Nigerian Chicken Pepper Soup

chicken pepper soup

Chicken Pepper Soup

If you want the recipe for the Nigerian Chicken Pepper Soup sold in Nigerian Restaurants, here you go.

Nigerian Chicken Pepper Soup [Video]

Recipes Related to Nigerian Chicken Pepper Soup:

Chicken Pepper Soup Ingredients

Chicken Pepper Soup does not need lots of ingredients. All you need is the special spice and scent leaves and you have the pepper soup taste.

  • 1kg chicken
  • 1 tablespoon ground ehu (calabash nutmeg)
  • 3 small seasoning cubes (chicken flavour)
  • Scent leaves
  • Habanero pepper (to taste)
  • Sweet pepper or tatashe (see video below for quantity)
  • Red onions
  • 1 teaspoon thyme (optional)
  • Salt (to taste)

Tools and utensils you’ll need

Notes on the Chicken Pepper Soup Ingredients

  1. Use hard chicken (hen). It is tastier than rooster.
  2. The only spice you need to get the Chicken Pepper Soup taste is EHU. Please do not buy the so-called pepper soup ingredients mix, it will ruin your Chicken Pepper Soup or any Nigerian Pepper Soup for that matter.
  3. Ehu does not have any known alternatives. Outside Nigeria, if you live in a big city where lots of Nigerians live, you may be able to buy ehu in African food shops or farmers’ market stalls run by Nigerians.
  4. Even though this dish is called pepper soup, always add pepper to you and your family’s taste. If you are having a party, make it very hot and spicy for your Nigerian guests. You can dish out your family’s portion before adding more pepper.
  5. If you do not have scent leaves, you can add parsley. Parsley does not add any unique flavour though. BUT NEVER ADD MINT LEAVES TO YOUR NIGERIAN PEPPER SOUP. It will ruin it. Mint leaves are not the same as scent leaves.

Before you prepare Chicken Pepper Soup

  1. Cut the chicken into single bite pieces. You don’t want people resorting to using their hands when eating the meat in pepper soup.
  2. Rinse the chicken very well. You need to be sure all the tiny bones are rinsed off. When you cut chicken that tiny, there are bound to be tiny bones in there.
  3. Peel and cut the onion into 4 big chunks.
  4. Peel and grind the ehu.
  5. Clean and chop the peppers.

Directions for making the Chicken Pepper Soup

  1. Put the pieces of chicken in a pot.
  2. Add thyme, ground ehu and the seasoning cubes (crushed).
  3. Turn on the heat to medium and start steaming while stirring till the pieces of chicken have gotten a good steam.
  4. Add the chunks of onion, pour water to cover the contents of the pot, cover and start cooking till the chicken is soft. Top up the water when necessary while cooking.
  5. When the chicken is done, take out the now deflated chunks of onion. The reason we used chunks of onion is because you don’t want pieces of onion in your Nigerian Pepper Soup.
  6. Add the chopped peppers and vegetables.
  7. Leave to boil for 3 to 5 minutes.
  8. Add salt to your taste and that’s it!

Serve with boiled white rice or White Agidi.