Edikaikong is not a watery soup unlike most other soups, this is because only little amount of water is needed when preparing it. Most tribes have various versions of preparing this soup but as a Calabar soup, we are going to using the step by step direction provided by a Calabar woman.
INGREDIENTS
1.Full bowl chopped Ugu leaves(Pumpkin leaves)
2.Half bowl of chopped water leaves
3.Crayfish
4.Palm oil at least half a bottle
5.seasoning cubes
6.dry fish,meats,stock fish,periwinkle,cow skin(use only the ones you can afford)
7.Fresh pepper
Direction
Season and boil your meats with stock fish. you can use beef, goat meat, shaki (cow stomach), and cow leg if you want. Add just enough water to cover the meat, and boil together Depending on how tough the meats are, this volume of water should be enough. Watch it closely though.
Just before the meats are tender, add shredded smoked fish and kpomo. This is to soften the fish and infuse some of that smokey flavour into the stock fish. Adding the kpomo too will allow it to soften, making it easier to chew.
Add a cooking spoon or two of Palm oil into your pot of meat, let it boil till the Palm Oil dissolves into the stock
then add the blended pepper and let it dissolve too. The Yoruba part of me loves this soup hot, so I tend to add 2 cooking spoons of pepper.
Add the periwinkle and waterleaf, and stir. Cover the pot, lower the heat and let this steam for 5 minutes.
Add blended crayfish ,you can rinse your crayfish in water to remove the dirt and I blend with about 1- 2 tablespoons of water. Let this cook for another 2 – 3 minutes, then taste the difference in the liquid left in the pot. Crayfish amps up the flavour immensely, you may not need seasoning cubes
6. Add the Ugwu, give it a stir, and let it cook for another 5 minutes. Stir and taste for salt. If you need more add a little. If you are itching to add a seasoning cube, you can, but why don’t you try adding more crayfish instead. Trust me, seasoning cubes have nothing on crayfish. Add a little more crayfish, stir, cover the pot and just wait an extra 2 minutes or so.
And this is your delicious Edikaikong soup!! you can serve with poundo,garri or fufu.
