How to Prepare Bitter Leaf (Onugbu) Soup?

 Bitter leaf soup is a wonderful delicacy prepared with freshly washed  leaf of the plant called Vernonia amygdaline. It is properly eaten by the Igbo people of Eastern part of Nigeria.

Below is some of the steps you could use to prepare this dish, but first lets look at some of the ingrdedients used.

Ingredients used for Preparing Bitter Leaf Soup

• Freshly plucked bitter leaf
• Cocoyam (thickener)
• Crayfish (grounded)
• Dried fish 
• Fresh meat
• Fresh pepper
• Maggi
• Onions
• Red oil
• Salt
• Stock fish

Now lets look at the method to use below;

Step 1: Wash the bitter leaf for about 15 to 20 minutes with water, you can put small in your mouth to ensure that the bitter taste has been reduced.

Step 2: Peel off and boil the cocoyam for about 20 minutes till it gets soft.

Step 3: Pound the cocoyam in a mortar and add some palm oil in measured quantities till it form paste.

Step 4: Wash your stock fish with hot water and your beef properly washed.

Step 5: Add seasonings to beef, dried fish, stock fish, and boil together for at least 20 minutes until it becomes soft and tender.

Step 6: Add water periodically to ensure you have enough meat stock.

Step 7: Add your cocoyam paste in measured quantities to the pot of meat and fish, add some pepper as well.

Step 8: Allow to simmer for 15 minutes and keep stirring as you add your cocoyam paste till you have the desired thickness.

Step 9: Add salt to taste and stir properly.

Step 10: Serve with pounded yam or hot eba/garri.