How do you prepare Bitter soup as Nigerian? This recipe answers that. Although I have discussed this recipe in my recent posts, there are still much work to do.

Why would anyone wish to taste anything made from a leaf called bitter leaf? If you are asking this question, then you have clearly never tried the bitter leaf soup known to Nigerians as ofeonugbu/obe ewuro, and to the Camerounians as Ndole, the bitter leaves go through a process and are turned into fantastic soups with the barest hint of bitterness carefully balanced out against other flavors.

Bitter leaf soup, from the vernonia amygdalina plant species, is as famous for its culinary uses as is for its medicinal properties. The saying ‘good things come in unattractive packages’ has maybe never rang truer than in the case of bitter leaf.

This green herb is packed full of what is referred to as ‘natural quinine’ (responsible for its bitter taste) and offers several health benefits for the human body, among which are boosting liver health, kidney health, lowering blood sugar levels, anti-cancerous, reduces cholesterol levels, cures malaria and several others. For medicinal importance, the leaves are brewed or the juice is extracted from the fresh clean leaves.

Apart from these, the bitter essence in bitter herbs like bitter leaf, yarrow, and rue stimulates the tongue’s bitter receptors and triggers a series of reflexes from the body’s central nervous system. So how do you cook simple bitter leaf soup?

Ingredients for Bitter Leaf Soup

1. Seasoning cubes

2. Red crayfish

3. Ground crayfish

4. Pepper mix (onion, tomato, pepper)

5. Ogiri (fermented castor oil seed)

6. Meat cuts (carefully cleaned and washed)

7. Dried fish (washed in hot water and salt)

8. Stockfish (washed in salt and hot water)

9. 4-5 small pieces of Cocoyam (washed, boiled and peeled )

10. Salt

11. Onions

12. Palm oil

13. 2 cups, washed squeezed Bitterleaf

How to Prepare Bitter Leaf Soup

1. Boil all meats with onions, garlic, ginger, and chosen seasonings. If this includes tougher cuts like tripe (shaki) and oxtail or tough organ meat, you want to begin with these first, and then the more tender cuts like beef or chicken and boil with a little water until soft. When you are sure it’s soft enough, add your stock fish, crayfish, and dry fish.

2. Add the pepper and palm oil to the eats and stock in the pot, leave to cook for about two to three minutes, then add ogiri and leave all to cook together until the smell and flavor of the ogiri is evidently in the soup. Check for salt and seasoning and adjust rightly. While you are waiting for it to simmer, pound your boiled and peeled cocoyam in your hand mortar until a smooth paste is formed, and then add to the soup slowly to your preferred thickness of choice.  Then add your ground crayfish.

3. If you think the stock is too thick, at this stage, you can lighten the creamy base with a bit more stock.

4. It is cool to now add your washed and debittered bitter leaf to the simmering broth.

Serve with your preferred swallow.

NOTE: If you wish to use fresh fish for this soup, put your fresh fish in a pot, add water season with garlic, onions, salt, and another seasoning of choice, and leave to prepare.

When it is ready, remove fresh fish and continue the process by adding dry fish, stock fish, crayfish, oil,  pepper, etc without the fish so the fish does not get mashed. When the bitter leaf is ready, you put the fish back and leave all to stay on the fire for about a minute, then serve!