Learn how to prepare egusi soup with Ugu with this guide
Egusi soup is a well loved West African soup it is also known as melon seed soup. Egusi soup is highly rich in nutrients and can be prepared in several ways. Most tribes in Nigeria have a particular way of preparing egusi soup, this soup can be prepared using the frying method or boiling method. It can as well be prepared with vegetables like spinach, scent leaf, waterleaf, bitter leaf, and so on. This soup is often eaten with swallow dishes like pounded yam, semovita, amala, fufu, etc.
Just imagine serving pounded yam and egusi soup with assorted meat for lunch. Yummy! Isn’t it? I will be taking you through the journey of preparing egusi soup. This soup is one of the most sought after soups in gatherings. It is one soup you get to see at social events, very delicious. Note: No matter which method you are using to prepare this soup, make sure not to add lots of oil. To brighten the color of the egusi soup, use tomato puree which is a mixture of tomatoes and a blend of peppers to get the desired look and flavor. Use this recipe to learn how to prepare egusi soup with Ugu.
How to prepare Nigerian Egusi soup?
The Nigerian Egusi soup could be prepared using different cooking methods, in the next lines we will tell you all the different options you have to achieve this recipe.
The Frying method to prepare the egusi soup
Most people use this method. The taste and aroma are simply nice. To follow this egusi soup recipe,
- Add palm oil in a pot, allow it to heat up a little, and don’t make the oil very hot.
- Add onion and egusi. Start frying the egusi (melon seed).
- Stir until the egusi is dried. Do not allow the egusi to get burnt( Don’t deep fry your egusi).
- Add the cooked meat and stock into the egusi and stir until it completely dissolves.
- Cook for 10 minutes and add pepper, crayfish, stockfish, and dried fish.
- Then add your vegetable. If it is ugu, once you add the ugu to the pot, bring it down. Immediately. For the bitter leaf, you can allow it to cook for 5 minutes. Bring down and serve with any swallow of your choice.
This are the main steps of this guide on how to prepare egusi soup with Ugu. Bring down and serve with any bolus (swallow of your choice).
The boiling/non-frying method to prepare the egusi soup
This egusi soup recipe is recommended by dieticians as the best, especially for people, advised not to eat fried foods. To prepare your egusi soup using the non-frying method, here are the steps for it.
- Wash the meat.
- Season the meat with stock cubes, salt, a bulb of onion, and boil until it is tender. If you are using tripe (shaki) and ponmo, you may cook them before the beef or goat meat as they take time to cook.
- Wash the stockfish properly and add them to the pot.
- Pour the grounded egusi into the pot, stir and allow it to cook for 15 minutes. Add sufficient water so that the egusi won’t get burnt.
- Add palm oil, pepper, dried fish and allow it to cook for 10 minutes.
- Now, add the vegetable-Ugu/spinach/bitter leaf or the uziza leaf.
- The food is ready. Serve with hot pounded yam or any bolus of your choice.
The moulding method to prepare the egusi soup
This is another great recipe and a bonus method on how to prepare egusi soup with Ugu, here, you are to mould the grounded egusi into balls and add to boiling water that contains the assorted meat and stockfish. Even if, there are variations in cooking egusi soup, however, the ingredients for egusi soup for whatever cooking method you choose to use will always remain the same. Some people prefer eating this soup with rice and the taste is wonderful.
Use this method to prepare egusi soup it is healthy. No frying and if you enjoy eating the balls like meat, then this method should be your best. You don’t need to scatter the moulded egusi just to have that ball shape feeling.
Which is our conclusion?
Egusi soup indeed is a special delicacy, it is also important to note that the fat content in egusi is quite high and can lead to excessive weight gain. If you can’t stay without eating egusi soup every day, it is crucial you add adequate vegetables.
The coking methods as listed here are popular and easy to make. It is good you try out other methods of egusi soup recipe to see for yourself.
As you can see, the Egusi soup is easy to prepare. Make sure you cook the egusi properly and follow all the steps we cover in this guide on how to prepare egusi soup with Ugu, you must remember that an uncooked egusi can be bad to your health and could cause you stomach pain.
