MY LOW-BUDGET EDIKANIKONG SOUP

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Have you ever had to satisfy a craving for a certain dish, soup, snack, beverage, or even a good device? Simply to sate your appetite and want, you ponder how to go.
Now, you want something so badly that you'll stop at nothing to have it, without even considering the cost or your financial situation.

I'd like to take this chance to share with you a recent soup that satisfied a long-standing yearning of mine. Because Darling Hubby is not a big fan, it was even more difficult to prepare. Nevertheless, a few weeks ago husband took a trip, so I was left alone in the house with my daughter of course.

Being able to choose my food without considering his viewpoint made me pleased. A few days later, the urge returned, but I was out of money and the soup (Edikaikong) is very pricey to make, so that presented a problem. This soup is expensive, but I have to eat it. I needed two different kinds of vegetables (water leaves and pumpkin leaves), assorted meat, fish, crayfish, shrimp, periwinkle, snails, pormo (cow skin), stock fish, and palm oil (even though I already have this at home).

What should I do next? I consider all of my options while trying to find a way out when I discover that I don't necessarily need to purchase all of the ingredients to make the soup. Since I already had the other ingredients at home, I went shopping to buy what I could manage to afford to make the soup that I was so eager to eat. I bought the vegetables, pormo, fish, crayfish, locust beans (Iru in my dialect; I'm Yoruba), and some fresh pepper.

MORE KNOWLEDGE ON THIS SOUP

Well, let me quickly tell you a few things about Edikaikang Soup, it's common in the southern part of Nigeria, I mean the Cross River and Akwa Ibom. But so many other parts have also come to appreciate this soup, and some other countries too because its health benefits are top notch with its richness in protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin B, folic acid, and more.

Due to the nutritious value of this incredibly tasty soup, it also aids in weight loss, helps to give blood to the body, and helps to prevent cancer.

MY FAVORITE WAY TO MAKE THIS SOUP

Now, let me walk you through how I make this soup. There is a traditional way to make it, but I prefer this method, which I'll be sharing with you.

However, you are welcome to ask me about the traditional method if you are interested. You'll enjoy it, and more importantly, I urge you to try making it yourself. It's quick, easy, and delicious.

So I sort out all the materials as described above, wash the vegetables individually in a clean bowl, wash the fish, pormo, pepper, onions, locust beans, and crayfish, and then I prepare the dish.

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I begin by chopping the vegetables in a separate tray, grating the pepper, and setting my clean pot on the stove. I add a little palm oil because Edikiakong soup doesn't need much, then I add the sliced onions and let them cook for a little while. Next, I add the grated pepper, and then I add the locust beans because they're good for the eyes, but they're not necessary; if you can't find any, just cook the soup. I then add the already-boiled pormo, since I didn't have enough money to purchase the necessary meat and other ingredients, I also added the fish, crayfish, maggi, and salt. I stirred everything together, tasted it, and then let it cook for three minutes.

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I had to remove the fish so that it won't scatter while I stir the soup, I return to check on it before adding the vegetables. Since the water leaves are softer than the pumpkin leaves, I prefer to add them first. I stir, add the water leaves immediately, and then stir again. I also check the taste to ensure that I'm satisfied. At this point, I'm satisfied with the soup's flavor.

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I put the fish back in and cook it for only two minutes on low heat. The soup is done and can be served with any kind of swallow food like Semo, Amala (cassava flour), Eba, or even with rice when I go back to check on it for the final time.

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Since vegetables are soft, I don't enjoy cooking them for too long because they lose their flavor when served the next day.

You approve of the final product, don't you think? Even though it is a low-budget soup, I enjoyed eating it and was able to satisfy my craving because I was incredibly joyful. Try it out, please.
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