CHOP BAR BEEF LIGHT SOUP (A FUSION OF CULTURES)

The Butcher skilfully diced the boneless Beef into my preferred size whilst I contemplated whether to ask for bones or not. I blurted my question out not realising l was thinking out loud. The Butcher said ‘sure’ as he used his machine to cut the bones into sizeable chunks and added it was ‘free’. 

I quickly said ‘thank you’ with a smile on my face as I headed out of the shop.

My next dilemma was what to cook, Pho or Beef light soup? I decided to prepare the tastiest West African Beef soup recipe using the Vietnamese cooking method of making Pho.

VIETNAM 

My first experience of having Pho was during my visit to Vietnam about 5 years ago. Every street corner had a Pho stand where a broth made from bones and spices will boil for hours. 

The clear broth is then added to rice noodles, your preferred protein with oodles of fresh mixed herbs and chillies. My experience in Vietnam introduced me to charring of Ginger for that slight smoky and intense Ginger flavour.

TOGO

Another experience that influenced this soup was my first visit to Togo during my childhood. 

Mum took me to a local Togolese Chop Bar where we had the most amazing Yam Fufu with Goat Meat light soup. 

I watched as three women using a pestle and mortar (the type we use in Ghana for pounding Palm nut) dip the pestle into water and took turns in pounding the Yam Fufu. 

The Yam Fufu was the silkiest and softest Fufu I’ve had to date coupled with the perfectly spiced and aromatic Goat Meat soup.

With the above experiences under my belt I decided to create a recipe in honour of two different cultures.  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did and it makes it to your Christmas menu.

The next recipe is my interpretation of a silky smooth Yam Fufu. Don’t forget to subscribe and click the notification button on my YouTube channel, ‘Ndudu by Fafa’ for when I upload the video.

To start you will need the following;

Ingredients

400g of bones

1kg of diced Beef

3 medium sized salted Beef

4 Grains of Selim (Hwentia)

3 Black Cardamom (Optional)

2 Habanero Chillies 

10 Kasoa Green Chillies (readily available in Ghana) or any Green chillies

2 litres of Water

80g of Tomato paste

100g of Okra/ Garden Eggs/ Aubergine

1 teaspoonful of Salt to taste

Spice blend

40g of Ginger

3 cloves of Garlic

1 large Onion

1 tablespoonful of Aniseed

Salted Beef

200g of fatty Beef 

30g of Salt

2 tablespoonful of Vinegar

5 Grains of Selim and or 4 Black Cardamom (Optional)

4 Schezuan pepper (optional) Alternative: Fennel and Black Peppercorns

1 teaspoon of dried Rosemary

4 Green Cardamon pods (optional)

Method;

Watch how to prepare the most creative soup with a fusion of differing cultural cooking methods below; 

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All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.