Intentional 2 | Eme's Kitchen Experience

Welcome to another intentional cooking trip, this time Ekpang is still a culprit but this particular Ekpang is popularly known as "Ekpang Nkukwo" or in my translation "Cocoa Yam Pudding".

If you are here, it is my belief that you've seen the first part of this blog post "Intentional 1"  (<<link in bold italics).

My mother should be considered a champion of cooking demanding meals. She has been quite comfortable with the stress that the long hours required has never felt like a matter to her and neither should it be to anyone else staying under her roof.

It was with this mindset my mum would announce after our morning devotion that Ekpang Nkukwo will be the meal of the day and if we are hungry enough all hands should be on deck to prepare, cook and still have it as breakfast.

Now, if you are in any way familiar with the rigours of making Ekpang Nkukwo, you would realize my mother was setting our home up for a challenging task and who were we to question an African mother's decision. We obeyed with grumbling thoughts and gentle mumurs so she wouldn't disqualify us from partaking when the meal was ready.

Immediately, the meal task was shared, everyone had a part to deliver in a timely manner if we were indeed going to have this meal for breakfast. Dad did the shopping, Mum the peeling and fine grating of the cocoa and water yam, my sisters were in charge of prepping the assorted proteins and cutting the periwinkles that would be used and I would be in charge of shreading the leaves and wrapping with any other person available to assist.

This had been the pattern for years and because of the large quantity we cooked, we never made it on time to have Ekpang Nkukwo for breakfast yet we hardly had any leftovers for the next day. So technically, we would spend our whole day making breakfast that will be eaten sometime later in the afternoon🤦.

The thing with Ekpang Nkukwo is, every step of the preparation and coking process is delibrate. Each morsel is wrapped individually and arranged systematically in the pot. Every layer is separated with periwinkles and the prepared proteins from base to top. The cocoa yam must be wrapped in tiny bits until the whole batch is finished and when cooking one must stir gently to avoid scattering the wraps.

Like its name implies, Ekpang Nkukwo is wrapped using "nkukwo" (cocoa yam leaves) but the type of cocoa yam leaves used must be the freshly budding or almost dying type to avoid itching. However, since this type of leaf is scarce to find, potato, pumpkin and spinach leaves have become close alternatives to the original cocoa yam leaves.

Sometime in the year 2018, I represented a group in a Cooking Competition organized by Knorr Seasoning Cube at Lagos, Nigeria. To my delight Ekpang Nkukwo was the meal to be made within forty-five (45) minutes and every competitor was assigned a helper. Arrr!!! my adrenalin surged as I looked at the ingredients set before me with the little time I had to deliver a sweet tasting, beautifully wrapped ekpang nkukwo. 

Quickly, I recalled my mothers approach to this food and engaged her mindset. One of her ekpang cooking tricks which gave me an edge over my rivals is to "allow the pot steam a while on low heat without adding any water". This makes the ekpang solidify using the vapour generated inside the pot and when the ekpang is firm from her moisture, I can then add water in bits until it is ready.

My competitors of course were very acquainted with the general hot water method of cooking this meal but my technique was more time-effective and result oriented. The judges had a field day tasting our meals and from the way they devoured my creation, your guess is as good as mine... I was declared the winner of the competition ☺️.

I wish it was those type of competitions where the winner got a car or heavy duty equipment but it did not matter, I was happy all the same for the frying pan I won and even more grateful for all the years I spent cooking with my mother.

Occasionally, I still attempt to make so much Ekpang Nkukwo for breakfast. I guess the more challenging the intention is, the sweeter the reward feels.