Nigerian Fisherman Soup
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
15 mins
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Cook Time
50 mins
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Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
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Servings
4 servings
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Course
Main Course, Soup
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Cuisine
Nigerian
Nigerian Fisherman Soup
Description
The recipe for Nigerian Fisherman Soup incorporates multiple seafood varieties including fresh fish, sea snails, clams, periwinkles, and shrimp. A key thickening component comes from cocoyam (taro), which is cooked until tender and pureed into a smooth paste. The soup is seasoned with uziza seeds and leaves (false kubeb), providing a distinctive peppery and aromatic character, alongside sliced bitter leaves that contribute depth and slight bitterness.
The use of red palm oil adds a rich, deep color and mildly smoky flavor typical of West African dishes. The preparation involves simmering the seafood in broth along with the spices before adding the cocoyam and greens to achieve a slurry-like consistency that is thicker than a broth but lighter than a stew.
Nigerian Fisherman Soup is served alongside fufu, a starchy side made from cassava or other roots, which balances the intense flavors of the soup and offers a textural contrast. This dish embodies the coastal culinary traditions of Nigeria, combining fresh seafood with native herbs and tubers.
Ingredients
- 2 kg fish fresh
- 1 kg sea snails
- 70 g clams
- 1/4 kg periwinkles
- 1/2 kg Shrimp
- 6 cocoyam taro, medium size
- 1 tbsp uziza seeds false kubeb
- 2 habanero pepper chopped, yellow
- 2 stock cube big
- bitter leaves sliced
- uziza leaves false kubeb (sliced)
- 2 tbsps Red Palm Oil or ¼ cup
Instructions
- Place the peeled, rinsed, and chopped cocoyam in a pot. Add water and cook for 20 minutes, until tender. Drain, then purée in a blender until smooth.
- Put the sea snails in a pot with the stock cubes, cover with water, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the fish, clams, sea snails, shrimp, and ground uziza. If required, top up the water and simmer until fully cooked.
- Remove the fish from the saucepan and set aside.
- Add the cocoyam in small chunks. Add the palm oil, yellow pepper, and bitter leaves.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Put the fish back in the soup pot. Stir, then cover and simmer.
- When the mixture becomes a slurry and is no longer soupy or stew-like, remove from the heat. Serve with fufu as a side.
Notes
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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