There is something about pub food that feels soothing at the end of a long day, especially if you are with your guys, watching a football match or something. If you ask me what my favorite pub food is, I won’t say fries or chicken. I’ll say pepper soup. Not just any pepper soup, either ox tail pepper soup or catfish pepper soup with maybe bread in the side and some liquid. Where I take it, it usually takes maybe 5 minutes to arrive and it usually arrives in deep bowls that steam like a small volcano, youd think it is too hot but it is actually just right. Let me start with ox tail pepper soup. The ox tail is cut into thick, generous rounds, they are very generous with their rounds, it feels the bowl to the tee. When it simmers long enough, the meat becomes so tender to the point where it nearly falls off with a gentle nudge of the spoon. Its like those tender meat videos that the meat just falls off, I mean if you are going to the pub to eat and have a good time, everything should be stress free and good. The broth is rich and not too thick from the marrow .. Every sip carries layers of flavor, the sharp warmth of ata rodo or pepper or even spices as it is called depending on where you are reading this from.
One day I struck up the chef in a conversation about the soup, he says he toasts the spices at midnight before grinding them, swearing that the quiet of the night deepens their flavor. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know the result tastes like magic. Eating ox tail pepper soup in a pub feels different from eating it at home. At home, it’s comfort. In the pub, it’s celebration. In fact, The pepper hits the back of your throat and clears your mind in the best way possible. You pause between bites, sip your drink, and let the warmth spread from your chest to your fingertips. Then there is catfish pepper soup. Catfish is expressive, sometimes i order the whole cat fish and sometimes just a part of the fish.It cooks quickly, absorbing the spices while still retaining its texture. When you lift a piece with your spoon, it flakes softly. The broth or soup of catfish pepper soup is different from the ox tail pepper soup. What I love most about pepper soup in a pub setting. Someone always coughs lightly from the heat, someone else laughs, someone asks for extra pepper, if you can imagine. Pepper soup, especially ox tail and catfish is perfectly suited for a lively pub.