I always say that cooking should be fun not hard labour. Here’s one of the ways to save some time in the kitchen.
We are taught to arrange leafy vegetables before slicing them. I call that the prim and proper way where one spends lots of time arranging the vegetables. I don’t even want to think about arranging and cutting those vegetables on a day I will cook Nigerian Vegetable Soup (Edikang Ikong).
With the method detailed below, you are done in no time.
Please note that when you want to slice the vegetables for use as garnish for Nkwobi, Isi Ewu or Abacha, you will need to arrange the vegetables. The good thing is that in those instances, it’s not too much work because we usually need a small quantity of vegetables for garnish.
Here’s how to do it:
- Pick the vegetables from the stalk.
- Wash them in plenty of cool water. Add salt to the water if you wish.
- Place the vegetables in a sieve to drain.
- To slice, deep your finger tips into the vegetables in the sieve and grab as many leaves as you can comfortably hold in your hand.
- Place the leaves on a chopping board and cut them in half with a sharp knife.
- While holding one half of the vegetables in one hand, use your other hand to tuck the other half under the one you are holding.
- Using the perfect straight edge of vegetables as reference, slice the rest of the vegetables normally.
Watch the video below to see how I do it.
Egusi soup: When I lived in Brooklyn, NY getting the ingredients to make anything foreign was not a problem. Living in north Florida seems to be impossible in obtaining most things used in Caribbean/foreign dishes. The same person who fed me MoiMoi fed me Egusi soup, I loved it. The Shaki is Tripe in the US, if the equivalent or close to African ingredients can be added to your recipes it might just encourage me to drive further south in search of what I’ll need to at least get in the ballpark of the recipes. The videos are excellent and the music really nice. You are neck and neck with Caribbean Pot.com
and I admit I’m leaning towards you, but it ain’t easy.
Ronnie I’m so glad to read that you are enjoying these Nigerian foods. 🙂 But I’m sad to read that these ingredients are hard to find in North Florida. For crayfish, you can use roasted prawns. You can skip the dry fish and stock fish. Smoked fish (especially Mackerel) will give you similar traditional effects. Please let me know about other ingredients that are not there.
I love healthy meals and somehow I stumbled on this site. I tried the steamed veggies yesterday and I dont know any other healthier way than this. You are genius and I am liking virtually everything I am seeing on this site. Not only the delicious recipes but also the science behind your cooking, like using the hen instead of cockerel, and adding salt later and earlier. Thank you for the site now I can stay healthy without breaking the bank.
So glad you find the site helpful Temmy! Thanks for your kind words o but I’m no genius dear. 🙂 We all have our unique ways and from reading your comment, I am sure that if I picked your smart brain, I will find lots of nuggets in there that will wow me.
You are simply amazing! I’m learning a lot from your website. Considering I’m a student in college, its quite difficult here. But anyways thank you. All the info are amazing. Cooked ofe oha just today, turned out well. But there’s something I to want ask, in cooking ofe nsala, is it compulsory you use catfish? And in egusi can’t I use ugwu as the vegetable?. Wish u an amazing day.
Hi Jessica. Well done for winning with that ofe oha, it’s not an easy one to prepare.
For Ofe Nsala, I would say Yes and No to your question. 🙂 Yes, it is compulsory because really, it is not ofe nsala if it does not contain catfish. The soup gets its unique classic taste from the catfish. I will also say No, it’s not compulsory because I am aware of the struggle to prepare Nigerian food outside Nigeria where the ingredients are not easily available and/or in your case, as a college student who may be trying to prepare these meals on a budget.
So my dear, go ahead and prepare it with any fish that is available to you. Here in Spain, I use Conger Eel because catfish is almost impossible to buy where I live. And Conger eel gives the soup almost the same taste as catfish, some people do not even notice the difference. More information in the written Nsala Soup recipe under alternative ingredients. And it is Congel Eel that I used for the soup you’ll see on that page.
For the Egusi Soup; yes, prepare it with ugu leaves (Nigerian pumpkin leaves). In fact in Nigeria, most people prepare it with ugu leaves rather than my choice vegetable bitter leaves. I use bitter leaves because Egusi Soup gives me heartburn; bitter leaves tone down the “sweetness” of the soup for me. In this Egusi Soup (Fried method) recipe.
Hope these help. You are awesome!
Just wanted to say, thank you auntie Flo.
You are welcome Michael. This sure warms my heart. 🙂
I always see cooking as hardwork till I stumble on this site. Thanks for making cooking fun for me and also giving my family a healthier meal.
You are very welcome dear Uche! Yes, cooking is hard work but we can all have fun doing it. Don’t stop cooking darling. 🙂
Tanks dea ….u are awesome
Please is there an other methed of cooking chicken broth sauce for white rice….. Kindly reply because I want to make this on sunday
Hi Treasure, check out this Vegetable Sauce recipe and see if it is the one you need.
Hello Flo thumbs up, really enjoying d recipes it’s now more like a companion the whipping milk for d cheese z it compulsory knt c it around and d popsicle lil bit difficult to find thanks alot*
Hi Perry!
The whipping milk for the cheese? Please which recipe is that?
If you can’t buy the popsicle mold where you live, just put them in small cups such as those small party cups and put in your freezer. Then enjoy with a spoon when ready.
Glad you are having fun with the recipes. 🙂
Can’t thank you enough for all l’ve learnt from you, from breakfast to dinner. I confidently direct my friends to “allnigerianrecipe” . Thanks for making life easy