Small Chops

Abacha with Ugba (Cassava Salad)

Name: Abacha with Ugba (Cassava Salad)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 250 g dried abacha (commercially processed, food-grade cassava shreds); 150 g ugba (ready-to-eat fermented oil bean; follow pack storage instructions); 100 ml red palm oil; 0.25 tsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, not baking powder); 60 ml warm water; 2 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 0.5 tsp ground ehuru (optional); 0.5 tsp ogiri Igbo (commercially prepared; optional); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (finely chopped); 1 small red onion (half diced, half sliced); 2 garden eggs (washed and chopped); 20 g garden-egg leaves (washed and finely sliced); 200 g ready-to-eat smoked mackerel (deboned); to taste salt

Rehydrated cassava ribbons with fermented oil bean, palm-oil dressing, garden eggs and fish. Abacha names both processed cassava shreds and the dish made from them. Nigerian cooks describe an expandable assembly: ugba, garden eggs, leaves, fish and other accompaniments can turn a simple plate into a generous meal. The familiar English nickname African salad describes its mixed presentation rather than a single continent-wide recipe. Cultural context: An Igbo cassava dish with many household and local variations. Baking soda is a clearly identified modern substitute for culinary potash in the dressing.

Abacha cassava salad with ugba, garden egg, onion, greens and fish

A_plate_of_homemade_àbàchà.jpg by Ceslause, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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25 minPreparation

10 minCooking

4Servings

Allow 10 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 45 minutes.

What you’ll need

4 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Rehydrate abacha according to its packet, usually in warm water until pliable, then drain very thoroughly. Use processed abacha, not freshly grated raw cassava.
2
Dissolve the baking soda in the 60 ml water. Put liquid palm oil in a bowl; if solid, melt gently and remove from the heat.
3
Beat the soda solution into the oil a teaspoon at a time until it becomes creamy. Stop when the dressing comes together.
4
Stir in crayfish, ehuru, ogiri, pepper and diced onion. Fold in drained abacha, ugba and half the fish.
5
Add garden eggs and leaves; season lightly. Serve promptly with sliced onion and remaining fish. If warm abacha is preferred, warm the assembled dish gently without frying it.

A little kitchen wisdom

Refrigerate perishables until assembly and refrigerate leftovers promptly. The dressing substitution is documented by Flo Chinyere; it is not a direction to make potash or lye at home. If the dressing remains loose, use it as it is rather than repeatedly adding more baking soda. Timing: active preparation 25 min; cooking 10 min; additional passive time 10 min; conservative planning allowance 45 min. Some stages may overlap. For Recipe.ng display, prep_minutes includes the additional passive time; it is not all hands-on work. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Fish; Crustaceans (crayfish); Check fermented seasoning labels

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Abacha ncha, African salad

An Igbo cassava dish with many household and local variations. Baking soda is a clearly identified modern substitute for culinary potash in the dressing.

Allergens: Fish, Crustaceans (crayfish), Check fermented seasoning labels