Igbo people are predominantly native to southeastern and south southern Nigeria and are one of the three major tribes in the country. Igbo people have the highest number of traditional food and the most delicious food in the country.

If you intend travelling to the Southern part of the country for the first time, and you wouldn’t afford to miss out on their delicious soup. I will be sharing with you five of the most popular igbo soups, their recipes and how to prepare them. You can’t afford to miss out upon your visit to Igbo land.

PS: “Ofe” is an igbo word meaning Soup.

1. Ofe Okra

Okra Soup is one of the most popular soup in Igbo Land just like Ewedu in Yoruba Land. Okra soup is so delicious and nutritious to eat with semo, Pounded yam, Akpu e.t.c

Ingredients for Ofe Okra

• 5 cups (250g) Okra
• 3 cooking spoons red palm oil
• Beef: Best cut
• Shaki (Cow Tripe) (Optional)
• Fish: Iced Fish (Mackerel/Titus), Dry Fish, Stock Fish
• 1 handful crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (to taste)
• Onions (optional)
• Vegetable: Nigerian pumpkin leaves or spinach (fresh or frozen)
• 3 stock/boullion cubes

How to Cook Okra Soup in Igbo Land

1. Slice the okra and set it aside in a bowl, the trader in most Nigerian markets can assist you with slicing the okra, but you can also try using a kitchen knife, I like to slice Okra myself, although there is no harm in using the help of the market women.
2. Blend or grind the crayfish and peppers. I used a combination of fresh (frozen mackerel) and beef. I like to parboil meat with lots of spices and then use very little while making the real soup, it is likely that the whole spice would be left in the stock (meat water) after parboiling.
3. Wash the beef and fish, season with a half teaspoon of salt, two seasoning cubes and half cup of sliced onions.
   allow them to boil together for 10-15 minutes. Remove the fish and continue cooking the meat until it becomes soft
4. Add the stockfish to the boiling meat, cook for about 10 minutes till they are soft for consumption.
5. Introduce 200 ml of palm oil, crayfish, 1 seasoning cube, pepper and salt to taste.
6. The sliced okra should be added at this point, stir. drop the cooked mackerel fish on top.
7. Allow simmering for 3-4 minutes and you are done with this delicious soup.
8. You can serve with eba, fufu or pounded yam

2. Ofe Onugbu (Bitter Leaf Soup)

Ofe Onugbu is a popular soup of the Igbo tribe of Eastern Nigeria. although Ofe Onugbu cut across the entire Igbo land, it is more peculiar to the Igbo people of Anambra and Enugu State. Onugbu is the Igbo word for Bitter leaf

Ingredients Ofe Onugbu (Bitter Leaf Soup)

• 1 kg beef
• Half kg goat meat
• 3 knorr cubes
• 4 cups raw palm nut
• 1 large dry fish
• 1 cup shredded stock
• 1 wrap ogiri
• 1 tablespoon grounded Cameron pepper
• 2 tablespoons grounded crayfish
• 2 heap tablespoons of ground achi
• 2 hand full of washed bitter leaves
• Salt to taste

How to Cook Ofe Onugbu

1. Wash and season your meat with two knorr cubes and salt, then boil till tender,
2. halfway boiling your meat add the stockfish
3. Boil and extract the juice from your palm nut then pour in your cooking pot and set on fire, allow to Cook for ten minutes
4. Next, add the meat and meat stock to the pot then continue to cook for about ten minutes,
5. add the dry fish and pepper cook for few more minutes then the achi and allow to start thickening
6. Lastly, add the bitter leaf, taste and adjust the taste with the remaining knorr cube and salt, allow to thicken to your desired consistency then bring down

Like to learn how to prepare Onugbu Soup? Watch Video Below:

3. Ofe Nsala

Ofe Nsala (Nsala Soup) is a delicious soup, popular in the eastern part of Nigeria. It is also known as ‘‘white soup” because of its light colour, due to the absence of palm oil. Ofe Nsala is a very mouth-watering white soup indigenous to the people of Eastern and Riverline areas of Nigeria

Ingredients for Nsala Soup

• Chicken
• Small-sized raw Yam cubes OR Yam Powder
• 1 handful chopped Utazi Leaves/uziza
• 3 tablespoonful ground Crayfish
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 20 g smoked/dry fish
• 3 medium yellow pepper (habanero)
• 2 Stock/Seasoning cubes (Maggi, knorr etc)
• Salt to taste

How to Cook Nsala Soup

1. Properly wash the chicken, smoked and dry fish and set aside.
2. Season and cook the chicken with the dried fish, adding onions, seasoning cube and salt to taste. Cook until done.
3. Peel the yam cubes and boil until soft, then pound to a smooth paste, using a mortar and pestle.
4. In the absence of a mortar and pestle, you can place the cooked yam in a food processor/blender, add a little hot water and blend until smooth.
5. Add the yam paste bit by bit and leave the soup to cook until the paste is completely dissolved, and the chicken is well done. Now, add the pepper, crayfish, and smoked fish
6. Finally, add the utazi/uziza leaves, taste for salt, and simmer for 30 seconds.
7. Voila! Your Nsala soup is ready.

