What it is
A Yoruba vegetable stew of shredded leafy greens simmered in palm oil with peppers, onion and locust bean, loaded with assorted meat, fish and shellfish. The name means, roughly, stirred greens.
Key ingredients
- Shoko or efo tete leaves
- Palm oil
- Tatashe and scotch bonnet peppers
- Locust bean (iru)
- Crayfish
- Assorted meat, ponmo and dried fish
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten with a swallow such as amala, eba or pounded yam, or with white rice.
Cultural significance
Efo riro is the everyday green of Yoruba cooking and a good example of how a Nigerian soup is judged: not by the vegetable but by what is in it. A generous efo riro signals hospitality and means. It is quicker than most soups, keeps well, and is one of the dishes most often cooked in bulk at the weekend for the week ahead.
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