How To Cook Edikaikon Soup

personally, i just do'nt fancy EDIKAIKON ----- what  is all the fuss about it anyway  ? i 've tried it a couple of times, 1st back in niger and then london -----meen E.G.You,S.I soup ni baba --  ( king) 

EDIKANG IKONG


INGREDIENTS               QUANTITIES

Beef                  8 medium pieces.
Cow Skin                  6 medium pieces
Smoked fish (Calabar type)                         1 med. Size
Stockfish Head               1 small size         
Ikong Ubong (pumpkin leaves)         4 Med. size bunch
Water leaves               2 med. Heap
Onion    (Optional)            1 small size
Fresh or dry pepper                            3 medium size or 1 tablespoon
Palm Oil                  3 cookingspoons
Crayfish (ground)               3 tablespoons
Maggi Cube               4
Water                  4 cups
Salt                  To taste.



METHOD

-  Wash and season the beef with salt, and Maggi Cube, few slices of onion
   and steam   with  the washed  stockfish head for  about 15 minutes.
-  Add the water, Cow skin and cook till soft.
-  Add the Crayfish, washed smoked fish, pepper and palm oil to the pot
   containing the meat, stockfish and cow skin.
-  Stir and allow boiling for about 10 minutes.
-  Add the remaining Maggi Cube and the shredded waterleaves.
-  Stir and cover the pot, cook for about 2 minutes.
-  Allow cooking for few minutes.
-  Add the shredded Ikong Ubong leaves, and cover the pot.  Cook for
-  Stir again thoroughly.  Simmer for about 8 minutes, stir.
-  Taste and add salt to taste.  Simmer for another few minutes, Stir.
-  Remove from heat and serve with cassava fufu or Eba or Pounded yam.






                                                                                                               

i fancy ikpang and afang soup hahah thank god my moms mother is calabar i get to eat alot of this in america freshly made out of mama's kictchen.

please remove water cause it is forbidden here as this is edikanikong not ordinary vegetable soup and the stockfish the real one will serve you better than the head as the head are for those who cannot afford the real one and please add enough palmoil. thank you

Finally, i ate the soup at one restaurant in Enugu. The soup sweet  no be small o. I enjoyed it to the last.
3 gbosas for calabar people

Please don't add water to the soup. It is meant to be thick. When the meat is properly steamed with only just a bit of juice left, then add the water leave. It will give you the water you need in the soup. Add all the ingredients including the palm oil and let it cook well. The last thing that should go in the pot is the ikong (the pumpkin leaves). The leaves have to be prepared first: After chopping up, squeeze the water out of the leaves by rubbing and "washin" as you do when cleaning bitterleave. When the leaves have been drained of most of the water (and nutrients!!!LOL) add to the pot. Stir and leave for 2-3 mins and remove from fire. If you leave any longer the ikong will "die" in the soup (as we say in local parlance). The vegetables have to be fresh and still crunchy!!!!

For me,i use mostly,bush meat,snail,smokedchicken,shrimp,periwinkle,smoked fish,stock fish fresh meat,etc,any meat you can lay your hands on.then the hard meat boil togetherwith knorr and salt to cook,then i boil my water leave half cook to remove the water,before putting my oil on the fire,adding onions pepper and  very small quantity of tomatoes,i know people don't add but i like it that way.the tomatoes wont be noticeable,then add the,smoked chicken because it cook already,all smoked fish and meat,shrimp,periwinkle,allow to cook,add the freshmeat and stock fish and the meat stock,allow to steam,add pumpkin leaves,allow to steam,add water leaves,stir and is ready.please stir each time you add anything and the meat stock(water) and  the water from the leave will be enough to make it ready and also check for the taste.This is the way i like it.