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Ewedu Soup

A Nigerian soup made with ewedu leaves, meat or fish, palm oil, and seasonings.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Ewedu Soup

4–6

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the meat

  1. Combine the meat, onion, stock cube, and salt in a pot.

  2. Cover with water and simmer until tender to your taste; tough meat will take longer.

Prepare and cook the ewedu

  1. Wash the ewedu leaves thoroughly if fresh.

  2. If using dried ewedu, soak it in warm water for 30 minutes until it softens.

  3. In a second pot, add the washed ewedu leaves and a little water.

  4. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

  5. It will begin to produce a slimy texture as it cooks.

Finish and serve

  1. Blend the red bell peppers and ground pepper until you get a smooth purée.

  2. Add the blended pepper to the pot of cooking ewedu.

  3. Stir in the ground crayfish, palm oil, and any additional seasoning (stock cubes, salt, and pepper) to taste.

  4. Continue cooking for another 5–10 minutes, stirring frequently until the soup thickens and becomes smooth.

  5. Serve the ewedu soup hot, paired with your choice of fufu, pounded yam, or amala.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

658Calories
48 gProtein
42 gFat
18 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 10 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Salmon100g cooked208
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Meatnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Crayfishnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Onion + crayfishtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together213 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Beef + crayfishtop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together41 recipes

    Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ewedu leaves
Their natural mucilage gives the soup its slippery, thickened body.
Palm oil
Adds fat for richness and carries flavor, and gives the soup its colour.
Meat
Provides savory flavor and substance, especially as it cooks down into the stock.
Onion
Builds aromatic sweetness and depth as it softens in the cooking liquid.
Ground crayfish
Adds a concentrated, savory seafood aroma that rounds out the soup.
Red bell peppers
Add sweetness, body, and colour when blended into a smooth purée.

The step that matters

Stirring the soup as it thickens. Once the ewedu has thickened, the starches and mucilage can settle and scorch on the bottom of the pot. Frequent stirring keeps the heat even and the texture smooth.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, crayfish):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Carrotfits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, crayfish. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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