Calabar Classic · Layered Vegetable Soup
Edikang Ikong Soup
Photo: Aderiqueza / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cooks traditionally add little or no water: the waterleaf releases its own liquid as it wilts, and that is what the soup cooks in.
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.
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 — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.