HOW TO COOK NIGERIAN SOUPS WITHOUT SEASONING CUBE

[Gimbiya]

Cook delicious soup without seasoning cubes.

Good tasting! All Nigerian soups  can be cooked without seasoning cubes., I just found out oh!  I am one person that always argued in the past that Nigerian soups need seasoning cubes for  a balanced taste…
Not that seasoning cubes are bad. They are not. Contrary to what most people believe, The MSG in seasoning cubes is not hazardous to human health in any way. Chinese meals are cooked with MSG… How many Chinese women have seen lying down with cancer? Let’s hear you…
If anyone thinks that MSg is bad and still cooks with seasoning cubes, then know that you are eating MSG daily and yet still alive and healthy.
The reason I cooked this Ogbono soup without seasoning cubes is not because I want to stop using seasoning cubes, NO. It’s because after tasting the stock, I realised there was no need for any seasoning cubes. The dried stockfish head, meat and crayfish made the difference. Stockfish heads are tasty and really salty. That combined with seasoned beef and ground crayfish perfectly replaced seasoning cubes and gave me. a delicious pot of ogbono soup.  The soup is long finished and I am the only one that knows there was no seasoning cube in there.
There is no need for fermented locust beans (dadawa),iru, okpe or ogiri. No need for any local seasoning or standard Nigerian stock cubes that we add to cooking.
What I’m seriously thinking of doing now is use these ingredients in Nigerian tomato stew without seasoning cubes, and see if it works. Seasoning cubes may not be quite ok if you add too much o cooking. Add them in moderation and you are good to go after all, too much of everything is bad, including bouillon cubes (Seasoning cubes).
I love the enhanced taste that seasoning cubes give to our Nigerian soups and now very excited that I can enjoy that taste by just adding enough quantities of crayfish, stockfish head and  steamed beef to my soups.
FOR THIS OGBONO SOUP COOKED WITHOUT SEASONING STOCK CUBES
I used
1 kg meat
1/2 cup ground crayfish
1 medium sized dried stockfish head
1/2 cup chopped okra
1/2 cup ground ogbono
1/2 cup chopped ugu leaves (Fluted pumpkin)
1/4 cup palm oil
Kpomo (Cow skin)
Salt to taste
1 small onion to boil the beef
Ground Pepper (Scotch bonnets) They are my fav. The pepper I use most aside green bell peppers
DIRECTION:

1. Boil the washed beef in low heat with onion and salt only until it begins to boil.
   
2. Add the washed dried stockfish head, stir and let it boil together with the meat. When pot begins to dry up, add some water just to the level of the meat, check for salt and adjust if needed.
   
3. Add your soft kpomo ( I always buy very soft cow skin for easy cooking and chewing)
   
4. Add the palm oil and let it boil before adding ground ogbono and crayfish. Check for taste again and let the soup base cook until oil and every other ingredient is well mixed. Check that all the meats are tender enough before adding vegetables.
   
5. Once the okra and ugu leaves are added, stir, simmer for about a minute or more , check for salt before turning off the heat.
   
6. Serve your soup without telling anyone there’s no seasoning cube. Wait and see them enjoy your delicious pot of ogbono soup like they enjoyed mine.
   

Finally, I still maintain that seasoning cubes are not poisonous but we can still cook delicious meals without them. Can  people just stop all that campaign against seasoning/stock cubes and instead advise people to cook with less. The Monosodium Glutamate (msg) in seasoning cubes is not poisonous neither does it make people fall sick. That’s what most Chinese restaurants cook with and they are among the healthiest people on planet earth abi na lie?
Enjoy your delicious soup with some fiber filled hot eba!