the water from the water leaf, I put the sliced water leaf in a clean pot and heated it for 5–10 minutes. Although,other people like using their hands to squeeze the water out.
After draining the water, I used a filter to filter the water. I then added some palm oil to a dry pot, added the water leaf inside, and stirred.
After a few minutes of stirring, I added my blended fresh pepper and crayfish, beef, beef stock, cleaned smoked fish, and dried/stock fish to the pot and let it boil
- I then went on to wash my pre-winkle.
** I chose to use the one that still had its shell on, which requires thorough cleansing**
*I added salt and water to a container with the pre-winkle, cover it, and give it a good shake. I went through that procedure multiple times until I was certain that all of the slime had been removed.
- Then I added it to the boiling pot and stirred it.
Once the soup had cooked for 15 to 25 minutes, I added my Maggie and salt to taste, stirred it and allowed it to continue cooking.
- Next I added the thinly cut vegetables and stirred one more. I let it boil for approximately five minutes before turning off the stove.
My vegetable and water leaf soup is now ready.
Eat with Semo, fufu, or Eba.
N/B:All photographs were taken by me with my mobile phone