[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":390},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:nkwobi":3,"recipe:country:nigeria":182},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"emoji":10,"summary":11,"intro":12,"story":13,"whyThis":14,"tips":19,"substitutions":26,"variations":43,"serveWith":53,"storage":55,"faq":56,"equipment":72,"baseServings":77,"prepMinutes":78,"cookMinutes":79,"difficulty":80,"course":81,"diet":83,"mainIngredients":88,"ingredients":92,"instructions":130,"nutrition":156,"images":163,"keywords":173,"publishedAt":180,"updatedAt":180,"authorSlug":181},"nkwobi","Nkwobi (Igbo Spiced Cow Foot in Palm Oil)","Nkwobi","un-KWOH-bee","nigeria","South-East","🍖","Cow foot simmered until gelatinous, then tossed in palm oil thickened with potash into a clinging yellow paste, spiked with ehu seed and chilli and topped with shredded utazi leaves.","Nkwobi is cow foot cooked until the connective tissue turns to jelly, then coated in a thick emulsion of red palm oil and edible potash that clings to every piece like a sauce rather than running off it. Ground ehu seed gives it a warm, resinous aroma somewhere near nutmeg, chilli gives the heat, and a handful of shredded utazi leaves goes on top for a deliberate bitterness that cuts through the fat. It is eaten with the fingers from a small wooden bowl, warm rather than hot, and it belongs to bars and evenings rather than to family dinner tables.","This is Igbo bar food in the most specific sense. Nkwobi is ordered in the south-east with cold beer or palm wine, arriving in a carved wooden mortar with a scattering of raw onion rings on top, and it is meant to be picked at slowly over conversation rather than eaten as a meal. Its close relative isi ewu — goat head prepared the same way — occupies the same tables and the same hour of the evening, and the two are frequently listed side by side on the same board.\n\nThe thing that makes it work is a small piece of kitchen chemistry. Akanwu, also called potash or kaun, is a naturally occurring alkaline mineral salt. Dissolved in water and beaten into red palm oil, it saponifies part of the oil and turns a thin orange liquid into a thick, pale yellow, mayonnaise-like paste called ngo. Without it the palm oil simply pools at the bottom of the bowl; with it the oil becomes a coating. Only a small quantity is needed — a heaped teaspoon of dissolved potash for a large pot — and too much gives a soapy, faintly metallic taste, so it is a step to be measured rather than eyeballed. Bicarbonate of soda produces a similar emulsion and is a common substitute abroad.\n\nThe two leaves complete the dish and neither is decorative. Utazi is shredded very fine and strewn over the top; its bitterness is the counterweight to a bowl that is otherwise pure fat and gelatin, and nkwobi without it tastes flat and heavy after the third piece. Ehu, the seed of the calabash nutmeg tree, is roasted, peeled and ground to a powder with a warm aromatic flavour that Igbo cooking uses in pepper soups and in this. Both are sold at West African grocers, dried, and both keep well, which makes them worth buying once for a dish like this one.",[15,16,17,18],"Gets the ngo emulsion right with a measured amount of potash instead of the guesswork that makes it soapy.","Gives a tested bicarbonate of soda substitute for cooks who cannot buy akanwu.","Cooks the cow foot to the specific stage where the tissue is jelly but the meat still holds its shape.","Treats utazi and ehu as structural rather than optional, and says what the dish loses without them.",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"Ask the butcher to saw the cow foot into rounds. Cutting through the bone at home is genuinely difficult and slightly dangerous.","Scrub the pieces hard under running water and singe off any remaining hair over a flame before they go in the pot.","Dissolve the potash in water and let the grit settle, then use only the clear liquid from the top. Undissolved crystals make bitter pockets.","Add the potash solution to the oil a teaspoon at a time while beating, and stop as soon as the mixture turns pale yellow and thick.","Serve warm rather than piping hot. Palm oil emulsion tightens as it cools and turns greasy if reheated too far.","Shred the utazi as finely as you can manage — coarse pieces deliver an unpleasant hit of bitterness rather than a background note.",[27,31,35,39],{"original":28,"swap":29,"note":30},"Akanwu (edible potash)","Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water","It emulsifies the palm oil in the same way and is far easier to buy. The flavour is slightly cleaner and less mineral than the real thing.",{"original":32,"swap":33,"note":34},"Cow foot","Oxtail, or goat head for isi ewu","Oxtail gives similar gelatin with more actual meat and cooks a little faster. Any cut relied on for collagen works; lean cuts do