Edikang Ikong

Name: Edikang Ikong
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 80 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 600 g beef (bite-sized pieces); 150 g smoked fish (deboned); 500 g ugu leaves (picked, washed and finely sliced); 300 g waterleaf (washed and chopped); 150 g cleaned cooked periwinkle meat (optional); 120 ml red palm oil; 3 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (chopped); 1 stock cube (optional); 700 ml water (plus small top-ups for the beef); to taste salt

A densely leafy soup of ugu and waterleaf with beef, fish, crayfish and palm oil. Edikang ikong is one of the best-known vegetable soups of Efik and Ibibio cooking. Its richness comes from generous greens and a concentrated meat-and-fish base rather than a large volume of broth. Contemporary Nigerian cooks emphasise controlling the stock because waterleaf releases liquid as it cooks. Cultural context: Associated with Efik and Ibibio cooking. Ugu and waterleaf are the defining vegetables in this version; recipes made with other greens should identify the substitution.

Edikang ikong vegetable stew with meat and fish

Edikang_ikong.jpg by Aderiqueza, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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30 minPreparation

80 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer beef with the stock cube and water for 50–65 minutes until tender, topping up sparingly. Reduce the liquid to about 200 ml.
2
While it cooks, wash the greens carefully to remove grit. Drain well and keep the two vegetables separate.
3
Add fish, crayfish, palm oil, pepper and cooked periwinkle, if using. Simmer 8–10 minutes.
4
Fold in waterleaf and cook uncovered for 4–5 minutes; it will release liquid.
5
Add ugu and cook 3–5 minutes, stirring until evenly combined and tender. Salt to taste and serve with eba or pounded yam.

A little kitchen wisdom

Avoid adding a large jug of stock at the leaf stage; this should be a leafy, concentrated soup. Pumpkin sold as a Western squash is not the same ingredient as ugu leaves. Timing: active preparation 30 min; cooking 80 min; additional passive time 0 min; conservative planning allowance 110 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Fish; Crustaceans (crayfish); Molluscs if using periwinkle; Check stock cube label

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Edikaikong, Edikang ikong soup

Associated with Efik and Ibibio cooking. Ugu and waterleaf are the defining vegetables in this version; recipes made with other greens should identify the substitution.

Allergens: Fish, Crustaceans (crayfish), Molluscs if using periwinkle, Check stock cube label