Storage and cooking tips for Ogbono

Ogbono is a thick and drawy soup made with with Ogbono seed. Ogbono soup is super easy to prepare but can be tricky too. When not stored properly, it may loose drawy or slimy characteristic. Inappropriate storage is a common reason why Ogbono Soup does not “draw” well enough. Other reasons why your Ogbono soups may not draw well could be:

1. Frying the Ogbono before adding the meat stock. Ground Ogbono should only be dissolved in the palm oil.
2. Adding too much water to the Ogbono making the soup watery.

Storage tips for your Ogbono seeds

1. Store ogbono seeds away from water and moisture.
2. Put freshly blended ogbono seeds into an airtight container and store in the fridge or freezer (it lasts longer in the freezer).
3. You can also store freshly blended ogbono seeds in ziploc/freezer bags (be sure to push out air from the bag before sealing) in the fridge.  

  OGBONO RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1 cup ogbono seed
• 1 small ogiri okpei
• 1 medium sized stockfish head
• 400g ponmo - cowskin
• 500g sharki - Tripe
• 1kg Beef
• 2 medium-sized fresh pepper or 2 tbsp. dry pepper
• 6 small snails
• 1/2 cup cray fish
• salt - to taste
• 3 Seasoning cubes
• 1 small onion
• 1 cup palm oil
• 1 small bunch ugu ( pumpkin leaves)

Recipe

Prep Instructions

• Place the Ogbono and ogiri in the dry mill of your blender and grind into a smooth powder then set this aside.
• Soak the stockfish in hot water and shred and set this aside too
• Chop the ugu 

Cooking instructions

• In a medium-sized pot, place the meats: shaki, ponmo, beef, and snails in the pot. Add your chopped onion, crushed seasoning, salt to taste. Cover the pot and leave the meats to cook in its juices for 5-10 minutes. This ensures the seasoning gets into the meat.
• Add water and cook for 30minutes. Remove the beef and snail so they don't get overcooked. Add the stockfish into the pot and cook alongside the sharki and ponmo for extra 20 minutes.
• Heat up palm oil in an empty pot for 30 secs and add pepper. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
• Turn down the heat from the burner and add the ogbono. Stir on very low heat for 30 secs then add the meat stock, and mix well.
• Add water into the pot. If you want it to be very thick, add little water. if you don’t want the soup to be too thick, add water as desired.
• Here’s the tricky part. If you’re sure you’re using the real ogbono, you can cover your pot. If you’re using Ugiri (An ogbono substitute), DON’T COVER YOUR POT else the soup will lose its viscosity. Once the ogbono thickens, add the crayfish and cooked proteins into the pot.
• Mix to combine, then add your chopped vegetables. Leave to simmer for 2 minutes on low heat then turn off your burner and your ogbono is ready.
• Serve with your favorite “Swallow” and Enjoy!

This dish takes 45minutes to an hour to prepare including prep time .