Ogbono soup: How To Cook Ogbono Soup

Ogbono soup: How To Cook Ogbono Soup

Ogbono soup colloquially known as draw soup is one of the popular Nigerian soups. Different tribes in Nigeria eat ogbono soup. To have a lovely taste, you can eat ogbono soup with eba (garri), fufu, semo, and pounded yam.
Ogbono soup is easy to prepare. The slimy nature and how it goes down easily through the throat is one of the reasons people always demand for it.
The main ingredient for ogbono soup is the ogbono seed. Ogbono, the scientific name Irvingia seeds, can be prepared with okra depending how you want it to be.
Aside using the ogbono seed, there are other ingredients for ogbono soup recipe.

Ingredients for ogbono soup

• Ogbono seed
• Vegetables (ugu or bitter leaf)
• Palm oil
• Okra
• Pepper- either fresh or dry
• Crayfish
• Onion
• Meat- Beef, goat, bush meat
• Iru (Fermented locust bean)
• Maggi
• Salt
• Stock fish
• Dried fish
• Ponmo (Cow hide)

Direction For Cooking Ogbono Soup

Ogbono soup can actually be prepared in different ways. It can come in plain form or have you add you vegetables such as ugu or bitter leaf. The ugu leaf is often used in preparing ogbono soup.
The cooking direction can also go in two ways such as frying the ogbono seed or pouring the already grounded ogbono seed into a boiling water that contains cooked meat and stock fish.

In this article, we shall show you how you can prepare your ogbono soup using the two methods listed here.

Frying Method Of Cooking Ogbono Soup

Wash the meat and put to pot. If you are using other meat type such as cow skin and tripe, it is important you cook them separately. As they stay longer to cook. Once the meat is tender, add your stock fish and seasoning cubes.
Using knorr seasoning tastes better in ogbono soup. Transfer the cooked meat and stock fish to a bowl and place the pot on fire.
Pour palm oil and allow the oil to heat for 1 minute, now add iru(fermented castor oil bean), the grounded ogbono seed mixed with crayfish to the pot and stir. Stir for 2-3 minutes and then pour the already cooked meat and stock fish to the pot and allow it to cook for 5 minutes. Add the dried fish, pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable you want to use.
If you are using ugu vegetable, once you put to the pot, stir it and bring it down immediately. But if you are using bitter leaf, you can allow the soup to cook for 5 more minutes to allow the leaf soften a little.

Non-frying Method Of Cooking Ogbono Soup

This method is cherished by many including me. The reason is because, without frying the ogbono seed, the ogbono soup get to draw more.
To prepare your ogbono soup in this way; Boil your meat. Remember if you are using tripe or cow hide, you should cook them separately.
When the meat is tender, add the stock fish, and season it with salt and seasoning (knorr) Mix ground ogbono seed with palm oil.
Then add to the pot of boiled meat. Add your crayfish and pepper. In case you don’t want to mix the ogbono with palm oil, you can pour the grounded ogbono to the pot of boiled meat and then add palm oil to it. It can go either way.
Bring to a boil and allow it to cook for up to 10 minutes. Add a cube of maggi depending how many cubes you used while boiling the meat. If you are okay with the thickness, it is time to add vegetable. Once you add the ugu that’s if it is what you are using, bring it down immediately. The ogbono soup is ready. It is better served hot.
And you can eat it with bolus (any swallow of your choice). Tips If you’re frying the ogbono, do not allow it get burnt. The oil shouldn’t be very hot and you should only fry for about 3-5 minutes. Also, if you want to try the non-frying method, do not cover the pot, as this will make the ogbono pour out When buying ogbono seed, ask for real ogbono seed.
Some are just ordinary wild mango which doesn’t draw like the real ogbono seed. There are packaged grounded ogbono seed, if you are using this, you must know it won’t draw like the one you buy and ground immediately. Ogbono soup is a special delicacy.

Try to prepare a pot of ogbono soup this weekend and do give us feedback.