Cookbook:Abak Soup

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Abak Soup
Category	Soup recipes
Difficulty

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Abak soup is an indigenous soup among the Ibibio people of Nigeria. It features atama leaves and palm fruit concentrate, the latter of which makes the dish resemble banga soup.

Variation I

Ingredients

• Oil palm fruits or canned oil palm fruit concentrate
• Dryfish or smoked fish
• Unshelled periwinkles
• Assorted meat and fish
• Ponmo, washed and cut into small pieces
• Stockfish
• Onion, sliced
• Stock cubes
• Ground crayfish
• Fresh ata rodo (habanero or scotch bonnet chiles), blended to a paste
• Atama leaves
• Salt

Procedure

1. If using fresh palm fruit, process them to extract the juice. Set aside.
2. Debone, soak, and clean both the dryfish fish. Rinse in cold water, making sure they are free from sand, and break them into small pieces.
3. Cut periwinkles with the blunt side of a knife, and wash thoroughly until the water runs clear.
4. Transfer the periwinkles to a pot of water, and boil with a pinch of salt for about a while. Drain off the water and set the periwinkles aside.
5. Place the meat, ponmo, and stock fish in a pot. Cover them with as little water as possible, then add the onion and the stock cubes. Cover and cook until tender.
6. Add the deboned dryfish.
7. Boil the palm fruit juice/concentrate in a separate pot until oil floats to the surface.
8. Add all the ingredients, assorted meats, fish, and salt to taste. Stir gently and leave to simmer.

Variation II

Ingredients

• Goat meat (optional), washed
• Cow tripe (shaki) (optional), washed
• Ponmo (optional), washed
• Assorted meat, washed
• Garlic
• Onion
• Salt
• Palm fruit, washed
• Uyayak spice
• Dryfish (optional), washed and deboned
• Bunch of atama leaves
• Ground crayfish
• Seasoning cube
• Pepper

Equipment

• Mortar and pestle
• Pot
• Water

Procedure

1. Place meats, ponmo, garlic, and onions in a pot. Season with salt to taste, and rub the meat to make sure the salt is well-distributed.
2. Cover the meat with water, and bring to a boil. Simmer while you proceed with the next steps.
3. Boil the palm fruits with a reasonable quantity of water for about 5 minutes. The cooked fruits should be soft and tender.
4. Drain the cooked palm fruits in a colander.
5. Pound the palm fruits in a mortar until the shafts are removed. Wash with hot water to extract the palm oil.
6. Add the extracted palm oil and the uyayak spice to the simmering meat. Add the dried fish if using, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
7. Stir in the atama leaves, ground crayfish, seasoning cube, and salt to taste. By now the palm fruit oil extract would be thicken along the process.
8. Cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Serve.