Ekwang is a traditional Cameroonian recipe for a one-pot dish of cocoyam paste boiled in a cocyam or collard green leaves with smoked country chicken and smoked catfish in a spiced smoked chicken stock. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Cameroonian version of: Ekwang.
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The hard chicken called for in this recipe is a 'village chicken' the hard local chickens with dense muscles that are ideal for slow stewing.
Ingredients:
10 (5 red and 5 white) Large Makabo/Malanga Cocoyams
4 Bunches of Cocoyam Leaves or Collard Greens
2 Large Smoked Catfish (Deboned)
1 Whole Smoked Hard Chicken
1 tsp Ground Bush Pepper (Guinea/Ashani pepper)
1 tbsp ground Country Onion
4 Large Habanero chillies
½ Cup ground Crayfish
375ml red Palm Oil
Bouillon or Maggi cube, or to taste
Salt to taste
Method:
For the Smoked Chicken Stock: Wash the smoked hard chicken and put it in a pan.
Add a pinch of salt and enough water to cook the chicken until it’s done (you need enough water to leave some stock at the end of the cooking time — about 2 hours).
Once cooked, remove the chicken from the stock and set both aside (separate the chicken meat from the bones).
If using collard greens, wash them well then remove the large central vein from each leaf before carefully cutting into palm-sized pieces. Set the leaf pieces in a bowl then pour over boiling water to soften.
Allow the collard greens to sit for about 3 minutes then pour off the hot water. Immediately, place the leaves under cold running tap water to stop it from over cooking. This process makes the leaves more pliable for wrapping the Ekwang. If using cocoyam leaves you just need to wash them and trim off the stems.
To prepare the cocoyams: Peel the cocoyams with a potato peeler or a sharp knife (take care as direct skin contact can cause skin irritation). Thoroughly wash the cocoyams, then set in a bowl of clean water. Grate the cocoyams using the large holes of a grater to form the cocoyam paste.
Aerate the cocoyam paste by continuously beating with a wooden spoon until the paste is fluffy in texture.
Grease the inside of a pan with about 120ml of palm oil and set aside.
Scoop a teaspoon of the grated cocoyam paste onto a either a cocoyam leaf or a piece of the cut collard greens and wrap tightly by rolling the leaf with your fingers. From time to time, aerate the remaining cocoyam paste as you are wrapping to maintain the fluffy texture.
Set the wrapped Ekwang into the greased pot in a crisscross pattern so that the first layer is at an angle and the second layer is set at 90-degrees to the first.
Add half the quantity of smoked fish and chicken. Then sprinkle this layer with half the quantity of crayfish.
Fill up your pot by repeating the layering process with the remaining wrapped cocoyam paste, the remaining smoked fish and the remaining chickenSprinkle the remaining crayfish powder over the top.
Blend the habenero chillies with a little water to a smooth paste.
Pour the blended habenero peppers, ground bush pepper and half your desired quantity of salt and bouillon over the other ingredients.
Set the pan over medium heat and add 500ml water. Allow the pan to simmer for the Ekwang to become firm. You will know the Ekwang is firm when the tips of the Ekwang change colour from a white to a greyish hue.
Now add more water into the pan so it just reaches the top layer of the Ekwang. Cook over medium heat until the water level reduces to half its original volume. Do not stir the contents of the pan as it will cause the Ekwang to break.
Add the smoked chicken stock, palm oil, country onion powder and enough water (if needed) to just cover the top of the Ekwang. Again, do not stir the contents of the pan.
Add the remainder of your salt and bouillon then tilt the pan from side to side to evenly distribute all the spices.
Allow the ingredients to cook for about 25 minutes over medium-low heat.