You can watch the video below to learn more.

4. Ofe Akwu (Banga soup or palm nut soup)

Ofe Akwu is a very popular soup of Igbo people of South Eastern and south southern parts of Nigeria. In the South-Eastern parts of Nigeria.

Banga soup is a popular Nigerian soup prepared with palm nut extract or juice, this soup is native to the Igbo tribe and is commonly eaten with boiled rice or starchy bolus. Banga stew is called by different names such as Banga soup, Ofe Akwu or palm nut stew.

Ingredients for Ofe Akwu

• 1kg fresh palm fruits or 1 canned palm fruits extract
• 500g goat meat
• 200g stockfish
• 1 big size dried or iced fish
• 1 piece of okpei (locally made locust beans)
• A handful of scent leaf, finely chopped
• 1 handful Ugwu leaf(optional)
• 1 bulb onion, chopped
• 4 pieces of scotch bonnet peppers, blended
• 3 tablespoonful ground crayfish
• 4 seasoning stock cubes, crushed
• Salt to taste
• Rice to serve with the stew

How to Cook Ofe Akwu

1. Wash and season the meat with onions, pepper, seasoning cubes, salt and place on heat to cook
2. Add stockfish to the meat and cook, when the meat is almost cooked, add iced fish and cook for 10 more minutes.
3. Remove meat from the stove and keep aside.
4. Wash palm nuts into a pot and add water to cover the fruits and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the palm fruits and drain all the liquid out, pour them into the mortar and slightly pound until the fibre separates from the hard nuts. If you are using the canned palm fruit extract, skip this step and increase the liquid in the meat just a little.
6. After pounding the nuts, add 1 cup of lukewarm water to the nuts and squeeze lightly with your palm to remove more juice.
7. Drain the extracted milk with a colander into the pot you will use to cook your soup.
8. Add about a cup of water to the palm nuts and squeeze it the second time to get all the juice, then discard the empty fibre, you can filter the extracted juice twice before pouring it into the pot, to get rid of some escaped particles of palm nuts.
9. Place the pot containing the extracted juice on heat and let it simmer on high heat for 10 minutes. You will notice patches of oil separating to the top.
10. Bring the precooked meat into the content, add ground crayfish, pepper, opkei, onions, 2 seasoning cubes, salt, stir and leave it to simmer still on high heat.
11. Leave it to cook for 5-10 minutes until it starts thickening.
12. When you are happy with the consistency, add the chopped scent leaf and ugwu leaf if you are using both leaves and reduces the heat to low, let the content simmer gently for 3 minutes.
13. Put off the heat and serve your ofe akwu with boiled rice or eba if you prefer.

Watch Video of How to Cook Ofe Akwu Below

5. Ofe Okazi

Okazi Soup (also called Ofe Owerri) is an Igbo soup made from the okazi leave and ugu. This delicious meal can be prepared in different ways depending on the state, while some prefer to use both ugu leave and okazi leave in preparing the soup, some prefer to use just the okazi leave

Ingredients for Okazi Soup

• 10 medium pieces of assorted meat
• 1 medium stockfish
• 3 medium dried or smoked fish
• 3 medium pomo
• 2 Cameroon peppers
• 3 handfuls sliced okazi (afang leaves)
• 1 handful chopped uziza or ugu leaves
• 1 cup shelled periwinkle (optional)
• 1 tbsp. achi or ofo powder
• 1 wrap ogiri isi
• 1 tbsp. ground crayfish
• 2 cooking spoons palm oil
• Seasoning and salt; to taste

How to Cook (Ofe) Okazi Soup

1. Pound the okazi leaves.
2. Rinse the meat, add spices and cook with the stockfish until tender.
3. Add pomo, dried/smoked fish and more water; cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the peppers, palm oil, crayfish, and ogiri, seasoning and salt, to taste. Cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the achi or ofo and keep stirring for 2 minutes. to get a consistency similar to Ofe Nsala (you can add a little water if it is too thick).
6. Add the okazi and uziza leaves. Cook for 2 minutes and it will be ready.
7. Serve your Okazi Soup with any swallow of your choice.

Watch how to cook Ofe Okazi Soup