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Liberian Pepper Soup

A spicy soup made with palm oil, chicken, fish, plantain, carrot, and Scotch bonnet peppers.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Liberian Pepper Soup

Time20–25 minutes for the chicken

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. In a large pot, heat the palm oil over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic, and grated ginger to the pot. Sauté until the onion becomes translucent and fragrant.

  3. Stir in the chopped Scotch bonnet peppers and bay leaf. Cook for a few minutes to release the flavors.

  4. Add the chicken pieces to the pot and cook until they are lightly browned on all sides.

Simmer and finish

  1. Pour in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pot and let the chicken cook for about 20–25 minutes, or until it is fully cooked and tender.

  2. Once the chicken is cooked, add the fish steaks or fillets to the pot and let them simmer in the soup for an additional 5–10 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

  3. Stir in the sliced plantain and carrot. Let the soup simmer for another 5–7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

  4. Season the soup with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Adjust the seasoning according to your preference and desired level of spiciness.

  5. Remove the pot from the heat and let the soup rest for a few minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

588Calories
54 gProtein
31 gFat
22 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 14 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Salmon100g cooked208
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Scotchnot in our table0
Plantainnot 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. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Ginger + carrottop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,377 recipes

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

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Palm oil
Carries the aromatics and adds fat and a rich, colourful body to the soup.
Chicken
Provides the main protein, which becomes tender as it simmers in the broth.
Fish
Adds a delicate, flaky protein that cooks quickly in the hot broth.
Plantain
Softens as it cooks and adds starch that gives the broth more body.
Onion
Softens and turns sweet as it cooks, building the flavour base.
Scotch bonnet chile peppers
Provide the heat and fruity aroma that define the soup.

The step that matters

Simmering the fish. Fish is delicate and cooks quickly; adding it too early or boiling it hard can make it break apart and turn dry and tough. Gentle simmering until just cooked through keeps the flesh moist and intact.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, ginger, pepper, chicken, fish, carrot):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, ginger, pepper, chicken, fish, carrot. 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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