How to prepare White Soup (AFIA EFERE)
INGREDIENTS FOR MY NIGERIAN WHITE SOUP:
• 1kg Meat (preferably goat meat)
• 2 medium sized Smoked catfish
• 1 Stock fish pack (Optional)
• 2 little slices of boiled yam for thickening
• A handful chopped uziza leaves
• 1 teaspoon uziza seeds (optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground fresh Pepper (Scotch bonnet)
• 1 small Onion to boil the meat
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon palm oil (Optional)
• 2 seasoning cubes
• Water, enough to cover the meat after boiling, you can always adjust by adding some more water if soup is getting too thick.
COOKING STEPS FOR MY NIGERIAN WHITE SOUP:
- Boil the meat with salt, one (1) seasoning cube and onion only, add pepper and stock fish after it begins to boil.
- When meat is tender enough, add just a drop of palm oil or a teaspoon. Just enough to make it look beautiful, (If the stock fish is the dark type that cooks fast, remove from heat before adding palm oil, and return when the soup is almost ready) otherwise you leave it white after all, that's the name. Let meat cook until it's almost tender.
- Add more water to the quantity of soup you want to make, enough to cover the almost cooked meat. Check for salt and seasoning. Cover and leave to boil.
- Add the pounded, one(1) or two(2) slices of boiled yam if you are using yam to thicken. If cocoyam (ede), add the pounded boiled cocoyam and the (bone picked) smoked fish. Cover and leave to boil while you stir frequently until you are Ok with the thickness. Do not forget to stir almost continuously, that way the pounded yam or cocoyam in the pot gently disintegrates and thickens the soup
- Check for thickness and salt before adding the washed, chopped hot leaf (uziza). If you like the uziza aroma stronger, pound and add the seeds too to enhance that flavour.
- Stir, cover the pot and let the uziza simmer into the soup.
- Turn off the heat and serve with your pounded yam.
