"Steemit Big Chef05 [02-05-2024] Cooking Edikang ikong (Vegetable soup").

It's a pleasure to be here once again, Happy new month my beloved steemians across the globe, I pray may the good Lord bless us speedily this new months and beyond.

^{Designed with photo collage}

My special thanks goes to @chant for always bringing up this wonderful contest to us, and I'm always excited to participate especially when it has to do with food preparation.

Don't mind me, because me and food, we are bestie 😜.

^{Displaying my Edikang ikong aoup}

We all know that food is the basic necessity our body needs inorder to stay alive, stay healthy and stay active. Just stay tuned as I show you what type of dish I prepared this week.

The dish I prepared this week (yesterday) was Edikang ikong (vegetable soup). Sometimes, people mistake vegetable soup for Edikang ikong, meanwhile they are two different meals. Edikang ikong is my favorite soup and I can eat it from Monday till Sunday without getting tired.

I can order something else from the store but when it comes to food I prefer cooking it myself because of so many reasons. I love experimenting with my hands (playing around my kitchen is my hobby 🫣).

I said earlier that me and food, we are bestie so I think cooking my food frequently is the best option for me, so that I can eat at anytime I want.

I like Edikang ikong soup because of it's nutritional value, it serves as a blood tonic for me. Anytime I prepared it I must make sure I squeezed out the water from the leaves and mix it with milk and drink it, it gives iron to body.

I will list out the ingredients I used in preparing my Edikang ikong soup.

• Goat meat
• Cow skin
• Pumpkin (vegetable leaves)
• Water leaves
• Periwinkle (shell)
• Pepper
• Salt
• Stick cube (maggi)
• Red oil
• Crayfish
•Onions
• Dry fish
• Stockfish (Ekporoko)

Washed the goat meat and the cow skin put into the cooking pot, I added salt, pepper, Maggi and onions stir it and cooked for about 10 minutes for it to get soft. When it was done I added my washed stockfish, periwinkle and dried fish, turned it all together so that it every ingredient will enter it well.

^{Steamed meat, cow skin, stockfish, periwinkle}

While my meat was on fire, I used that chance and sliced my pumpkin leaf into very tiny piece and the water leaf too and set it aside. I pounded the crayfish and set aside too.

^{Slicing the pumpkin leaf}

After slicing the pumpkin leaf into tiny piece, I squeezed out the water from it and make sure it's well dried, did same with the waterleaf. This the process and the reason why it's been called Edikang ikong because it has to be dried.

^{Sliced pumpkin and water leaves}

While steaming the meat I didn't used any water, it was the water from the meat that helped steam the meat well and as the water was getting dried amd out the sliced water leaves into the pot, pour red oil into it, added crayfish, stir it very well and allowed it to simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Then I added the sliced pumpkin leaves stir it well and then cover it to simmer for 1-2minutes.

^{Tasting to know if everything is alright}

After tasting to confirm then I turned of the heat and put the pot down, my soup is ready.

Edikang ikong soup is one of the native soup of Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State. The name Edikang ikong is derived from "Edikang" meaning "Dry" and "Ikong" meaning "vegetable leaves". Meaning that this soup is prepared dry without water, so you have to "KANG IT" so that it will be Edikang ikong.

Edikang ikong has so many nutritional value, Which are:

• It content amino acid, to help you overcome stress problems.

• Pumpkin leaves are very rich in antioxidants.

• The soup has high protein and vitamins content.

• The soup contain calcium for maintaining bone health.

• The soup contain fatty acid and vitamin E, magnesium and zinc in maintaining healthy skin.

^{About to go down}

I invite my friends @tripple-e @megareigns and @imadear to participate in the contest.