Okporoko: the many wonders of stockfish

Many a Nigerian woman (especially among the Igbos) knows the worth of stock fish aka okporoko in her meals. Okporoko is also called Kpanla (Panla) among the Yorubas. In the Southeast, where I'm resident, okporoko is a special ingredient in every Saturday soup. Let's just say that it's a special addition to every other ingredient that makes the food (especially soup) stand out and taste good. But the fish itself, can also be used in many recipes apart from soup. I'm talking about the dried cod fish (stock fish) and not the fresh one. For the fresh one, click here.


I thought of the many times that I have used okporoko to cook or have eaten it in meals. These include:

1. Soup - this take the balk of the uses of okporoko. Begin from ukazi soup through uha (ora) soup to edikang ikong (that one) to pure egusi with bitter leaf soup. Hmm...mouth watering delicacies. It is believed that okporoko serves as the meat or adds to the meat of most soup. In fact, among the Ngwa (my heritage) it's also called ayakata. I believe this is just the head, which is also called isi okporoko.
2. Ugba - a very important snack among the Igbos of Nigeria. Ugba is oil bean. This delicacy is made of shredded cooked and fermented oil bean mixed with other ingredients such as palm oil, pepper, herb, egg plant and onion. Check back for how to cook or prepare this oil bean snack, which endears many women to their husbands.
3. Nkwobi - is another delicacy and similar to ugba above except that cooked and shredded cassava is used here instead of ugba. It undergoes a similar preparation as ugba but usually isi ewu (goat head) is the king and substitute although some people would rather go for okporoko for their nkwobi instead of goat meat. 
4. Jollof rice - you won't believe it but try stock fish with jollof rice and let's read your testimony.
5. Chew it dry - hehe...yes, you can eat the stock fish dry just like that, but don't let you be caught on camera.

I would like you to share with me what you do with stock fish. And include recipes of your experiments. Bon appetite.