Egusi soup: a home recipe with a bot prompt to adapt it

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1½ cups (about 200 g) ground egusi
• 1 lb (450 g) beef stew meat or goat, in chunks
• 1 cup (about 60 g) smoked or dried fish, deboned and flaked
• ½ cup (120 ml) red palm oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper and 1-2 scotch bonnets, blended with a little water
• 2 Tbsp ground crayfish
• 4 cups (about 1 L) stock (from cooking the meat)
• 1 tsp iru / locust bean (optional)
• 8 oz (225 g) spinach or washed bitter leaf, chopped
• Salt and bouillon to taste

Steps

1. Season the beef with salt, bouillon and half the onion. Simmer in about 5 cups of water, covered, 45-60 min until tender. Keep the stock.
2. Mix the ground egusi with a few spoons of water (and a little onion) into a thick paste.
3. Warm the palm oil over medium heat (do not let it smoke heavily), add the rest of the onion and iru, and cook 2-3 min. Add the pepper blend and fry 5 min.
4. Drop the egusi paste in spoonfuls, leave 2-3 min, then stir and fry 8-10 min until it forms curds and smells nutty.
5. Add 4 cups of stock, the beef, fish and crayfish. Simmer 15-20 min, stirring now and then, until thickened. Taste for salt.
6. Stir in the greens and cook 3-5 min. Serve hot with pounded yam, eba or fufu.

Substitutions

• Egusi: ground pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are a common stand-in; flavor is close but lighter.
• Palm oil: neutral oil plus a pinch of paprika for color; taste will be less rich.
• Meat: chicken thighs (cook to 165°F) or skip meat and use mushrooms and vegetable stock.
• Greens: spinach, kale, ugu (fluted pumpkin leaves) or bitter leaf.
• Fish: leave out for a no-seafood version; add more crayfish only if seafood is OK.

Food safety for this dish

Beef or goat chunks need at least 145°F (63°C) plus a 3-minute rest (they will go far beyond that while tenderizing); chicken 165°F; fish 145°F. Reheat leftover soup to 165°F. Egusi, crayfish and fish are allergens for some people.

Safe temperatures (FoodSafety.gov)

Use a food thermometer in the thickest part, not touching bone. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F). Cooked rice cools fast in a shallow container. Source: FoodSafety.gov safe minimum internal temperatures, USDA FSIS leftovers.

Copy this prompt to adapt the recipe

Here is my egusi soup recipe for 6: [paste ingredients and steps].
Adapt it for [number] people and [my situation: e.g. no scotch bonnets / pressure cooker / vegetarian / low sodium / what I have in my pantry].
Keep quantities in grams and US measures and keep the technique that makes it taste right.
Tell me what changes in flavor or texture with each swap.
Include FoodSafety.gov safe internal temperatures for any meat, poultry or fish.
Say when something varies by region or family rather than calling one version the only authentic one.

How we wrote this

This is one home-style version written to help you start, not the definitive recipe. Families, regions and countries cook it many ways, and those differences are part of the dish. If you can, learn from West African cooks, cookbook authors and restaurants, and credit them when you share.

Checked Oct 30, 2026. Temperatures from FoodSafety.gov. Quantities are tested home-kitchen ranges; adjust salt and heat to taste.