Abak (Palm Nut Soup) is a traditional Nigerian recipe for a classic Ibibo dish of meat, fish and atama leaves cooked in a palm nut juice base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Palm Nut Soup (Abak).
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This is a traditional soup of the Ibibio peoples of Nigeria that calls for giant edible land snails as an ingredient. For how to prepare these see my guide on how to prepare giant land snails. You could also substitute a number of edible or garden snails (for preparing these see: how to prepare fresh snails).
Ingredients:
600ml palm nut juice (palm soup base)
800g fresh meat (fish, chicken, beef, goat meat or a mix)
1 bunch atama leaves, stripped off the branches, shredded and pounded
1 onion, pounded or blended to a pasta
ground hot chilli powder, to taste
2 Maggi cubes (or other bouillon cubes)
250g periwinkles
salt, to taste
60g bitterleaf
5 pieces of giant African land snails (optional)
4 tbsp ground, dried, crayfish (prawns)
300g stockfish (dried fish), soaked in water and parboiled for 30 minutes to soften
300g smoked fish, washed and flaked
300g kpomo [cow skin] (optional)
1/4 uyayak (aidan fruit) pod
Method:
If not using fish, season the meat with maggi, chilli, salt and black pepper. Place in a pot and team until the meat release its juices. Add the palm soup base (if using fish, add at this point) then bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the atama leaves, onion, chilli powder, Maggi cubes and periwinkles. Now add the stockfish, cow skin and dried, smoked fish before adding the snails, bitterleaf and crayfish. Season to taste with salt, add the aidan fruit, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Turn into a serving dish (discard the aidan fruit) and serve accompanied by pounded yam, fufu etc.
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