The Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria have several delicious foods full of flavour, life, and nutritional benefits that you’d want to taste; eating some of these Igbo foods will get you hooked and wanting more. If you want to try out new foods and explore, you’ll want to try some delicious Igbo dishes. While the Igbo people are well-known for their exceptional soups, many other equally delicious foods exist.
In this blog post, we will explore some of Nigeria’s Top 10 Igbo Most Famous Foods. So whether you are a seasoned traveler or visiting Igboland for the first time, try some of these delicious Igbo dishes. Let’s get started!
Top 10 Igbo Most Famous Foods
Here are 10 of the most famous Igbo foods:
Ugba
Ugba is a Nigerian salad made with finely chopped Ugba (African oil bean seeds) by the Igbos. The chopped ugba is seasoned and spiced, then mixed with vegetables like onions, peppers, and tomatoes.
Ugba can be eaten with fish and is rich in protein, oil, and essential fatty acids. The dish has a unique earthy and nutty flavor from the oil bean seeds. You can choose to eat the Ugba seasoned and spiced with onion, pepper, tomato, and red oil, or you can make a separate sauce to eat it with.
Ugba sauce is made by blending ugba (oil bean seeds) into a paste seasoned with spices and palm oil. The sauce has an earthy, nutty flavor from the oil bean seeds. Ugba sauce can also be used for rice dishes and swallow foods like Garri or Akpu.
Eating Ugba has several health benefits, like promoting weight loss, supporting a healthy heart, preventing some cardiovascular diseases, and so many other health benefits when you eat Ugba regularly.
Ofe Nsala (White Soup)
White soup, or Ofe Nsala, is an Igbo soup made with Yam, utazi, and ugu leaves. Depending on your preference, other ingredients like fish, chicken, or goat meat are often added.
The soup is most popular with the Igbo people of Anambra State. The soup gets its name “White Soup” due to the absence of palm oil; unlike many other Nigerian soups, you’ll have to use palm oil.
The soup is usually served with swallow foods like eba, fufu, or semolina, and you can choose to wash it down with some freshly tapped palm wine to enjoy the savoring taste of this delicious soup.
Nkwobi
Nkwobi is a mouthwatering delicacy enjoyed throughout Igboland and all over Nigeria, where Igbo people or restaurants can be found. This dish is made from cow leg meat; some people use ponmo (Animal skin/hides).
To prepare Nkwobi, cow legs are thoroughly washed, seasoned, and then simmered in a pot for hours until the meat becomes tender and falls off the bone. The long cooking time allows the meat to absorb all the rich and savory flavors from the ingredients and seasonings used, which contain ingredients like onions, uziza leaves, utazi leaves, garlic, chili peppers, and nutmeg. When the cow leg is finally soft, tender, and ready, it is cut into pieces and placed on a calabash or wooden plate for serving.
The soft and tender pieces of meat combined with several ingredients and spices of Igbo origin make Nkwobi a favourite dish/food at parties, ceremonies, brunch, or a late-night hangout or sit-out. The dish and the way of eating show the Igbo cultural traditions.
Ofe Akwu (Palm Fruit/Nut Soup)
Ofe Akwu is a palm nut soup made with assorted meats, dried fish, and vegetables, which are optional. This soup gets its name from the palm fruit, which is the main ingredient. The palm fruit is boiled to extract the oil and then prepared with other ingredients of your choice.
Ofe Akwu has a rich flavor, taste, and aroma from the palm oil and assorted meats. While Ofe Akwu can be enjoyed on its own, it’s often used to eat rice, yam, or even boiled plantains. The soup is commonly used to swallow Fufu, Eba, Garri, or other swallow food.
This soup is also famous among the people of Delta State. They call it “Banga Soup,” often served with starch or Garri. No matter the dish you serve Ofe Akwu with or the regional name by which it is known, this soup remains a nourishing food that offers the satisfaction you get from eating a good delicacy alongside several other health benefits.
Ukazi Soup
Ukazi soup is made using Okazi leaves and spiced with dried fish, crayfish, assorted meats, and other choices of seasonings and flavour.
People also add Egusi (Melon seeds) to make it thicken, ugu, achara, and other vegetables, depending on your desired taste. All these ingredients in Ukazi Soup give it an irresistible flavor and taste, offering several nutrients that are good for health.
