On our menu today is ugba salad. This meal is indigenous to Imo State but it has become so popular that it is served in most restaurants within the country. It’s obvious from the name that the primary ingredient for this food is ugba.
Ugba, known in some part of Igboland as akpaka is African oil bean. It is cooked for hours and shredded before it is used in cooking Nigerian meals. Ugba salad is easy to prepare; it is delicious too. So, let me tell you how to prepare it. Who knows? Making and enjoying it might spice up your weekend.
Read more about other Nigerian Foods
Ingredients
Ugba
Stock fish
Kpomo
Crayfish
Onions
Salt
Stock cubes
Fresh pepper
Edible potash or ngor
Fermented locust bean
Palm oil
Garden egg leaves
Fresh tomato
How to Prepare
Rinse the ugba and put it in a sieve to drain out water. Rinse the stock fish and kpomo. Put them in a clean pot. Add stock cube and water then cook on medium heat till tender. Please note that you don’t need too much stock so make sure you have little left by the time you turn off the heat.
Rinse and dice the fresh pepper and set aside for later use. Use the dry mill of the blender and rough blend the crayfish. Peel, rinse and cut the onions. Rinse and slice the garden egg leaves. The onions and garden egg leaves are optional additions to this meal. They are used mainly for garnishing and so can be easily removed.
Next, dissolve the edible potash or ngor in half cup of cool water. Strain through a fine sieve and set the liquid aside for later use.
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The stock fish and the kpomo should be cool to the touch now. Cut them into small pieces.
Pour the palm oil in a clean pot; please do not heat except you need to melt the oil first. If the latter happens to be the case, take the palm oil off the heat as soon as it melts. Pick up the plate containing the potash or ngor solution. Pour the content slowly into the palm oil while stirring at the same time. The palm oil will curdle and the colour will change.
Unwrap the locust bean, drop it into the pot and then dissolve it with your spatula. Add the ground crayfish, the pieces of stock fish and kpomo into the pot. Stir till everything is well combined.
Finally, place the pot on a medium heat gas. Add the ugba, the sliced fresh pepper and the stock (from the stock fish and kpomo) into the pot. Add salt to taste. Stir till everything is well combined, then turn off the heat.
The ugba salad is ready. Garnish with garden egg leaves and onions. Serve with chilled palm wine or any chilled drink of choice.
Featured image source: @Waynetipsy – Twitter
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