← Back to globe
Calabar Classic · Layered Vegetable Soup

Edikang Ikong Soup

Edikang Ikong Soup — street food from Calabar, Nigeria
Photo: Aderiqueza / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

A properly made pot is known to keep for several days without spoiling even without refrigeration, thanks to its high oil content acting as a natural preservative.

Edikang ikong combines shredded pumpkin leaves and waterleaf with generous amounts of meat, dried fish, periwinkles, and palm oil, cooked down into a rich, dense vegetable soup. It comes from the Efik and Ibibio peoples of Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, served with pounded yam or fufu.

Why it's made this way: Because it's loaded with meat and seafood rather than being a purely vegetable dish, edikang ikong has historically been seen as a soup for the well-off, prepared for celebrations and honored guests.
Read it in context →

More from Nigeria

🌺 Zobo Suya (Spiced Grilled Meat Skewers) Puff Puff (Fried Dough Balls) Akara Jollof Rice Ewa Agoyin (Mashed Beans with Pepper Sauce)
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.