Soups & Stews

Ofe Ugba (Okra and Oil-Bean Soup)

Name: Ofe Ugba (Okra and Oil-Bean Soup)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 450 g okra (washed, trimmed and finely hand-cut); 200 g prepared ugba (commercially fermented, refrigerated); 150 g ready-softened stockfish (Deboned, drained weight. Buy ready-softened or prepare ahead according to the product instructions; variable advance softening time is excluded from this recipe timing.); 200 g smoked fish (deboned); 150 g garden-egg leaves (washed and chopped; spinach is a different-tasting substitute); 90 ml red palm oil; 30 g ground dried crayfish; 80 g onion (finely chopped); 1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper (chopped); 5 g ogiri okpei (commercially prepared; optional); 900 ml water; 0.75 tsp salt

Hand-cut okra and fermented oil bean in a concentrated fish broth with palm oil and garden-egg leaves. Ugba can be a dressed salad, but it also gives its name to a soup. Flo Chinyere describes Ofe Ugba as an Imo- and Abia-associated okra preparation in which the oil bean should remain prominent. Hand-cut okra contributes both texture and the characteristic draw, while fish and crayfish season a relatively small amount of liquid. Keeping this as a separate entry protects that distinction: a bowl cooked for swallow is a different meal from the cold or warm ugba salad already in the existing Recipe.ng collection. Cultural context: NICO’s Ote Ugba is read as a likely spelling of Ofe Ugba, with that correction recorded rather than asserted as a proven alias. The soup is distinct from ugba salad.

30 minPreparation

70 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer stockfish with 600 ml water for 35–50 minutes, until tender. Keep the pot from drying by adding small quantities of the remaining water.
2
Add smoked fish, ugba, crayfish, onion, pepper, optional ogiri and palm oil. Simmer 8–10 minutes, stirring gently so the base does not catch.
3
Check the liquid before adding vegetables: there should be a modest amount of concentrated broth, not a full pot of water. Add only enough reserved water to loosen it.
4
Stir in okra and garden-egg leaves. Cook 5–7 minutes, stirring gently, until the okra is tender, the leaves are wilted and all ingredients are hot. Taste and season.
5
Serve promptly with a separately prepared swallow. Avoid prolonged boiling after the vegetables are cooked, which dulls their colour and texture.

A little kitchen wisdom

Use processed fermented ugba; this is not a raw oil-bean fermentation guide. A knife-cut okra texture is intentional in this version. Start with ready-softened stockfish. If yours is sold dry, arrange the product-specific preparation in advance; the stated time starts after that step. Timing estimate: active preparation 30 min; cooking 70 min; additional passive time 0 min; conservative planning allowance 100 min. Some stages may overlap. Recipe status: Research formulation; not kitchen-tested. Allergen checks: Fish; Crustaceans; Check fermented-seasoning label

Recipe notes & sources

Research formulation; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Ofe ukpaka, Ugba and okra soup

NICO’s Ote Ugba is read as a likely spelling of Ofe Ugba, with that correction recorded rather than asserted as a proven alias. The soup is distinct from ugba salad.

Allergens: Fish, Crustaceans, Check fermented-seasoning label

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Soups & Stews

Ofe Ugba (Okra and Oil-Bean Soup)

30 minPreparation

70 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer stockfish with 600 ml water for 35–50 minutes, until tender. Keep the pot from drying by adding small quantities of the remaining water.
2
Add smoked fish, ugba, crayfish, onion, pepper, optional ogiri and palm oil. Simmer 8–10 minutes, stirring gently so the base does not catch.
3
Check the liquid before adding vegetables: there should be a modest amount of concentrated broth, not a full pot of water. Add only enough reserved water to loosen it.
4
Stir in okra and garden-egg leaves. Cook 5–7 minutes, stirring gently, until the okra is tender, the leaves are wilted and all ingredients are hot. Taste and season.
5
Serve promptly with a separately prepared swallow. Avoid prolonged boiling after the vegetables are cooked, which dulls their colour and texture.

A little kitchen wisdom

Recipe notes & sources

Research formulation; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Ofe ukpaka, Ugba and okra soup

NICO’s Ote Ugba is read as a likely spelling of Ofe Ugba, with that correction recorded rather than asserted as a proven alias. The soup is distinct from ugba salad.

Allergens: Fish, Crustaceans, Check fermented-seasoning label