Soups & Stews

Obe Eyin (Yoruba Palm-Fruit Soup)

Name: Obe Eyin (Yoruba Palm-Fruit Soup)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 105 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 500 g stewing beef (cubed); 500 g unsweetened canned palm-fruit concentrate (not palm oil); 150 g smoked fish (deboned); 100 g onion (chopped); 2 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 0.5 tsp dried chilli (optional); 1200 ml water (divided); 0.75 tsp salt

A gently reduced palm-fruit soup with beef, smoked fish and crayfish, served with swallow. Palm-fruit soups have many names and local preparations across West Africa. Ronke Edoho documents a Yoruba version as obe eyin, and Ozoz Sokoh places that name alongside related soups elsewhere in Nigeria. Their relationship does not make the recipes interchangeable. This version is intentionally simple: palm-fruit concentrate, a savoury meat stock and smoked fish form the body, without borrowing the defining spice mixture of Delta banga. Purchased concentrate makes the last cooking stage accessible while preserving the difference between palm-fruit pulp and plain palm oil. Cultural context: Ronke Edoho explicitly labels this a Yoruba palm-fruit-soup variant. It is kept distinct from the existing Delta spice-blend banga and Igbo ofe akwu.

15 minPreparation

105 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Cook beef with onion, half the salt and 800 ml water at a gentle simmer for 55–75 minutes until tender. Add water if needed and retain the cooking liquor.
2
In a second heavy pot, loosen palm-fruit concentrate with 400 ml water. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, whisking until evenly combined.
3
Add beef, fish, crayfish, optional chilli and 400 ml beef stock. Simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent catching.
4
When the soup lightly coats a spoon and natural oil collects on top, check seasoning. If too thick, add more of the beef stock; if watery, simmer a little longer.
5
Skim a little surface oil if desired and serve hot with pounded yam, eba or fufu. Cool leftovers promptly before refrigerating.

A little kitchen wisdom

Palm-fruit concentrate brands vary in thickness; begin with the measured water and adjust. Do not add ordinary palm oil in place of palm-fruit concentrate. Timing estimate: active preparation 15 min; cooking 105 min; additional passive time 0 min; conservative planning allowance 120 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research formulation; not kitchen-tested. Allergen checks: Fish; Crustacean shellfish

Recipe notes & sources

Research formulation; not kitchen-tested

Ronke Edoho explicitly labels this a Yoruba palm-fruit-soup variant. It is kept distinct from the existing Delta spice-blend banga and Igbo ofe akwu.

Allergens: Fish, Crustacean shellfish

Around the table 0

Be the first to start the conversation.

More recipes to try

Soups & Stews

Image details

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

Soups & Stews

Ofe Onugbu (Bitterleaf Soup)

115 min

Ijeoma’s Home Kitchen

Onugbu_Soup_in_Pot2.jpg by Asuzu Obinna Justin, 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

Chinelo’s Soup Pot@chinelo_kitchen

Soups & Stews

Obe Eyin (Yoruba Palm-Fruit Soup)

15 minPreparation

105 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Cook beef with onion, half the salt and 800 ml water at a gentle simmer for 55–75 minutes until tender. Add water if needed and retain the cooking liquor.
2
In a second heavy pot, loosen palm-fruit concentrate with 400 ml water. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, whisking until evenly combined.
3
Add beef, fish, crayfish, optional chilli and 400 ml beef stock. Simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent catching.
4
When the soup lightly coats a spoon and natural oil collects on top, check seasoning. If too thick, add more of the beef stock; if watery, simmer a little longer.
5
Skim a little surface oil if desired and serve hot with pounded yam, eba or fufu. Cool leftovers promptly before refrigerating.