How to eat swallow with soup

Eating swallow with your hands can look tricky the first time. It isn’t. Here’s how it’s done.

Before you start

Wash your hands. In Nigeria, you’ll often be brought a bowl of water to rinse your fingers before and after eating. Traditionally, you eat with your right hand only.

Step by step

1. Pinch off a small piece of swallow, about the size of a large grape or a walnut.
2. Roll it gently in your fingers into a ball.
3. Press your thumb into the ball to make a small dent, like a little spoon.
4. Use the dent to scoop up some soup, along with some of the vegetables.
5. Put it in your mouth and swallow after a few chews. Swallow isn’t meant to be chewed for long.

Pick up the meat or fish with your fingers too, or with a fork if you prefer.

Tips

• Keep the pieces small. Big pieces are hard to handle and hard to swallow.
• With “draw” soups like ogbono and ewedu, which stretch, twist your hand as you lift so the strands break. See our guide to ogbono soup.
• Don’t worry about mess. Everyone gets a bit of soup on their fingers.

Can I use cutlery?

Of course. Plenty of people eat swallow with a fork, or cut it with a spoon. Eating by hand is the traditional way, but it’s up to you. If you’d like cutlery, just ask.

Which swallow to start with

Pounded yam is the easiest to handle. Read our guides to pounded yam and eba and amala.

Try it

Book a table and order a soup from our menu.