Afia Efere (white soup)
My love affair with white soup started when I met my friend Flo in college, she made me a bowl of Efere with amazing chicken and I was sold forever. Fast forward to now, I am married to an Ibibio man and this is a staple in our home. Afia Efere translate directly to white soup, it’s so named due to the peculiar white color of the soup. The color is due to the thickener use (pounded yam) and the absence of palm oil which is prevalent in Nigerian Soups.
The beauty of this soup is in it simplicity; on the simplest level, efere is a earthy broth usually made from goat meat or fresh fish and seasoned with Uyayak pod (aidan fruit ), crayfish powder and Uda pod (negro pepper). Efere is also very similar to Ofe Nsala from Easter Nigeria, however, nsala contains Utazi and ogiri and doesn’t contain uda or uyayak.
Whatever your tribe or origin, this soup should be on your roster, it’s deliciously simple and fragrant and pairs excellently well with pounded yam.
Ingredient
- Uyayak Pod (Aidan Fruit) – 1 inch
- Uda pods- 2 (seeds removed and discarded)
- Goat meat, smoked fish and or chicken (precooked) ~600g
- 2 cubes Maggi
- ¼ cup crayfish powder
- Salt – to taste
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper (hot pepper – ata Rodo) (optional)
- Pounded yam paste (1/4 cup) (substitute 1/2 cup yam powder)*
*To make pounded yam paste – boil 200g of yam in some water until yam is very soft. Remove yam pieces from water and place in a mortal or food processor. process until a smooth paste forms.
Direction
- Place the uyayk and uda pod on an oven tray – toast at 525f for 5 minutes or until just smoky
- In a large pot – combine goat meat, chicken, pepper, blended crayfish, salt, maggi, uyayak, uda and smoked fish. Add enough water to just cover the ingredients. Stir to combine. Set on high heat and bring to a rolling boil. reduce heat to medium-low and leave to simmer for 25 – 30 minutes
- If using yam powder – combine with enough water to form a smooth paste
- Add in yam or pounded yam into the broth. Stir well until paste is loose and thorough combined with the broth. Simmer uncovered for another 4 – 5 minutes
Remove and discard Uyayk and uda pods to serve. Enjoy with pounded yam
Thank you for this wonderful receipe. you have made by weekend.
Hummm I finally got the famous uyayak . Soup ready to go. Muaaaah Ronke. Like my niece would say “I laud you”
yeii you!
Ronke, thanks for a fabulous website like this. I have been searching for years for a similar site that encourages us Nigerians abroad to live healthier lives. Beautiful pictures and very informative. Keep it up.
Thank you much!
Lovely one, I have to try it in ur own way. Thanks
Sounds good! Happy cooking.
Hi nice one,but I have tried it before seeing ur post, for the uyàyàk do I have to remove the seeds before I use
It’s not necessary to remove the seeds, as long as they stay inside the pod it’s okay.
for those trying to eat health u can use oatmeal powder to thicken d soup instead f poundo.. i do the same with bitter leaf soup or ofe onugbu.. very nice too
very very smart.
Any substitute for uyayak?
unfortunately not but you can cook the soup without.
What is uyayak for those of us not akwa ibom or calabar
It’s called Aidan fruit in English. I will add a picture.
thats my mama’s fever medicine, we children in those days dey form fever becos we want ofe nsala. men!, i wish i have the spices, i will replicate this now now
Eyah
Thanks for this. Trying it out today *fingers crossed* one more thing I’ll be using poundo yam… All I need to do is add a little poundo yam flour right?
Yes!!! you might want to dissolve the flour in a little bit of water first to make a paste.
So I tried out this recipe, using poundo paste instead of pounded yam. It absolutely rocked, was very tasty. I wanted to add uyayak, but didn’t have any, or so I thought. I did have yanghanyaghan, which I later discovered was the same thing, courtesy of Google. Great recipe, easy to follow. Thank you.
Any substitute for pounded yam paste? Poundo?
yes
Hello,u are really doing a great job,kudos to u all.My question is,wat do u mean by pounded yam paste
it’s the initial result from pounding yam, just before it becomes stretchy
Please when can you add uyayak to it.
Same time as the meat…. just remember to remove it when you are done.
Seems easy enough for me to try.
EtukFryde it’s called uyayak in ibibio, i think
yes it is :)
Actually there is a particular spice not listed for this. I’m not exactly sure what the native name is or if it even has an English name but it looks like the bark of a tree with a cross like shape when split in two. Well the efik people use it anyways
When I first came across the recipe for this soup I wasn’t too sure I wanted to try it out. But when I eventually did, it was awesome. Nice recipe.
When I first came across the recipe for this soup I wasn’t too sure I wanted to try it out. But when I eventually did, it was awesome. Nice recipe.
I’m absolutely loving this soup as no oil required. As u may know, Nigerian dishes can be cramped with palm oil, which I’ve just had enough of. More recipes like this would be much appreciated. Thanks
will do
I’m absolutely loving this soup as no oil required. As u may know, Nigerian dishes can be cramped with palm oil, which I’ve just had enough of. More recipes like this would be much appreciated. Thanks
Mmnhh! Looks yummy. I grew up with this soup, so I could practically taste the soup I saw in the picture! Well done and keep it up!