Pepper Soup is an easy and hearty comfort food. It is a hot and spicy broth recipe that is very popular in Eastern and Southern Nigeria and is most times served as an appetizer.
Pepper Soup has many benefits. It can be used as a medicine if you have a cold or a fever and it is a low carbohydrate meal. It can also rev up the appetite of a person with a poor appetite. Lastly since we are in the rainy season in most parts of Nigeria, what better way to get warm than with a hot plate of Pepper soup?
There are varieties of Peppersoup in Nigeria made with different kinds of meat and fishes.
- The most popular is Goat head Peppersoup (Known as Isiewu in Eastern Nigeria) followed by;
- Assorted cow/goat meat Peppersoup (made of shaki [cow tripe], pkomo(cow skin), fresh meat, intestine (round about), liver, and kidney),
- Chicken Peppersoup,
- There is also the Cow tail version, and lastly:
- Catfish Pepper Soup which is fondly called ‘point and kill’.
Essentially all these varieties can be made the same way as the main difference is the kind of fish or meat you are putting in it which provides the particular flavour. Hence I’ll be sharing an easy recipe that you can use to achieve your desired Peppersoup with any of the meats or fishes above.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg assorted meat goat or cow. If you are using Catfish, you can make use of 1 or two fishes cut into your desired size
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Peppersoup spice. (Pepper soup spice is a special blend of spices which include Ehu (nutmeg), uziza seeds and Uda (negro Pepper) this spice mix can be bought in most soup ingredient stores.
N.B. Getting the spice mix straight up is easier but if you can’t, you can buy from the scratch as nutmeg, uziza seed and Uda and then blend.
- 2 stock cubes
- Scent leaves ( a handful to garnish and also to give it a nice odour)
- Sliced onions
- Garlic cloves (2)
- Half-finger of ginger.
- Tablespoons of ground crayfish (optional)
- Sliced Utazi Leaves (optional)
METHOD
- Wash the meat properly with water to remove sand, dirt and blood
- Start cooking the meat with some simple ingredients. (A seasoning cube, a teaspoon of beef seasoning spice, a teaspoon of salt and sliced onions).
N.B. for fish Peppersoup you should add all the ingredients first while the fish would be added in the last 10-15 minutes while cooking. This is because fish is more delicate compared to meat. - When the contents in the pot begins to boil, add more water, the pepper soup spice, the blended garlic, ginger and crayfish ( if using).
- Cook till the meat is tender
- Add salt and pepper at your discretion.
N.B. Uziza seeds are very peppery so ensure you taste before you add ground pepper or sliced rodo (scotch bonnet) - Add the sliced Scent leaf and utazi leaves (if using) and Allow to boil for another 5-10 minutes.
And your delicious pepper soup is ready!
SERVING
You can serve alone with a chilled bottle of your favorite drink. However, Peppersoup can also be eaten with white rice, yam, or plantain.
Personally, Assorted Meat Peppersoup is my favourite. What’s yours?. Do well to leave your comments and tell me what you think. See you next time.
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