How to Cook Groundnut Soup (10 Easy Steps)

Some people confuse groundnut soup for egusi soup, they do not know how to differentiate both, maybe because of the taste and sometimes the thickening. Groundnut Soup is one o the delicious soups after Egusi Soup, it is very simple to make and if you can make egusi soup then you can handle groundnut soup, I like my groundnut soup thick while others like theirs a bit light.

There are two different ways of preparing groundnut soup. If you cannot find the ingredients to cook Egusi Soup where you live, Groundnut Soup is a great alternative. Below are the ingredients for cooking groundnut soup you just have to follow the instructions accordingly.

Ingredients for Groundnut Soup

• 500g raw peeled groundnuts (peanuts)
• Assorted meat and fish. You can as well use these:
  • Beef
  • Shaki (cow tripe)
  • Dry fish
  • Stockfish
• Palm Oil
• A small bunch of Nigerian Pumpkin leaves or 6 cubes Frozen Spinach or Bitterleaf
• 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
• 2 big stock cubes
• Salt & ground dry cayenne pepper: to taste

What you should know about Groundnut soup

1. Palm oil mainly adds colour and sometimes taste to Nigerian soups so add enough quantity to colour the soup to your liking.
2. Bitter leaves help tone down the sweetness of this soup so if you do NOT have a sweet tooth, then you should use bitterleaves in preparing this soup. Let’s put it this way: if you prefer bitter leaves for your Egusi Soup, then you should use them for Groundnut Soup too.
3. You can also use fresh habanero peppers in place of dry cayenne peppers.

Things to do before you cook Groundnut Soup

1. Soak the stockfish and dry fish for a few hours. The length of time depends on how hard the stockfish is. Some even need to be boiled a bit. Mine soaks in under 1 hour. When soft, clean the fish, remove the bones and separate them into small pieces.
2. Roast the raw groundnuts in a pan, stirring constantly till they look like this. Set aside to cool down completely then grind into powder with a dry mill.
3. Wash and cut the Nigerian pumpkin leaves into tiny pieces. If using frozen spinach, cut into small pieces and wring out the excess water when fully defrosted.
4. Prepare other ingredients: grind the pepper and grind the crayfish.

How to cook groundnut soup

1. Start cooking the shaki first as it is the toughest meat in the bunch. Always keep water to the same level as the contents of the pot and top it up as you cook.
2. When the shaki starts to curl, add the dry fish and stockfish.
3. When the shaki is almost done, add beef and stock cubes and cook till all the meat and fish are well done.
4. Add the crayfish, salt, and pepper, cover, and cook till it boils.
5. Transfer the meat and fish to another pot/container leaving the stock in the pot.
6. Add the ground groundnuts and stir very well till there are no lumps. Reduce the heat to very low and start cooking.
7. Stir every 5 minutes and top up the water if necessary. This mixture burns easily so watch it closely and stir as often as necessary.
8. Cook till a thin film of clear oil appears on the surface. This should take about 15 minutes. Add palm oil and stir very well.
9. Add the beef and fish, stir and cook on low heat till it boils. For those who prefer their groundnut soup without vegetables, the soup is ready at this time. If you prefer it with vegetables then go to step 10.
10. Add the vegetables, stir and leave to simmer. Stir again and it is done. you can enjoy your groundnut soup with fufu, semovita, pounded yam and etc.