okra soup / ocher soup - Jurino's version ⋆ SOULFOOD.nl

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Okra soup (or in Surinamese: ocher soup) is a dish that should not be missing in the Soulfood kitchen. It originated in Africa and was later taken by slaves to the Americas and the Caribbean. That's why you find versions of okra soup in Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Curacao, Suriname, and the United States.

Okra soup or jambo?

In the Antilles we call okra soup Guiambo or Jambo. You can find the recipe for the Antillean soup in our cookbook, 'de complete Antilliaanse keuken'.

I'll tell you right away: my version is really different from the Antillean version and tends more to the soup that is eaten in West Africa. What else do I do? First of all, my version of the okra soup doesn't have a pigtail. You can call me a fake Antillean, but that's an ingredient I really never use. No one 'at our house' likes it and you don't miss anything in terms of nutrients.

I also don't use crustaceans and shellfish in the soup, which makes it very different from the traditional Antillean version. What I use extra are two ingredients that also go into the Senegalese/Gambian okra soup, namely sliced cassava leaf and red palm oil. I think this really enriches the soup, both in terms of taste and texture. And don't forget the vitamins – the cassava leaf is full of iron and vitamins A and C!

Cassava leaf and red palm oil

You can find cassava leaf in the freezer of Chinese or Indian grocery stores. It is already finely chopped, so perfect for this recipe! Can't find a cassava leaf? Then that's no problem either. The okra soup is just as tasty with tajer leaf, spinach (or rather: wild spinach).

The red palm oil is available in African stores or Asian shops with an African department. It comes in a plastic liter or half liter bottle (see photo below). The oil cannot be replaced with any other type of oil - it has its own taste, which is slightly bitter. You can omit the oil, but then the soup will really have a different taste.

okra soup ocher soup jambo guiambo recipe jurino

Vegan options

I'll tell you right away: the fish is quite important in this recipe. You could leave out the cured beef, but if you also leave out the fish, a lot of the flavor is lost. Would you still like to make a vegan version of the okra soup? Then it would be best to use vegan 'shrimp' from the Chinese supermarket and add some extra seaweed (kelp or kombu).

This recipe is for 4-6 people

Ingredients:

500 gr okra
200 gr cassava leaf
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
100 ml red palm oil
300 gr cod fillet
300 gr white fish fillet
(I used whiting today)
200 g cured beef
3 stock cubes, chicken or vegetables
a handful of basil leaves
optional: 1/2 Madame Jeanette pepper

Preparation of Jurino's okra soup

Start by desalting the cured beef and the cod. It is best to cut the cured beef into dice for this. You can leave the cod fillet whole.

Place the meat in a pan with plenty of water and cook for about 30 minutes. Then drain the water.

Fill the pan again with plenty of water and now put both the cured beef and the cod in the pan. Heat this together again until the water boils. After about 10 minutes you can pour off the water again and break the cod fillets into large pieces.

Now it's time to make the soup. Heat the red palm oil over a low heat and fry the onion and garlic cloves for a few minutes. Then pour 2 liters of water into the pan. Do you use the hot pepper in this recipe? Then add it now.

Cut the okras into fine rings and the cassava leaf into strips. Then put them together in the soup. Cut the fresh fish into pieces and put it in the pan as well. Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.

Only after these 30 minutes do you add the stock cubes. Do this especially to taste - the cured beef and the cod still contain some salt, which has been released in the soup. It is therefore possible that you would rather add 3 stock cubes instead of 3.

When the soup is almost ready, you can finely chop the basil leaves and add. Let the okra soup cook for about 10 minutes and then serve it with funchi or rice. - Enjoy your dinner!