Yam and Fresh Fish Pepper Soup
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Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1small catfish (washed and gutted)
  • 1lb of mussels(optional)(you could use shrimp or prawns)
  • 6small cubes of fresh African white yam
  • 4tbsps of pepper soup spice powder (divided)(usually made out of, ehuru, Uda and the Uyayak pod)
  • 1small onion (divided)
  • 2-4 ata-rodo (depending on heat tolerance)
  • 1tsp. dry pepper
  • 1tbsp. crayfish powder
  • 4-6ehuru seeds
  • ½ inch of fresh ginger ginger (grated) or 1tsp ginger powder
  • any bouillon cube of your choice
  • a handful of basil or scent leaves
  • 1tbsp. palm oil (optional)
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Pour some really hot water over the catfish, let sit for a few seconds; then quickly pour out the hot water. Pour some cold water into the fish; then using your hands or a butter knife, peel the slime off the fish. Then rinse and drain
  2. Season the fish with 2 tablespoons of the pepper-soup spice and some salt; then set aside to marinate for 30minutes to an hour. Meanwhile, in a lidded bowl filled with warm water, shake the mussels vigorously to remove dirt. Drain and repeat three more times and set aside(also make sure to pull out any strings hanging from the mussels). Lightly toast the ehuru by burning over fire or in a pan(this enables it to release it's sweet aroma and taste); then blend it with half of the onion and the ata-rodo.
  3. Place the yam in a soup pot and pour some water over it. Season with salt, the bouillon cube and the ehuru and pepper(ata rodo) blend. Bring to a roaring boil; then reduce the heat and add the catfish to the pot, chop in the left over onion, add the other half of the pepper soup spice, crayfish and dry pepper. Cover the pot and cook on low for another 10-15 minutes (depending on how big the fish is). In the middle of cooking the fish, dump the mussels into the pot and cover. Once the fish is done and the mussels are opened up, turn off the heat and stir in the palm oil, ginger and basil(scent) leaves; then serve.(dump any unopened mussels)
Notes
Some people have a little trouble with keeping the fish whole whilst it is being cooked. The tendency is for it not to disintegrate in the pot. So here’s what I do: I soak in hot water, promptly remove, and sometimes after soaking it in hot water, I run some cold water on it before cleaning it. Then I refrigerate after seasoning.
Recipe by Nigerian Lazy Chef at https://www.nigerianlazychef.com/2015/09/yam-and-fresh-fish-peppersoup/