not, since there is nothing to turn to jelly.",{"original":36,"swap":37,"note":38},"Utazi leaves","Very finely shredded rocket, or a small handful of bitterleaf","Neither is quite the same, but the bitterness matters more than the exact leaf. Skipping the bitter element entirely leaves the bowl cloying.",{"original":40,"swap":41,"note":42},"Ehu (calabash nutmeg)","A quarter teaspoon of grated nutmeg with a pinch of ground allspice","A reasonable aromatic approximation. Ehu is more resinous and slightly medicinal, and it is what makes the dish smell Igbo.",[44,47,50],{"name":45,"description":46},"Isi ewu","Goat head prepared with the identical ngo, ehu and utazi treatment, including the brain stirred through the sauce. Richer and considered the more prestigious order of the two.",{"name":48,"description":49},"Nkwobi with dried fish","Flaked dried catfish added along with the cow foot, giving a saltier, more savoury bowl. Common in bars that serve it as a fuller plate rather than a snack.",{"name":51,"description":52},"Pressure-cooker nkwobi","Cow foot brought to tenderness in around 45 minutes under pressure rather than two hours on the hob. The texture is the same; the kitchen stays cooler.",[54],"Cold beer or palm wine, raw onion rings, and slices of boiled unripe plantain if you want to make a meal of it.","Nkwobi keeps 3 days refrigerated, where the palm oil emulsion sets solid and the whole bowl becomes a firm block. Reheat gently in a covered pan over low heat, or steam it, until the coating just loosens — a fierce reheat splits the ngo and leaves you with meat sitting in a puddle of oil. Add fresh utazi after reheating, since the shredded leaves go slimy overnight. The cooked cow foot alone freezes well for 2 months; make the emulsion fresh, as it does not survive freezing intact.",[57,60,63,66,69],{"question":58,"answer":59},"What is akanwu and is it safe to eat?","Akanwu, also called potash or kaun, is a naturally occurring alkaline mineral salt used in small quantities across West African cooking to soften beans, tenderise meat and emulsify palm oil. It is a traditional food ingredient used in tiny amounts — a teaspoon of dissolved solution flavours a whole pot. Bicarbonate of soda produces a very similar effect and is a common substitute.",{"question":61,"answer":62},"Why did my palm oil not thicken?","Either too little alkaline solution, or the oil was too hot when you added it. The emulsion forms best with palm oil at room temperature or barely warm, beaten steadily as the potash or bicarbonate solution goes in a spoonful at a time. If the oil is hot the mixture stays thin and separates, and adding more potash to compensate makes it taste soapy.",{"question":64,"answer":65},"How long does cow foot take to cook?","About two hours at a steady simmer, or roughly 45 minutes in a pressure cooker. You are looking for the point where the connective tissue has gone translucent and jelly-like and a fork slides in easily, while the meat still clings to the bone rather than falling off it. Undercooked cow foot is rubbery and no amount of sauce disguises it.",{"question":67,"answer":68},"What does utazi taste like and can I leave it out?","Utazi is a distinctly bitter West African leaf, used sparingly and shredded very fine. In nkwobi its job is to cut the richness of a bowl that is otherwise fat, gelatin and chilli. You can leave it out, but the dish becomes noticeably heavy after a few mouthfuls, so it is worth substituting something bitter such as rocket rather than omitting the element entirely.",{"question":70,"answer":71},"Is nkwobi a starter or a main course?","In Nigeria it is bar food, ordered with drinks and eaten with the fingers over a long evening rather than served as a course. Portions are small and intensely rich. Outside that setting it works well as a starter or a sharing plate, and boiled unripe plantain or yam alongside turns it into something closer to a full meal.",[73,74,75,76],"Large pot or pressure cooker","Mixing bowl and whisk for the emulsion","Small glass for settling the potash","Wooden serving bowls",4,25,125,"medium",[82],"appetizer",[84,85,86,87],"gluten-free","dairy-free","nut-free","halal-friendly",[89,90,91],"onion","scotch-bonnet","dried-shrimp",[93,98,102,105,108,113,116,118,121,123,128],{"qty":94,"unit":95,"name":96,"group":97},1.2,"kg","cow foot, sawn into rounds","For the meat",{"ref":89,"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":101,"group":97},1,"piece","onion, roughly chopped",{"qty":103,"unit":100,"name":104,"group":97},2,"stock cubes",{"qty":99,"unit":106,"name":107,"group":97},"tsp","fine salt",{"qty":109,"unit":110,"name":111,"group":112},150,"ml","red palm oil, at room temperature","For the ngo",{"qty":99,"unit":106,"name":114,"note":115,"group":112},"akanwu (edible potash), dissolved in 3 tbsp warm water","or ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda in