Tag: lunch

Easy Peasy Chicken + Okro Soup (ChOkro)

Posted on by ChiO

Hello, Today on the blog we have “ChOkro” soup.  In Nigeria this soup is generally known as “Okro Soup” but each tribe has a different name and variation of the soup. In my home-town – Onitsha, this soup is known as “Ofe Okro”.  “Ofe” means “Soup”.

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Okro soup is a classic Nigerian soup. It is one of the many foods that are blind to tribe and culture. Typically Okro Soup is made with a variety of proteins also known as “obstacles” (beef, goat, chicken, dried fish, smoked fish, assorted seafood,  game, tofu etc.).  When speaking about soups or sauces in Nigerian cuisine, “Obstacle(s)” is a good thing! This Okro soup is made exclusively with chicken, hence the name “ChOkro”!

ChOkro is easy to make. In about 30minutes using this recipe, you will have an impressive nutritious soup ready for consumption. All you need to do is blend and maybe chop veggies.

Ingredients:

  1. One whole organic free range chicken, OR chicken from the African store (the taste of this chicken changes everything) – it should be chopped up
  2. 2 red bell peppers
  3. 1 scotch bonnet pepper
  4. 1/2 bulb of a whole onion
  5. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  6. 1 tsp ground cameroon pepper (optional)
  7. 3 tbsp ground ogbono seeds (Irvingia gabonensis)
  8. 3 tbsp ground cray fish or shrimps
  9. 1 1/2 cups of Pomi strained tomato
  10. 2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
  11. 1 tbsp salt
  12. 1 1/2 packs of 12oz frozen chopped okro
  13. Some bagged fresh chopped Kale (use as much as you desire)

Method

  • Rinse the chicken then place in a pot.
  • In a blender, add the peppers and onion and about 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth.
  • Pour in the the blended mixture into the pot and stir.
  • Add everything else into the pot except the Okro and kale and cook on medium heat for about 20 mins.

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  • At this point, the chicken will be well cooked, the mixture would have thickened, and will look like this:

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  • Add the Okro and kale and leave to cook for about 5 mins.
  • Turn off the heat and leave to cool.

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Serve with any starch like:

Boiled rice, boiled plantain, boiled yam, or “swallow”

Honorable Mention:

** Ogbono and Crayfish both make this dish magic. You must include them.

** Ogbono thickens ChOkro and enhances the draw effect.

** This soup is typically made with PalmOil, however the combination of red bell peppers, and tomatoes not only give ChOkro the classic orangish color, but also a richer flavor, and less saturated fat.

Oya Come Chop! 🙂

Yam Porridge (YamPo’)

Posted on by ChiO

Yam Porridge (Yam Po’) is one of those meals i looked forward to as a child and as a teenager in boarding school.  I loved it for the following reasons:

  1. Yam is filling
  2. The soft velvety texture of freshly cooked Yam Po, especially if made with New yam is just a mouth celebration!
  3. The way my mother cooked Yam Po with spinach, made it a very colorful and appealing dish.
  4. Yam Po can be eaten as  breakfast, lunch, dinner, and is a party favorite as well!
  5. This dish is child friendly. Especially this mashed version which my SO loves.
  6. Yam Po is one of the most forgiving recipes i know.

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You will Need:

  • A small tuber of yam ( about 14 inches in lenght)
  • 4 large red bell peppers
  • 1 scotch bonnet pepper
  • 1 large red onion
  • 1 cup of crushed tomatoes (I used Pomi)
  • 1/4 cup of EVOO
  • 2 cubes of chicken bouillion (I used Knorr)
  • 1 tbsp group crayfish or powdered shrimps
  • 3-4 cups of water
  • 3 cups of chopped spinach
  • 2 cups of deboned smoked or dried fish (any type of fish will work.)
  • 1 tsp salt

** This dish is traditionally made with palmoil, but this recipe replaces the palmoil with EVOO and the red bell peppers for color.**

Method of preparation

  1. Peel and cut the yam into bite sized cubes.
  2. Wash peeled yam, thoroughly and transfer to a non-stick cooking pot.
  3. Add two cup of water to the cooking pot containing yams, then set aside.
  4. Chop, and blend the peppers, onions with half cup of water until smooth.
  5. Pour blended mixture, EVOO, tomatoes, cubes, salt, crayfish, and fish into the cooking pot.
  6. Add half a cup of water to the pot and then cook with pot covered for about 15 mins.
  7. The yam should be soft and the porridge thickened after 15 mins.
  8. Now begin to mash the yam using a wooden spoon
  9. Continue mashing with the stove still on, until the porridge is smooth or lumpy enough to your taste. ( i like mine more lumpy than smooth)
  10. Add the frozen spinach, stir  to distribute spinach evenly, and then leave to cook for about 5 more minutes
  11. Add more water while cooking if you prefer a thinner porridge.
  12. After 5 minutes of adding the spinach, Yam is ready for immediate consumption.

Enjoy with:

  • Boiled or Fried Eggs
  • Fish
  • Chicken, or Steak.

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Oya come chop 🙂