Nigeria | Soup

Edikang Ikong

Efik-Ibibio vegetable soup loaded with ugu, waterleaf, palm oil, meat, stockfish, crayfish, and periwinkles.

Country
Nigeria
Region
West Africa
Time
120 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Edikang Ikong is a vegetable-rich South-South soup where the greens are the main event. Ugu and waterleaf cook down with seafood, meat, palm oil, and crayfish into a dense, celebratory pot.

What the dish tastes like

Efik-Ibibio vegetable soup loaded with ugu, waterleaf, palm oil, meat, stockfish, crayfish, and periwinkles.

When to cook it

Best for Best for celebrations, Sunday lunch, and hearty swallow meals., with a medium cooking level and about 120 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

Chef board

Build the table around Edikang Ikong

Garri, fufu, pounded yam, or semolina.

Best route from here

South-South and Delta table

Collections to keep cooking
Servings 6

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

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

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

Back to Nigeria
4 steps 120 min total medium
1
Cook the protein
Cook assorted meat and stockfish until tender with a small amount of stock left.
protein stock 45:00
2
Add waterleaf
Stir in waterleaf and cook until it wilts and releases liquid.
waterleaf 10:00
3
Season the soup
Add palm oil, crayfish, pepper, periwinkles if using, and salt. Simmer until the oil blends in.
season 15:00
4
Finish with ugu
Add ugu leaves and cook briefly until tender and bright. Serve hot.
ugu finish 07:00

Some versions use spinach outside Nigeria, but fluted pumpkin leaves and waterleaf are the classic combination.