I have always said that ukwa (Nigerian Breadfruit) does not require lots of ingredients. According to me, they ruin the natural delicious taste of ukwa. This is my favourite best way to prepare Ukwa, with very few absolutely necessary ingredients. If you don’t like ukwa, try eating it this way and you may enjoy it.
Plain Ukwa Ingredients
The following are for when you want to prepare ukwa in the most basic and delicious way.
- Ukwa
- Food Tenderizer (akanwu)
- Yellow habanero pepper
- A few bitter and scent leaves
- Salt (to taste)
Jollof Ukwa with Mmiri Ukwa
Ingredients for Mixed Ukwa (also in the video below)
The following are for when you want to prepare ukwa with some colour.
- Ukwa
- Red Palm Oil
- Food Tenderiser (akanwu)
- Yellow habanero pepper
- A few bitter and scent leaves
- Salt (to taste)
Notes on Ukwa Ingredients
- Use freshly peeled ukwa especially for the plain ukwa recipe. Dry ukwa is a no-no when preparing plain ukwa. Even for the second recipe where you serve it with the ukwa soup/liquid, you must use freshly peeled ukwa for the natural delicious flavour of the ukwa soup to come through.
- For health reasons, some people don’t like eating akanwu (edible potash) but without akanwu, plain ukwa will not have the classic taste and you will feel that something is missing. I normally add a small quantity and cook the ukwa with a pressure cooker.
- Use very good red palm oil. A bad palm oil, the one with an awful taste will ruin the ukwa (second recipe).
- Use fresh bitter leaves and scent leaves. A few leaves are ok. Please do not wash and squeeze them like when preparing bitter leaf soup
All Nigerian Recipe
