THE DELICACY THAT IS EKPANG KUKWO...

I just had to love this meal, considering that it made a feature appearance on our dinning table at least once a week. My mum can eat this everyday of the week and with good reason. It was always made for dinner cos this meal is a certified knock out. I remember cooking it for a friend about 2 years ago, she passed out immediately after, lol. It's rich and was considered food for royalty and always features in Ibibio events and is the staple of the pre-wedding fattening room. It has a long prep time (2 hours, depending on the quantity) and a 20 minute cooking time but is well worth it. This one i dedicate to @Zitera who asked when i would cook and put up this recipe. :)

Wateryam or cocoyam
Ugu leaves
Crayfish
Dried fish
Catfish
Goat meat
Snail
Periwinkle (still in the shell, with the long end cut off)
Palm oil
Pepper
Salt
Onions

Wash meat and catfish and cut into pieces, spice and cook in the same pot and set aside.

Wash periwinkle thoroughly to get all the sand/mud out, cover it with water and add some salt.

Clean snail and fish and set aside.

Peel yam and cut into big pieces and wash.  Grate with the smallest part of the grater into a smooth paste.

Pick your ugu leaves off the stem, wash thoroughly and use it to wrap the grated yam a little at a time starting from the part of the leaf cut from the stem and rolling tightly to the tip of the leaf. Place one by one into a big pot. If you're not using a non-stick pot you can cover the base of the pot with some periwinkle and a little palm oil to avoid burning when you start cooking. Wateryam can be a bit itchy so to protect you hands as you wrap it you may want to rub some palm oil on your hands.

Remove the bones from your catfish and add it to the pot with your cooked goat meat, snail, periwinkle (taken out of the salt water it was soaked in) and dried fish. Add salt, pepper, crayfish and sliced onions.
Re-heat meat/fish stock and pour over wrapped yam to just cover the yam, if the stock doesn't cover it or you have no meat stock, boil some water and pour over the yam to just about cover it. Turn on the heat and cover the pot. If you pour cold water over it or use cold stock, it will all come loose, the hot stock/water starts the cooking process, holding it all in place even before the heat is turned on.

Allow to cook for 15 minutes without turning it, if you turn it too soon, it will all come unwrapped. After 15  minutes of cooking it would be solid enough to turn without turning it all into a pot of mush. Use a wooden spoon and starting at the edges start lifting and gradually turning. Add palm oil and turn a bit more then cover for another 10 minutes to cook through on low heat.

Serve and enjoy!