How To Prepare Abak Atama Soup, A Cross River/Akwa Ibom Delicacy
Abak Atama soup is a delicious soup popular amongst the Efik and Ibibio tribes in the Cross River and the Akwa Ibom state in southern Nigeria.
Ingredients
- Beef (1/2 kilo)
- Fresh or smoked fish (1 medium size)
- Cowhide (10 medium pieces)
- stockfish head (1 middle head)
- 1 cup periwinkle in shell
- 1 small bunch of Atama leaves
- palm fruit
- 3 tablespoons ground of2 crayfish
- Uyayak (local spice)
- 1 Knorr cube
- 2½ liters of water (for fatty liquid extraction)
- Salt and seasoning to taste.
- Pepper
Preparation
- Wash and cook the palm fruits for about 30 minutes. Filter the water and pound the palm fruit until the pulp/fiber separates from the nuts.
- Boil clean water and add to the pounded palm fruit and mix well to separate the oil extract from the rest of the pulp, then strain the oil extract.
- Wash, slice and season the meat with salt, seasoning and small pepper, then steam for about 5 minutes on low heat.
- Then add about 1½ cup of water and stockfish head and continue to cook for about 20 minutes until the meat is almost cooked, and remove from the heat.
- Cut the Atama leaves into tiny pieces. Pound them for about 10 minutes until the leaves are finely pounded.
- Then place the oil extract on the burner and boil for about 5 minutes to remove all the moisture.
- Add cooked meat and washed smoked fish, meat stock, periwinkle, crayfish, pepper and seasoning cube, and Uyayak. Stir and boil for about 10 minutes.
- Add the atama leaves and cook without stirring for another 10 minutes. Stir and add salt to taste.
- Simmer for another 15 to 10 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from the heat and serve with pounded yam, eba, or crushed fufu.