Nigeria | Soup

Afang Soup

Name: Afang Soup
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 6 bowls
Cuisine: Nigeria, West Africa
Ingredients: 800 g assorted meat, beef, goat, tripe, or ponmo; 200 g stockfish or dried fish, soaked; 4 cups waterleaf, chopped; 2 cups afang or okazi leaves, finely sliced or pounded; ½ cup red palm oil; 3 tbsp ground crayfish; 1 cup periwinkles; 2 whole scotch bonnet peppers, blended; salt, to taste

Efik-Ibibio vegetable soup with shredded afang leaves, waterleaf, palm oil, meat, stockfish, crayfish, and periwinkles.

Country

Nigeria

Region

West Africa

Time

115 min

Serves

Level

medium

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01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 6 bowls

Soup

Protein

800 g assorted meat, beef, goat, tripe, or ponmo 200 g stockfish or dried fish, soaked

Greens

4 cups waterleaf, chopped 2 cups afang or okazi leaves, finely sliced or pounded

Soup

½ cup red palm oil

Seasoning

3 tbsp ground crayfish

Seafood

1 cup periwinkles (optional)

Heat

2 whole scotch bonnet peppers, blended

Pantry

salt, to taste

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Nigeria

4 steps 40 min prep 75 min cook (check method) 115 min total medium

Cook the protein

Simmer meat and stockfish until tender and the stock is reduced.

protein stock 45:00

Add waterleaf

Add waterleaf and cook until it wilts and releases moisture.

waterleaf 10:00

Season richly

Add palm oil, crayfish, pepper, periwinkles if using, and salt. Simmer until glossy.

season 15:00

Finish with afang

Stir in afang leaves and cook until softened but still green.

afang finish 10:00

Periwinkles, stockfish, smoked fish, beef, and kpomo all vary by household, but afang and waterleaf remain the backbone.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for swallow meals, celebrations, and Sunday cooking.. Plan on a medium cook. Allow about 115 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Garri, fufu, pounded yam, or semolina.

Regional lane

South-South and Delta table. Riverine soups, palm nut richness, seafood, afang, edikang ikong, and deeply seasoned broths.

Chef watch-outs

Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
Overcooking the greens until the color and texture collapse.

How you know it is ready

The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.

Pantry lane

palm oil, crayfish, iru or ogiri, scotch bonnet, melon seed

Recipe illustrations

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Afang leafy soup with meat and fish pieces; recipe illustration — Afang Soup finished dish · Recipe illustration

Chef board

Build the table around Afang Soup

Garri, fufu, pounded yam, or semolina.

Best route from here

South-South and Delta table

Collections to keep cooking

Nigerian Regional Table

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