Michael Elegbede's Easy Seafood Okro Recipe, From One of Nigeria's Coastal Cities

Seafood Okro. Photograph by Michael Elegbede

One of the best Seafood Okro dishes that Michael Elegbede, a Nigerian chef, has ever had was during his visit to Ibeno, Akwa Ibom; a coastal city in the southern part of Nigeria. He was privileged to learn from them the very simple process they use in making such a delicious dish and shared the recipe below:

Seafood Okro ingredients. Photograph by Michael Elegbede

Seafood Okro. Photograph by Michael Elegbede

Seafood Okro

INGREDIENTS:

• Onions (sliced/Julienne) 2 each

• Bell Peppers (diced) 3 each

• Tomatoes (diced) 3 each

• Scotch Bonnet (minced) 4 each

• Garlic (minced) 4 cloves

• Ginger (grated) 1 teaspoon

• Vegetable Oil 1/4 Cup

• Fish stock 7 C (Fortified with prawn shell)

• Crayfish Powder 2 Tablespoon

• Ogiri 1 t

• Uziza (crushed) 1/2 teaspoon

• Salt

• Potash 10g

• Water 1/2 C (*alternatively, you can use 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda)

• Okro (sliced) 2kg

• Croaker Fish (1kg-2kg each) 1ea

• Prawns (100g-150g each) 5ea

• Cuttlefish (1kg-2kg each) 2ea

***NOTE***
Please feel free to use snails, crabs, and other seafood available to you.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut fish into 2-inch pieces, season with salt, pepper, and set aside.
2. Preheat pot, add vegetable and sweat onions until translucent.
3. Add bell peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet, garlic, and ginger and sauté for 3 minutes on medium heat
4. Once sautéed, add the stock and allow to reduce by a half.
5. Add crayfish powder, ogiri, uziza, and salt
6. Dissolve 10g of potash in 1/2 a cup of water, allow sediments to settle, and pour just the water into the base.
7. Stir in okra and cook for 5 minutes. Taste for salt; add more if needed.
8. In the order of longest to the shortest time required to cook, add seafood. I added my fish for about 4 minutes, then prawns and finally cuttlefish.
9. Serve hot and enjoy!