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Galo Soup

Galo Soup is a traditional Liberian recipe for a classic stew of Galo fruit (substitute macadamia nuts), chicken, dried meat and dried fish cooked in a red palm oil sauce flavoured with hot chillies and Maggi cubes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Liberian version of: Galo Soup.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

55 minutes

Total Time:

75 minutes

Serves:

4–6

Rating:

Tags : Chilli RecipesChicken RecipesLiberia Recipes

Galo (Heisteria parvifolia) is is a plant from tropical West Africa that produces a fruit, from deep scarlet flowers, that has an edible white kernel that is used as food by the people of Liberia. The term also refers to Ongokea spp, a tree of some 35m tall found in Sierra Leone, Angola, and Zaire and which produces small yellow drupes with an offensive odour. However, the nuts are edible when ripe, and are quite oily. Either of these can be used in this recipe. If you want a substitute then macadamia nuts are acceptable (though the flavour is not the same).

The image, shows the whole mature flower of Heisteria parvifolia, with the flower then separated into petals, the fruit and the seed from inside the fruit.

Ingredients:

15 Galo fruit
1 medium chicken
100g Dry meat, shredded
200g Dry, smoked, fish, washed and flaked
2 Maggi or bouillon cubes
2 scotch bonnet chillies pounded to a paste
salt and black pepper, to taste
500ml of red palm oil

Method:

Wash the chicken and cut into serving pieces then season liberally with salt and black pepper. Allow at least 20 minutes to marinate then add the chicken, dry fish, chillies, dry meat and Maggi cubes to a pot.

Cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for at least 45 minutes (add more water as necessary but do not cover). Once the meat is done pound the galo fruit to a paste in a pestle and mortar and sift into the soup allow to simmer for 10 minutes then add the red palm oil and stir in.

Cook for a further 25 minutes, until the soup thickens and serve with FuFu or rice.