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How To Prepare Ofe Owerri

By Augustina Okpechi
07 October 2018   |   7:00 am
An amazing thing about this soup is that it tells you so much just with its name. Ofe Owerri which means Owerri soup is peculiar to the people of Owerri, the capital of Imo state. What makes this soup are the leaves used which are ugu and okazie, although some people add uziza or oha…

An amazing thing about this soup is that it tells you so much just with its name. Ofe Owerri which means Owerri soup is peculiar to the people of Owerri, the capital of Imo state. What makes this soup are the leaves used which are ugu and okazie, although some people add uziza or oha to theirs.

Another major ingredient is the thickener used, which vary such as ede (cocoyam), ofo or achi.

Songs have been sand about this indigenous dish like, ‘oye ne were ego, o ne ri ofe Owerri’. This translates “If you do not have money, do you eat ‘Ofe Owerri?

Ingredients

  • Assorted meat
  • 1 big sized dry fish
  • 1 huge sized stockfish (okporoko)
  • Sliced ugu leaves
  • Thinly sliced okazie leaves
  • 3 tablespoon of palm oil
  • 5 medium-sized ede
  • 1 tablespoon of ogiri
  • 1 medium-sized onion
  • 3 tablespoon of ground crayfish
  • 3 teaspoon of pepper
  • 4 cubes of seasoning
  • Salt
  • Water

Preparation

  1. Start by boiling your ede first.
  2. In another pot, boil your assorted meat, stockfish and dry fish, three cubes of seasoning, onions and salt with a little amount of water at first to allow the meat soak up the ingredients. Then add a generous amount of water afterwards will make up the quantity of the soup.
  3. While the meat heats, take out your ede which should be soft, and pound.
  4. Back to the meat, check if they are tender. Then add your palm oil and ede together as the palm oil allows the ede dissolves.
  5. Add your crayfish, ogiri, pepper and the Okazie leaves and allow heat for a while. The okazie leaf is added now as the leaf is hard and needs a longer time to soften as opposed to ugu.
  6. Taste to know if any ingredient is not represented in the food, then add your ugu.
  7. Allow boil for a minute, turn off the gas and food is ready.
  8. Serve with whatever swallow of your choice.

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