How to Cook Efo Riro

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: September 25, 2019

Efo riro is a Yoruba vegetable soup from Nigeria. In fact, “efe” means “vegetables” in the Yoruba language. Efo riro can be cooked with a variety of meats, including both red meats (e.g. beef and goat) and seafood (commonly tilapia).^{[1]
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Research source} Serve the efo riro hot once it's finished cooking.

Ingredients

4 cups (950 mL) of fresh spinach or 2 16 oz (1.0 lb) packages of frozen spinach
2 pounds (910 g) of beef
1 pound (450 g) of tripe or 1 pound (450 g) of tilapia
1 pound (450 g) of lamb or ¹⁄₂ pound (230 g) of small freshwater shrimp
5 medium tomatoes
3 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers
1 medium onion
0.25 cups (59 mL) palm oil
2 tablespoons (30 mL) salt
2 cubes of Maggi
1 tablespoon (15 mL) black pepper
1 tablespoon (15 mL) chili powder
3 tablespoons (44 mL) vegetable oil
Makes 4-5 servings

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:
Boiling and Frying the Meat

1
Cut the lamb, tripe, and beef into bite-sized cubes. Use a sharp kitchen knife and a cutting board. Cut all of the meats—roughly 2 pounds (910 g) total—into small cubes, about ¹⁄₂ inch (1.3 cm) on each side.
- If you're using the alternate meats and seafood, don't cut up the shrimp. You can cube the tilapia if you like, although it can also be served whole on top of the finished bowl of efo riro.^{[2]
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2
Boil the cubed meats in a large saucepan for 10 minutes. Fill a large saucepan with about 4 cups (950 mL) of water and bring to a boil. Drop in your chopped meats. Keep the water at a rolling boil until the meat has become tender.^{[3]
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- Periodically stick a fork into a piece of meat to evaluate its tenderness. It should take about 10 minutes.
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3
Add seasonings to the boiling meat. As soon as the meat has begun cooking, add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) each of salt and black pepper to the boiling meat. Also crumble in 2 cubes of Maggi.^{[4]
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- Maggi is a popular meat and vegetable seasoning, sold in cubes. You can find Maggi in the International section of most large supermarkets.
4
Pour the meat stock off into a bowl. Once the meat has finished tenderizing in the boiling water, pour the leftover water—which is now meat stock—into a bowl. Set this aside for now.^{[5]
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- Be sure to choose a bowl that is heat-resistant or it may melt.
5
Add 3 tablespoons (44 mL) of vegetable oil to a large skillet. Turn the burner up to medium heat (5 or 6) and let the vegetable oil heat up. Put a lid over the pan while the oil is heating to prevent splatters.^{[6]
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- If you don't have vegetable oil on hand, substitute butter. While butter is less healthy, it will add a rich flavor to the meat.
6
Fry the cubed meats until they are brown. Pour the boiled meats out of the saucepan where they've been cooling and into the skillet with the hot vegetable oil. Use a spoon or a wooden spatula to stir the meat, so the cubes don't burn. Let the meat fry in the oil until it's browned on all sides.^{[7]
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- This should take about 5 minutes, although times will vary. Remove the meat from the heat once it's cooked.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:
Preparing the Veggies

1
Chop the tomatoes. Do this while the meat boils on the stove.^{[8]
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Research source} Each of the 5 tomatoes can be chopped somewhat coarsely into ¹⁄₄ in (0.64 cm) cubes.
- If you're using the same knife and cutting board that you already used to cut the raw meats, be sure to wash them thoroughly before cutting the vegetables.
2
Dice the scotch bonnet peppers. Once the tomatoes have been chopped, move on to the scotch bonnet peppers or habanero peppers (depending on your preference).^{[9]
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Research source} The peppers should be diced into ¹⁄₈ in (0.32 cm) pieces.
- When chopping the scotch bonnet peppers—and especially if you've substituted habaneros—avoid touching your eyes for at least 30 minutes.
3
Boil the chopped tomatoes and peppers. Pour about 1 cup (240 mL) of water into a separate saucepan. Bring the water to a boil, and add the chopped tomatoes and scotch bonnet peppers. Boil the vegetables until the water dries from the pan.^{[10]
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- Stir the tomatoes and peppers regularly so that they don't stick to the bottom of the pan as the water starts to dry.
- Once they're cooked, remove the pot from the heat and leave the tomatoes and peppers in the pot.
4
Wash and blanch fresh spinach. Rinse the spinach under your kitchen tap. Blanch the leaves by briefly submerging them in a (third) saucepan of boiling water. Then submerge the leaves in a bowl full of ice water .^{[11]
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- If you're using pre-packaged, frozen spinach, you can skip this step.
5
Chop up the onion. While the meat cools, pull out the 1 medium onion. Peel the skin and any dried, brown layers off of the onion. Then, chop the onion into small pieces. Since onion shrinks when it cooks, don't worry about chopping it too finely at this point.
- You can chop it using the same knife as you used for the tomatoes and hot peppers.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 4:
Cooking the Vegetables

1
Heat palm oil in a pan. Choose a large, deep skillet and pour in a generous amount of palm oil, about 2 tablespoons (30 mL) to begin with. Place the skillet over a large burner, and turn the heat up to medium-high.^{[12]
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2
Sautée the chopped onion in the palm oil. Once the palm oil is hot, scrape the chopped onion off of your cutting board and into the skillet.^{[13]
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Research source} Use a plastic or wooden spatula to stir the onions as they cook. The onion is sautéed when it has begun to caramelize and turn brown.
- Be careful not to let the oil splatter onto your hands or clothing.
3
Pour the blended chopped tomatoes and hot peppers into the skillet. Once the onions have finished sautéeing, add the tomatoes and scotch bonnet or habanero peppers. Let these fry in the oil also. Stir the tomatoes and peppers regularly to prevent them from burning or sticking to the pan.^{[14]
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- The tomatoes and peppers are cooked when they look browned and crisp.
4
Add the stock, chili powder, and 1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt to the skillet. Once the tomatoes and peppers have cooked, pour the leftover meat stock into the skillet. Add your 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of chili powder and another 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of salt.^{[15]
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Research source} Use your wooden spatula to mix the ingredients together.
5
Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn the burner down to medium-low heat and let the soup simmer.^{[16]
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Research source} Leave the lid off of the skillet while the efo riro simmers, so excess moisture evaporates.

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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:
Adding the Meat and Spinach

1
Stir in the fried meat. After the 5 minutes have passed, add the blend of fried meats to the deep skillet. Use your spatula or a spoon to blend the meat in with the vegetable ingredients.^{[17]
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- If you opted to cook tilapia and shrimp instead of lamb and tripe, set these aside. Do not add them to the efo riro yet.
2
Stir in the blanched spinach. Add the blanched fresh spinach (or frozen spinach) that you set aside earlier. Stir it in to the efo riro until the spinach is fully blended with the other ingredients .^{[18]
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- If the spinach seems to take up too much room in the skillet, don't worry. Spinach loses the majority of its volume as it cooks.
3
Simmer for 2 minutes. Now that all of the ingredients have been combined, simmer the efo riro a little longer to cook down the spinach.^{[19]
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- You can leave the lid off of the skillet or put it on, depending on the desired consistency of the efo riro. Removing the lid will allow moisture to boil off and thicken the stew.
4
Serve the efo riro while it's hot. The texture of the efo riro should be that of a thick stew. Ladle a helping of efo riro into a bowl and eat while it's still hot.^{[20]
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- If you cooked tilapia and shrimp, place them on top of the stew immediately before serving.
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