Ikokore / Ifokore

An Ijebu pottage delicacy made with grated Wateryam. Typically it is eaten with Eba (cold eba preferrably)

I’ve been craving Ikokore for weeks but I’ve been unable to cook because I’ve been convalescent. Now that I’m back on my feet, I cooked the first thing I’ve been craving. Ikokore Ijebu. I have a staff who is Ijebu, she ate it with left over Eba from the previous day. I’m yet to try that though.

This Ikokore is “Ikokore elemi meje” (Ikokore with Seven Lives). A joke we crack when there is a lot of protein going on in a dish. I only cook small portions of Ikokore because neither my husband nor my son eat it, I cook just enough to share with my Ijebu staff, my help, and any other person. I eat very small portions.

Recipe

(Serves 3)

Ingredients

5 slices Wateryam
1/2 cup Palm oil
1 cup blended pepper mix (tatashe/bawa/jalepeno pepper + Atarodo/Scotch bonnet + Onions, Ratio 4:1:1)
2 cups rich stock
Assorted Meats (about 100g or 1.5cups) (beef, offals, ponmo, cow foot)
2 Medium sized smoked tilapia (shredded)
1/2 Cup Shredded Stock fish
1 small smoked catfish (shredded)
1/4 cup powdered crayfish
Salt to taste
2 Bouillon Cubes (eg Knorr)

Procedure

Using the small grit of your grater, grate your slices of yam. If you have a food processor you can use the similar attachment on your processor to grate the yam.

A tuber of water yam, slices of water yam, the grater used to grate the yams, grated yam.

Shredded Bonga Fish (smoked tilapia), shredded stock fish, powdered crayfish, blended pepper mix, smoked catfish, assorted meats

If you don’t have your stock ready, boil your meats, season with salt, seasoning cubes and one onion. Cook till done.

Then add your pepper blend, and palm oil, allow it cook for ten minutes then add the all the fish and crayfish. If you had your stock ready, cook pepper first with palm oil, then add the stock, fish and meat. Taste for seasoning.

When all these are well incorporated, spoon the grated Wateryam in small portions into the broth. If the fluid is too little add some more water and allow it to cook till the yam is well cooked. Stir with a wooden spoon or ladle.