How To Cook Ekpang Nkwukwo
Perhaps you are bored of the everyday rice routine, and now thinking of eating something local then Ekpang Nkwukwo might do it for you. Ekpang Nkwukwo is made with cocoyam, water yam and periwinkle. It is a meal common to South-South Nigeria, precisely Cross River State. Though this meal can take a longer time to prepare because you have to gradually wrap the cocoyam and water yam paste with your pumpkin leaves but trust me when I say it will be worth your time. Below are the ingredients and how it’s prepared.
Ingredients
- 500g cocoyam
- 250g Water Yam (Optional)
- A big bunch of tender cocoyam leaves
- A bunch of Pumpkin leaves and
- Scent leaves (nchanwu, efirin)
- 3 Cooking spoon of Palm oil
- 1 cup of crayfish
- 3 medium onions
- 2 milk cups (300g shelled) Periwinkles
- Assorted Beef
- Dried fish
- Snail (Optional)
- Pepper & Salt to taste
- 2 stock cubes
Method of Preparation
- Peel, wash and grate the cocoyam and water yam. Mix the two together and set aside.
- Rinse and cook the beef and dry fish with the seasoning till done.
- Grease your pot with a cooking spoon of palm oil
- Place periwinkle at the base of the well-oiled pot.
- Scoop a small quantity of the grated cocoyam and water yam paste into a piece of torn cocoyam leaf pumpkin leaf. Wrap the cocoyam with the leaf and place in the pot. Repeat this procedure till all the grated cocoyam (and water yam) is exhausted.
- Add the pepper, crayfish, onions, and assorted beef
- Add hot water to the level of the pot contents and set to cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Now, add scent leaves, palm oil and salt to taste. Cook for more 5 minutes and the Ekpang Nkwukwo is ready
- Take it off the heat, leave for 5 minutes and stir