Soups & Stews

Efo Riro

Name: Efo Riro
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 500 g boneless stewing beef (cut into 3 cm pieces); 600 ml water (for the beef; plus small top-ups if needed); 200 g onion (50 g for beef, 75 g for blending, 75 g diced); 300 g red tatashe or bell peppers (stalks and seeds removed); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (stalk removed; use half for less heat); 100 ml red palm oil; 2 tbsp iru (rinsed briefly); 2 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 150 g smoked mackerel flesh (skin and every bone removed); 700 g efo shoko or efo tete leaves (tough stems removed; spinach may replace them); 1 tsp fine salt (divided; adjust at the end); 1 small stock cube (optional)

A generous leafy stew with fried pepper, red palm oil, iru, tender beef, and smoked fish. Efo riro is a Yoruba vegetable preparation whose name refers to stirring leafy greens. Nigerian cooks identify efo shoko and efo tete as customary leaves, while diaspora kitchens often turn to spinach. Frying the pepper base before folding in the greens is central to its concentrated flavor and relatively thick texture. Cultural context: Efo shoko or efo tete is traditional; spinach is an explicitly identified substitute rather than the sole defining vegetable.

Photo by Bukky658 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

Resized proportionally to 900x675 pixels; converted to WebP at quality 87; no cropping or content edits.

25 minPreparation

90 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer the beef with 50 g onion, half the salt, the optional stock cube, and 600 ml water for 50–75 minutes, until easily pierced. Add small amounts of water if drying out. Reserve the meat and cooking liquid.
2
Wash the leaves very thoroughly. Chop, then pour boiling water over firmer shoko or tete for 1 minute and drain. Cool enough to handle and squeeze gently. For tender spinach, briefly wilt in a dry covered pan and drain.
3
Pulse the red peppers, Scotch bonnet, and 75 g onion to a coarse mixture. Use no water unless the blender needs a small splash.
4
Warm the palm oil over medium heat without smoking it. Fry the diced onion for 3 minutes, then add the pepper mixture carefully.
5
Cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mixture is thick and small pools of oil appear. Stir in iru and crayfish for 1 minute.
6
Add the beef, fish, and 100 ml of the reserved beef liquid. Simmer for 5 minutes; add another splash only if the pan is too dry.
7
Fold in the prepared leaves. Simmer for 3–5 minutes until hot and tender. Adjust the remaining salt to taste. Serve with a swallow or rice.

A little kitchen wisdom

Drain greens well so they do not dilute the fried pepper base. The beef timing excludes tougher offal; substituting tripe requires a longer separate cook. Timing: active preparation 25 min; cooking 90 min; additional passive time 0 min; conservative planning allowance 115 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Fish; Crustacean shellfish; Check optional stock cube label

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Yoruba vegetable soup

Efo shoko or efo tete is traditional; spinach is an explicitly identified substitute rather than the sole defining vegetable.

Allergens: Fish, Crustacean shellfish, Check optional stock cube label

Around the table 0

Be the first to start the conversation.

More recipes to try

Soups & Stews

Ikokore

120 min

Halima’s Home Cooking

Egusi soup with leafy greens and meat, served with swallow

Soups & Stews

Egusi Soup, Yoruba-Style

130 min

Dunni Cooks

Semo_and_Egusi.jpg by Ogundele1, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

Full source and image record

Soups & Stews

Gbegiri

115 min

Fatima Cooks

Gbègìrì_soup.jpg by Bamjos, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

Full source and image record

Soups & Stews

Asaro

60 min

Sade's One Pot

Photo by Oyebolaesther · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

Resized proportionally to 900x1200 pixels; converted to WebP at quality 87; no cropping or content edits.

Soups & Stews

Adalu

115 min

Temi’s Yoruba Kitchen

Beans_and_Corn_(maize)_porridge.jpg by Nancy Nwachukwu, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

Full source and image record

Soups & Stews

Delta Owo Soup

115 min

Awele’s Table

Loading your kitchen…

Chidi's Soup Pot@chidi

Soups & Stews

Efo Riro

Photo by Bukky658 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

Resized proportionally to 900x675 pixels; converted to WebP at quality 87; no cropping or content edits.

25 minPreparation

90 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer the beef with 50 g onion, half the salt, the optional stock cube, and 600 ml water for 50–75 minutes, until easily pierced. Add small amounts of water if drying out. Reserve the meat and cooking liquid.
2
Wash the leaves very thoroughly. Chop, then pour boiling water over firmer shoko or tete for 1 minute and drain. Cool enough to handle and squeeze gently. For tender spinach, briefly wilt in a dry covered pan and drain.
3
Pulse the red peppers, Scotch bonnet, and 75 g onion to a coarse mixture. Use no water unless the blender needs a small splash.
4
Warm the palm oil over medium heat without smoking it. Fry the diced onion for 3 minutes, then add the pepper mixture carefully.
5
Cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mixture is thick and small pools of oil appear. Stir in iru and crayfish for 1 minute.
6
Add the beef, fish, and 100 ml of the reserved beef liquid. Simmer for 5 minutes; add another splash only if the pan is too dry.
7
Fold in the prepared leaves. Simmer for 3–5 minutes until hot and tender. Adjust the remaining salt to taste. Serve with a swallow or rice.