Soups & Stews

Oha Soup

Name: Oha Soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 85 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 600 g stewing beef (4 cm pieces); 150 g smoked fish (deboned); 250 g cocoyam corms (edible soup-thickening variety); 200 g fresh oha leaves (stalks removed); 100 ml red palm oil; 3 tbsp ground dried crayfish; 1 tsp ogiri Igbo (commercially prepared; optional); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (chopped); 1 stock cube (optional); 1200 ml water (plus extra if needed); to taste salt

Tender oha leaves in a gently thickened palm-oil broth with beef, fish and ogiri. Oha soup belongs to the Igbo family of leaf soups thickened with ingredients such as cocoyam. Flo Chinyere distinguishes its tender, seasonal leaves from bitterleaf, which is more readily available year-round. The leaves go into the pot near the end so that their flavour and texture remain apparent. Cultural context: Oha and ora are dialect spellings. This is a cocoyam-thickened version; palm-fruit and achi-thickened versions also exist.

Oha soup with cooked leaves and assorted meat or fish

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

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25 minPreparation

85 minCooking

6Servings

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

1
Simmer beef with the stock cube and 1 litre water for 50–65 minutes, until tender, replenishing water as needed.
2
Boil the scrubbed cocoyam in a separate pan for 25–35 minutes until completely soft. Peel when manageable and mash thoroughly.
3
Wash the oha and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
4
Add fish, crayfish, pepper, palm oil and ogiri to the beef. Simmer 8 minutes, then stir in spoonfuls of cocoyam paste.
5
Cook gently for 10–15 minutes until smooth and lightly thickened. Add the remaining water as necessary.
6
Fold in the oha, simmer 3–5 minutes, and adjust the salt. Serve with a freshly prepared swallow.

A little kitchen wisdom

Spinach changes the defining flavour; label that version as an adaptation. Do not overcook the tender leaves. Timing: active preparation 25 min; cooking 85 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); Check stock cube and ogiri labels

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Ora soup, Ofe oha, Ofe ora

Oha and ora are dialect spellings. This is a cocoyam-thickened version; palm-fruit and achi-thickened versions also exist.

Allergens: Fish, Crustaceans (crayfish), Check stock cube and ogiri labels