Ukazi Soup can be served as a main dish with Akpu or Garri. Okazi is rich in protein and essential vitamins that are good for the body and help increase and maintain a healthy body.
Oha Soup
Oha soup is made with the Oha or Ora leaf (African Rosewood Leaves) and has this creamy and savory look that will leave you wanting to devour the delicacy. Some people add Uziza or achi to make the soup thicken, but you can add other vegetables to spice the soup.
This soup is rich in nutrients and minerals like calcium, iron, and amino acids, essential nutrients and minerals for the body.
The soup is usually served with Akpu, Garri, or other swallowed food. If you have a digestion problem, this soup digests quickly in your body as it prevents constipation.
Abacha
Abacha, also known as African Salad, is made from Cassava and served with other delicacies of choice. The dish is made by soaking Cassava overnight to soften it.
The softened Cassava is then cut into tiny pieces and spiced with onion, ugba, uziza, palm oil, and fish/meat. Abacha is a whole meal that contains all the major nutrients needed to nourish the body, such as carbohydrates, protein, fats, oil, and vitamins.
Abacha has a unique look, feel, and sweet flavor. It’s often topped with smoked fish, garden eggs, and palm wine if you love fresh tapped (up or down) palm wine.
Echicha
Ẹchịcha (Cocoyam Pottage) is a homemade delicacy made using cocoyam and mgbụmgbụ (Pigeon Pea). Both ingredients are soaked overnight and removed the following day before being cooked and flavoured with Palm oil and, ugu (pumpkin leaves), Efirin (scent leaves).
Echicha is most popular among the Igbo people of Enugu as it is one of the most popular foods in the region with several health benefits.
Echicha is a whole meal as you don’t need to add it with any other food; however, you can eat it with Abacha or ugba if you choose to serve it with cold chilled soft drinks.
The meal doesn’t take time to prepare, so the next time you’re looking for a quick and easy meal that is good for your body, try Echicha.
Okpa
Okpa, made with Bambara nuts, is a popular street food and snack throughout Nigeria, especially in the eastern and midwestern regions. It is a beloved specialty of the Igbo people.
Some argue that Okpa and Moi-Moi made with beans are the same, but Okpa is much thicker than Moi-Moi, which is much softer.
Although both are made following the same process, what separates Okpa from Moi-Moi is the dry banana or plantain leaves wrapped in. This gives it the unique taste that it has.
If you’re traveling through Enugu by road and get to 9th Mile, you don’t want to miss the chance of getting Okpa from the women selling along the roadside because they have the best Okpa in Igboland and Nigeria.
You can eat Okpa with Pap or custard. Some people take it with beans or rice, depending on what you want.
Ukwa
Ukwa, known in English as African Bread Fruit, is a unique dish from the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It is a delicacy made from the edible seeds of breadfruit.
To make ukwa, the seeds are removed from the ripe breadfruit and boiled until soft or fried/roasted and eaten as a snack with coconut or palm kernel. After roasting, the crusty browned seeds are shelled and eaten as a snack or side dish.
Ukwa has a sweet, nutty flavor. It is cooked with palm oil and flavoured with pepper, fish, and other ingredients to make it tasty. Some people make pottage with it, then serve it with palm wine (palmy).
Why is Food Important in Igbo Culture?
Food is very important in Igbo culture. Sharing traditional dishes is how Igbo people pass down customs and bring the community together to promote togetherness and peace among its people.
For major events like festivals (New Yam festival), weddings, funerals, and religious ceremonies, certain Igbo foods are used, which promote togetherness and peace between the community members.
Even in everyday meals, food represents Igbo identity and connection to the past and its people in the present.
What Foods Are the Igbos Known For?
The Igbos are known for their Soups; they have some of the major soups in Nigeria when it comes to number and how nutritious the soup is. When you hear Ofe (or anything afterward), know it is one of their special soups.
Ofe-Akwu Ofe Nsala are just some of their famous delicacies when it comes to soup. They also have one of the best Okpa in the whole of Nigeria.
Conclusion
Those are some of the most popular foods the Igbo people eat in Igboland land. If you like adventure and try out new things, try any food mentioned in this article.
You’re missing a lot if you’ve never tasted any of the top 10 Igbo most famous foods. The Igbos can be found in almost all of the states in Nigeria, so there are chances that an Igbo Kitchen is not far from you. Visit them and request any of their foods, and you’ll enjoy it.
