Abak Atama Soup
Abak Atama Soup is a traditional dish of the Efik people and Ibibio people of Southern Nigeria, especially in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. It is a rich palm fruit soup made with Atama leaves, which give it a distinct aroma and flavour.
- Prep
- 23 min
- Cook
- 54 min
- Total
- 1 hr 17 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Equipment
Large cooking pot
Equipment
Knife
Equipment
Chopping board
Equipment
Bowl
Equipment
Blender or grinding stone
Equipment
Wooden spoon
Equipment
Colander or sieve
Procedures
[3]
Procedures
1.Wash the meat thoroughly and season with salt and seasoning cubes.
Procedures
2.Cook the meat until tender and reserve the stock.
Procedures
3.Clean the fish, snails, and periwinkles thoroughly.
Procedures
4.Wash and finely shred or grind the atama leaves.
Procedures
6.Pour the palm fruit extract into a cooking pot and bring to a gentle boil.
Procedures
7.Add the cooked meat, fish, snails, and periwinkles.
Procedures
8.Add crayfish, pepper, seasoning cubes, and uyayak.
Procedures
9.Allow the soup to cook for 10–15 minutes.
Procedures
10.Add the shredded atama leaves and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
Procedures
11.Stir gently and adjust seasoning with salt.
Procedures
12.Simmer until the soup reaches the desired consistency.
Variations
Fresh fish may be used instead of smoked fish.
Variations
Some cooks add shrimp or other seafood.
Variations
Dried atama leaves may be used when fresh leaves are unavailable.
Photo: Psalmbusy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 22 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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