Nigerian vegetable soup, or edikaikong soup, is a traditional Nigerian soup made with assorted meats, seafood and vegetables and served with one of Nigeria’s standard side dishes for soups and stews: ugi. Ugu is the name for the fluted pumpkin leaf, which is grown in Nigeria and other tropical African countries.
How To prepare Vegetable soup (Edikaikong)
Step 1
Wash the assorted meats well under running water, and place the meats in a large soup or stew pot. Meats used in Nigerian vegetable soup include oxtail, beef, trip, goat and chicken.
Step 2
Add the medium onion and stock to the pot. Add the ground chillies or hot pepper to taste, if you desire, and cook the mixture over a medium heat for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Rinse the prepackaged snails and periwinkles well in cool, running water.
Step 4
Rinse the smoked dried fish well under running water, and place them in salt water for about 5 minutes to loosen dirt and kill insects. Rinse with cold water.
Step 5
Clean the other seafood ingredients by washing them under running water.
Step 6
Add the seafood ingredients to the pot, and cook on the stove over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add more stock to the pot if necessary.
Step 7
Rinse the ugu and waterleaf well, and use a knife to cut the leaves into thin strips.
Step 8
Add the ugu leaves and the waterleaf to the pot, stir to mix thoroughly, and allow the ingredients to simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 9
Add the crayfish, stir to mix the ingredients, and simmer for 10 minutes. If desired, add salt to taste and a few tablespoons of palm oil to the pot.
Step 10
Remove the pot from the heat, and serve.