Delicious Ofe Akwu: For many people, Ofe Akwu is one of Nigeria’s favorite foods, but in the Eastern part of Nigeria, The people of Anambra to be precise, see Ofe Akwu as a delicacy like no other. If you’ve ever wondered how to prepare it, we can show you how to do that and to do it perfectly.
How To Cook Delicious Ofe Akwu
Ofe Akwu as a delicacy like no other. If you've ever wondered how to prepare it, we can show you how to do that and to do it perfectly.
Ingredients
- 400g Palm Fruit Concentrate
- 1 gilt head sea bream fish
- 500g beef
- 1 red onion
- 1 big seasoning cube
- 1 tablespoon ground crayfish
- 1 habanero pepper (or to your taste)
- 1 tablespoon of fermented locust beans
- A small bunch of basil
Instructions
- Start out by washing and cutting your onions. Steam your beef with some seasoning cubes in a pot placed on heat. Beef and goat meat are great when preparing Ofe Akwu.
- Now, add some of the chopped onions to the pot to also spice up the meat. Using a beef-flavored seasoning cube is best when cooking with beef. It's the same thing as using a chicken-flavored seasoning cube to prepare chicken.
- Steam till the beef is pale, then add water and start cooking. Next, boil some water. This will be used to prepare the palm fruit. If you can't get the local palm fruits to use for this recipe, you can search for the palm fruit concentrate in cans. They sell at supermarkets and hopefully, they'll have around your area.
- Now, pour out the palm fruit concentrate into a bowl or a pot. Add the hot water and mix them up. The palm fruits come with particles and so, you have to dissolve them well to let the particles settle at the bottom. It would be easier to sieve off later. For the quantity of water to add, see the video below for the exact measurement.
- Now, slowly pour it into a bowl, look out for the side of the particles, and don't add that. Set your sieved Ofe Akwu water aside. Leave it to rest so that if there are more wanted particles, you can also repeat the process and sieve them out again.
- Next, season your fish. Use some salt to do this. You can use a Mackerel fish or Tilapia fish if you wish. Remember to keep an eye on your beef. Check if it's soft yet and if it isn't, allow it to cook some more.
- Nigerian use scent leaves for this delicacy but if you can't access that, you can use parsley or basil leaves. Do not use mint leaves. It will render your soup useless. Rinse the leaves of choice, chop, and set aside. Pound the pepper and locust beans.
- You can use any type of spicy pepper, but we are using habanero pepper. Now, it's time to fry the fish. Pour some vegetable oil into a pan to heat up. Check up on your meat and take it off the heat. Now, slowly pour your Palm fruit sauce into the meat stock. Be careful, there may still be some particles left. Cover and boil the sauce down.
- Once the oil is hot enough, add some onions and start frying your fish. Place the beef in the oven to grill. Also, keep an eye on the fish so that it doesn't burn. Flip the fish to the other side to fry equally. Check on the pam fruit to see if you have the right consistency, if you don't then simply allow it to cook for a while. Take your fish off the heat and into a plate. Check on your meat and flip around for even grilling.
- Check back on your Ofe Akwu sauce and once you see the oil start to saunter to the top of the pot, just know that it's ready. Add your chopped onions, crayfish, Ogiri Okpeyi, and pepper.
- Now, add the meat and fish. Let them simmer for a bit. Now, add your basil leaves or scent leaves. Add some salt too and stir. Cover and let it simmer. Your Ofe Akwu is ready to be served with rice.
Video
YouTube Video Credit:
Flo Chinyere
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