African foods

Okra soup contains sliced okra fruit, meat, crayfish, seasoning cubes, salt, pepper, etc.

I like this soup because it is very easy to prepare and likely the cheapest soup in Nigeria.I remember making a pot of (Okra) Okro soup with just two hundred and fifty Naira, (10 years ago 😀 )… more like a one-dollar soup.

You can use frozen fish, Okra and some other ingredients to prepare the soup, then you could buy a good frozen fish with just forty or fifty Naira, I am talking about the “good old days”.Okra soup is one of the most common soups eaten by the people of Igbo, often, I combine okro and ogbono for better results, you can learn more here about making Nigerian Ogbolo(ogbono) soup.

Is Okro soup Good for Kids?
There are several reasons I like this soup, the most outstanding reason being that kids love it, I learned that the best way to introduce eba or fufu to kids is to serve it with Okra or ogbono soup, this way it would be very easy for them to swallow, I have tried it, it worked for my kids. 😀

Okra is also good for adults, I just made a pot of okra soup before writing this, a tiny quantity that would serve for this night, it is Sunday night here in Nigeria. I like this soup because the two major ingredients are very rich in vitamins (okra and fluted pumpkin)So let’s make a delicious pot of Nigerian Okro soup, The exact way an Igbo woman would like to make it, Did I tell you that Okra is one of the most popular soup in Igbo land especially from April to July, its exact harvest season

Below is the list of ingredients that were used, you can always increase or reduce depending on the number of the person you are looking to feed and of course their stomach sizes.

Ingredients For (Okro) Okra Soup
Serving 4×2 | Preparation time:

Sliced Okra (a medium-size bowl full)
Stockfish head (medium size)
1 kg of meat (chicken)
5 shombo peppers
2 scotch bonnet peppers
500g mackerel
2 seasoning cubes
Salt to taste.
200ml Red (palm) oil
half cup of ground crayfish

Here are some ingredients that I use for making this soup.Preparations
Step 1

Slice the okra and set it aside in a bowl, the trader in most Nigerian markets can assist you with slicing the okra, but you can also try using a kitchen knife, I like to slice Okra myself, although there is no harm in using the help of the market women.

Remove center seeds from the shombo, combine with scotch bonnet and blend or pound using a mortar and pestle. Also, blend or grind the crayfish.I used just 1kg (2.2lb) of chicken and 500g of fish for this okra soup.

I like to parboil meat with lots of spices and then use very little while making the real soup.

How to Make Okro Soup
Step 2

Wash the fish/chicken and season with a half teaspoon of salt, two seasoning cubes, a cup of water, and half a cup of sliced onions.
Allow it to boil together for 10-15 minutes. Remove them while leaving the stock in the pot.

Step 3

Add the stockfish to the boiling pot, one more cup of water, and cook for about 10 minutes till they are soft for consumption.

Add two cups of water.

Step 4

Introduce 200ml of palm oil, add the crayfish, pepper/shombo, and salt to taste.

Let it boil for 8 minutes. Add the cooked chicken/fish and allow simmering for three more minutes.

Step 5

Add the sliced okra and stir. Drop the cooked mackerel fish on top.

Allow simmering for 3-4 minutes, and you are done with this delicious soup.

You can serve ofe okro with eba, fufu or pounded yam.