What it is
A draw soup made from chopped or grated okra cooked briefly so it keeps its stretch, usually with palm oil, pepper, fish and meat. Cooking it too long kills the draw, so it is the shortest-cooked of the major Nigerian soups.
Key ingredients
- Fresh okra
- Palm oil
- Meat and dried fish
- Stockfish
- Ground crayfish
- Ground pepper
- Onions
- Ugu or spinach (optional)
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten with a swallow such as eba, pounded yam, fufu or tuwo, pinched and dipped so the soup stretches.
Cultural significance
Okro soup is eaten in every part of Nigeria under different names, which makes it one of the few genuinely national soups. The regional differences are real: southern versions lean on palm oil, crayfish and seafood, northern miyan kubewa is often built on dried okra with dawadawa, and some Igbo and Delta cooks combine it with ogbono or with stew.
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