the same water",{"ref":90,"qty":103,"unit":100,"name":117,"group":112},"scotch bonnet peppers, ground to a paste",{"ref":91,"qty":103,"unit":119,"name":120,"group":112},"tbsp","ground crayfish",{"qty":99,"unit":106,"name":122,"group":112},"ground ehu (calabash nutmeg) seed",{"qty":124,"unit":125,"name":126,"group":127},30,"g","utazi leaves, shredded very finely","To finish",{"ref":89,"qty":99,"unit":100,"name":129,"group":127},"small onion, in thin rings",[131,134,139,142,146,150,153],{"title":132,"text":133},"Clean the cow foot","Scrub the sawn pieces under cold running water, scraping away any grit around the joints, and pass them briefly over a gas flame to singe off remaining hair. Rinse again and drain.",{"title":135,"text":136,"timerSeconds":137,"tip":138},"Simmer until gelatinous","Put the cow foot in a large pot with the chopped onion, stock cubes and salt, cover with water by 3 cm and simmer gently for about 2 hours. It is ready when the connective tissue has turned translucent and wobbly and a fork enters without resistance, while the meat still holds to the bone.",7200,"A pressure cooker does the same job in about 45 minutes at high pressure.",{"title":140,"text":141},"Reduce and reserve","Lift the pieces out with a slotted spoon and boil the remaining liquid down to about 100 ml of concentrated, slightly sticky stock. Set both aside and let the meat cool until it is warm rather than hot.",{"title":143,"text":144,"timerSeconds":145},"Settle the potash solution","Stir the akanwu into the warm water and leave it to stand for 5 minutes so the grit sinks. Pour off only the clear liquid from the top and discard the sediment at the bottom.",300,{"title":147,"text":148,"tip":149},"Beat the ngo emulsion","Put the palm oil in a bowl and whisk in the clear potash solution a teaspoon at a time. Within a minute or two the oil will pale from deep orange to a soft yellow and thicken to the consistency of loose mayonnaise. Stop as soon as it holds a trail from the whisk.","Cold oil emulsifies; hot oil does not. If nothing happens, let the oil cool and try again.",{"title":151,"text":152},"Season the emulsion","Beat the ground scotch bonnet, crayfish and ehu into the ngo along with 2 tablespoons of the reduced stock. Taste and correct the salt — the mixture should be strongly flavoured, since it has to season the meat by contact alone.",{"title":154,"text":155},"Coat and serve","Fold the warm cow foot pieces through the emulsion until every surface is covered in yellow paste. Divide between small bowls, top with the shredded utazi and onion rings, and serve warm with drinks.",{"calories":157,"protein":158,"carbs":159,"fat":160,"fiber":99,"sodium":161,"estimated":162},640,38,5,53,940,true,[164,167,169,171],{"src":165,"alt":166},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fnkwobi\u002Fhero.jpg","Wooden bowl of nkwobi cow foot coated in yellow palm oil paste, topped with shredded utazi and onion rings",{"src":168,"alt":166},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fnkwobi\u002Fhero-16x9.jpg",{"src":170,"alt":166},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fnkwobi\u002Fhero-4x3.jpg",{"src":172,"alt":166},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fnkwobi\u002Fhero-1x1.jpg",[4,174,175,176,177,178,179],"cow foot","igbo","palm oil","utazi","ehu","nigerian bar 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yam","nigerian","fufu",{"slug":298,"title":299,"nativeName":300,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":214,"prepMinutes":301,"cookMinutes":302,"restMinutes":303,"difficulty":80,"course":304,"diet":305,"mainIngredients":306,"images":309,"keywords":313,"publishedAt":180,"updatedAt":180,"authorSlug":181},"nigerian-jollof-rice","Jollof Rice (Nigerian Tomato and Pepper Rice)","Jollof rice",20,75,10,[218],[84,85,87],[307,308,221,90],"rice","tomato",[310],{"src":311,"alt":312},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fnigerian-jollof-rice\u002Fhero.jpg","Pot of deep red Nigerian jollof rice with separate grains, sliced onion and fried plantain alongside",[314,295,275,315,316,317,318],"jollof rice","one pot rice","scotch bonnet","party jollof","tomato rice",{"slug":320,"title":321,"nativeName":322,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":214,"prepMinutes":281,"cookMinutes":323,"restMinutes":189,"difficulty":190,"course":324,"diet":325,"mainIngredients":326,"images":327,"keywords":331,"publishedAt":180,"updatedAt":180,"authorSlug":181},"moi-moi","Moi Moi (Nigerian Steamed Bean Pudding)","Mọ́í mọ́í",55,[283,192],[84,85,86,87],[221,89,223,90],[328],{"src":329,"alt":330},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmoi-moi\u002Fhero.jpg","Sliced orange moi moi bean pudding on a plate showing a quarter of boiled egg in the centre",[332,333,204,295,334,176,335],"moi moi","bean pudding","steamed","party 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