In Ogwashi-Ukwu, Erimonu soup with bush meat is their favourite

Ogwashi Ukwu is a city in Delta State, Nigeria. It is located at the west of the state capital, Asaba, in Aniocha South Local Government Area. Known for their sumptuous native delicacies, one of their numerous native soups that Ogwashi Ukwu indigenes cannot do without is the erimonu soup with bush meat.
Erimonu leaf is to them, what shoko (jute leaves) is to the Yoruba. Erimonu soup is cooked with palm kernel nut extracts, varieties of stocked and smoked fishes, varieties of local spices and of course, bush meat—smoked grass cutter precisely. According to Mrs Cecelia Nkemakolam, a Delta State indigene and popular local food vendor based in Lagos, erimonu soup is the favourite among Ogwashi Ukwu people. Although quite expensive to prepare, due to the price of bush meat, palm kernels and choiced dried fishes, food lovers in the state don’t seem to mind the deep hole it would leave in their pockets, if they eat erimonus soup either at home or at restaurants.
Mostly sold in Lagos restaurants, due to the large population of south easterners living in the state, erimonu is a soup that you need to try out. Aside from the long process of extracting the juice from the palm kernel nuts, erimonu soup is relatively easy to prepare. The ogili brings out a unique flavour to the soup, couple with the fresh palm kernel extracts. Yellow garri is the number one solid that goes with erimonu soup. Here are the recipes and directions:

Ingredients:
Bush meat, smoked fish, palm kernel fruits, bunch of erimonu leaves, yellow pepper, ogili Igala, crayfish, dried pepper, seasoning cubes and salt.

Directions:
• Season bush meat with seasoning cubes, salt, pepper and steam till cooked.
• Pour palm kernel fruit in a mortar, add a little water and pound slightly, until the shafts are peeled. Pour in a bowl and squeeze the juice from the shafts, sieve and set aside.
• Put the cooked bush meat back on the gas cooker, pour the palm fruit juice into the meat pot and boil.
• After some minutes, add the smoked, dried and grinded crayfish, chopped yellow pepper and cover to cook for some minutes.
• Mash or pound the ogili till smooth and add to the soup.
• Cook the soup till thick, then chop the erimonu or shoko leaves into large chunks and thoroughly wash, before adding it into the soup.
• Leave to cook for just one minute, to retain the freshness of the erimonu leaves.
Voila! Your erimonu soup is ready!!!