FOOD : How To Make Afang Soup The Akwa Ibom Way 2021

 

On the 8th of March 2021, clarion call took me to Akwa Ibom shortly after I graduated from the University. As soon as I received my posting letter and I saw Akwa ibom, I knew I was in for food adventure. Indeed, 

my expectation was met during my one year compulsory sojourn. This is how my romance with the soup started; now I can talk and even give people Afang Soup recipe as I picked it from Akwa Ibom.

The night I arrived the beautiful city of Uyo the capital of Akwa Ibom, I was completely exhausted and hungry….So, I had to visit the restaurant. My first meal was Afang soup plus Garri (Eba).

 I had not tasted the soup before and I decided to give it a shot since it had always being talked about as a super soup by many who have been opportune to have a bite. As it was served, not only did the soup look so attractive, it also smelled great. With enthusiasm,

 I took the first bolus of Eba with the soup. It took me by surprise. Delicious was an understatement.

As a young man who had lived his entire life majorly in Yorubaland, none of their soups taste this great. As stay with the indigenes during my service year, 

I did learn the nitty-gritty of how the soup is prepared to taste the Akwa Ibom way. Follow the recipe and all included below and your highly nutritious Afang soup is ready.

Ingredients For Cooking Afang Soup

• About 1kg of goat meat, 0.5kg of Stock Fish and 2 big African snails (Optional)
• Half tin cup of Cray fish, Seasoning cubes, preferably Knorr (To make it tasty)
• Pepper, Yellow pepper and Salt
• Small amount of beef (optional), dry fish, 250g of kpomo (Cow skin), Onions (1-2 bulbs depending on size) and periwinkle.
• Water as needed.
• Finally, Water leaves and Afang leaves as appropriate.

Pre-cooking Steps Involved In Cooking Afang Soup

Step 1: Wash properly the goat meat, beef, kpomo, snail (with lime or potash), stock fish ( in salty hot water for few minutes). Keep the goat meat, beef, kpomo and snail meat in a cooking pot after they had been washed properly.

Step 2: Wash, drain and slice the Water leaves and Afang leaves. The sliced Afang leafs has to be grinded.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, wash and dice onions and some pepper.

Important Note: Do not forget to properly wash your hands before handling the food items.

How To Prepare The Popular Afang Soup

The following steps will guide you in preparing the Afang soup the way people of Akwa Ibom state prepare it.

• Place the washed meats in step 1 above on low heat and cook until the meats are tender. Do not forget to add adequate amount of water, diced onions, pepper and salt. After the meats are tender, add the washed stock fish and cook for about a minutes or two. Ensure you have enough stock water.
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• Add palm oil and allow to boil for two minutes.
• Add the diced water leaves and allow to cook for about 3 minutes
• Add other ingredients like Maggi (seasoning), crayfish and periwinkle and allow to boil before adding the Afang leaves. Taste the soup to know if there is need to add more salts. Allow to cook for about 3 minutes. Ensure the leaves still possess the greenness.

Your Afang soup is ready to be served.

Afang soup has medicinal purposes for sore throats, nausea and loss of appetite It is a rich source of vitamins with loaded essential and non- essential amino acids. It also has anti- inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Go ahead and go give it a try.