Efo Riro

Efo Riro is a traditional Vegetable Soup of the Yoruba Tribe in Nigeria. It is well known for its savory taste and richness.

Efo Riro is prepared with assorted meat, fish, large quantity of green vegetables and peppers (tomatoes are added, sometimes). This is one of my go-to dishes, because I’m a big fan of vegetables. This spicy , savory soup can be accompanied with bolus meals, such as Amala, Elubo, Pounded yams, Fufu (akpu), Eba or Tuwo Shinkafa. It also goes pretty well with boiled Rice, plantains or yams.

Although it is a Yoruba soup, Efo Riro is enjoyed in all parts of Nigeria.

If you love healthy soups, this is a must-try…excite your palate with this spicy soup.

Efo Riro Ingredients

• 1 or 2 Fresh Fish-Tiliapia, Red Brim, Sea Bass
• 2 to 3 kg Spinach leaves
• 5 Bell peppers (tatashe)
• 3 to 5 Scotch Bonnets Peppers (atarodo)
• 250 gr Assorted Fish (stock fish, smoked fish)
• 2 large onion bulb
• 1 large dried smoked fish (soaked, scrubbed clean and deboned)
• Stock fish (precooked)
• 4 tablespoons Iru / dawadawa / ogiri (fermented locust beans)
• 1 teaspoon cameroon pepper
• 3 to 4 Cooking-spoonful Palm oi (100ml)
• 3 to 4 stock cubes/seasoning powder
• Salt to taste

How to prepare Efo riro soup

• Before cooking Efo Riro Soup, if you haven’t done this yet, you’ll have to pick and wash the vegetables; slice into tiny bits. To get less liquid in the soup, you can blanch the vegetables and set side.
• Clean the assorted meat and fish. De-bone the smoked fish, and set all aside.
• Blend the peppers and onion, and set aside

Now to cook the efo riro soup…

1. Season and cook the fish and stock fish with onions, stock cube, a little salt and other seasoning of choice. Cook until the liquid in the pot is well absorbed (dried up) and the meat and stock fish are tender.
   You can go a step further and grill or fry the assorted meat, but this step is optional.

2. In another dry pot, heat up the palm oil. Add chopped onions and fry for a minute.
   Add the iru and fry for 20 seconds; add the ground crayfish and stir fry for 10 seconds.

3. Now add the blended pepper, mix and add the seasoning cubes/powder and salt to taste. Stir and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

4. Now add the precooked stock fish and washed dry fish. Mix thoroughly, and simmer for 7 minutes. Stir and taste for add seasoning and salt and add if necessary.
   Add the cameroon pepper too, if using.

5. Add the assorted meat, stir well and simmer for 3 minutes
6. After 3 minutes, add the vegetables mix well and leave to simmer for 3 more minutes and your delicious Efo Riro soup is ready.

As you can already tell, Efo Riro is one of my favorite western Nigerian soups and I promise you a yummy delight with this recipe. Try it today and let me know in the comment section below.