I’ve heard that it’s been said, that the way to a girl’s heart is through seafood. Right? Lol! I totally made that up, but seafood sure is the way to my heart!

A few days ago a facebook friend asked if I had a recipe for Native Fisherman soup on the blog, I realized I have for Creamy Fisherman Soup, which I absolutely love and serve for breakfast with bread rolls.

Native Fisherman Soup is spicy warm and aromatic. Historically it is said to be a one pot soup by Fishermen, expected, they’d make a soup of their catch. Every tradition with fishing communities have their versions of Fisherman soup. This Fisherman soup is native to the people of Rivers state in Nigeria. And traditionally it is eaten with Onunu (Pounded Yam and Plantain).

Recipe

Ingredients

Prep Time 20mins . Cook Time 35 mins

• Assortment of Fresh seafood. (Fish, lobsters, prawns, shrimps, clam meat, crab, shelled periwinkle)
• Palm oil
• Fresh Pepper blend (I use only pepper, no tomatoes or onions)
• Cocoyam paste (or powder)
• Crayfish powder
• Salt
• Seasoning cubes
• Uziza leaves

Procedure

• Heat up palm oil in a pot and add fresh pepper blend, add crayfish powder, salt and seasoning cubes fry lightly, .
• Turn heat down and add cocoyam paste. To make cocoyam paste, boil cocoyam, take of skin, pound or blend to a smooth paste. Add to the pepper base.
• Add water and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add fish, cover the pot and cook fish between 7 to 10 minutes. (Depending in the fish you are using. I used small barracuda and they cook really fast.)
• Add Crabs, Shrimps, prawn, lobster… And cook for 3 to 5 minutes
• DO NOT STIR soup with a spoon! Shake the pot together lifting with the handles.
• Lastly add periwinkle, clam meat and thinly sliced Uziza leaves.Turn of the heat about a minute after adding these

Native Fisherman Soup is spicy, light not in a watery way, just enough to scoop morsels of swallow. And its not thick that it it would be cloggy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this with Onunu

Onunu

Onunu is yam and slightly ripe plantain pounded together. I like to us a ratio of 5 chunky slices of yam to 1 plantain, so the morsel will hold together. Took much plantain can make it runny.

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