Nigerian · soup

Afang Soup

Afang Soup reads umami 5.8, marine & briny 5.1 and salinity 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Nigerian soup, about 1 hr 34 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 6.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.2 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 1.3 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 3.4 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.0 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.8 · Marine & Briny 5.1 · Salinity 5.0 · Richness 3.9 · Heat 3.9 · Smoke 3.1 · Allium 2.6 · Fruity 2.0 · Earthy 1.2 · Sourness 1.2 · Bitterness 1.0 · Floral 1.0 · Sweetness 0.8 · Herbaceous 0.7 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (14)

• afang leaves — 200 g
• waterleaf — 600 g
• beef shin — 500 g
• tripe — 300 g
• stockfish — 200 g
• smoked mackerel — 150 g
• unrefined red palm oil — 138 g
• crayfish — 30 g
• scotch bonnet chillies — 200 g
• onion — 180 g
• periwinkle — 200 g
• salt — 5 g
• bouillon — 4 g
• water — 500 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 34 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 10.9 kcal, 1.3 g protein, 0.4 g fat, 0.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

1. Put the beef shin and shaki in a pot with the onion, salt, seasoning cube and the water. Cover and simmer 45 to 60 minutes, until both are tender. Keep the liquid tight: afang is a thick soup and the greens should never swim.
2. Add the soaked stockfish, the smoked mackerel and the periwinkles and cook 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the palm oil, the crayfish and the blended scotch bonnet and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile pound the shredded afang leaves in a mortar with a splash of water for about 5 minutes to bruise and soften them. Afang is wiry and tough; unpounded it stays stringy no matter how long it cooks, and no spinach or kale stands in for it.
5. Stir the waterleaf in first and cook 5 minutes uncovered. It collapses and releases a great deal of water, and that liquid is what cooks the afang.
6. Add the pounded afang, stir once, and cook uncovered 8 to 10 minutes. Leave the lid off from the moment the greens go in or the soup dulls from green to olive.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Pondu (Saka-Saka) — Congolese
• Sauce Graine (Palm Nut Sauce with Beef and Crab) — Ivorian
• Eru with Waterleaf and Garri — Cameroonian
• Manhattan-Style Tomato Clam Chowder — American
• Kontomire Stew (Palava Sauce) — Ghanaian

Keep reading: what umami, marine & briny, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.