An Easy and Delicious Munchupa Soup Recipe
If you’ve never heard of Munchupa soup, that’s likely to change soon! This fantastic recipe has become very popular in recent years and has spread to many parts of the world. Making a Munchupa soup recipe at home can give you a better understanding of why everybody is excited about this soup. As a bonus, we’ll give you some tips to make this soup even better for your needs.
What is Munchupa Soup?
The Republic of Cape Verde is quickly becoming known for some very unique and tasty recipes, chief among them their Munchupa soup recipe! This soup is the national dish for this restaurant and is one of the first fusion dishes ever made. Cape Verde cuisine is acclaimed as the first fusion styles ever produced, with a mix of European, African, Asian, and American foods that are truly fantastic.
While Munchupa soup is definitely their most popular dish (and one with a savory taste), it is far from the only recipe that you should try. For now, though, let’s just focus on recreating this Munchupa soup recipe for your needs. If you find that you love this soup, then you can try out other Cape Verde foods that may fall well within your culinary interests and personal taste.
Our Munchupa Soup Recipe
The unique nature of Cape Verde cuisine means that some foods have fairly unique ingredients and may even be named different things. For example, Munchupa can also be called Cachupa in some parts of the nation! As a result, you may need to do a little searching to find the ingredients listed below. If you can’t find them in your local supermarket, try a nearby specialty food store instead:
- Eight ounces of dry kidney beans (to be soaked later)
- Eight ounces of dry lima beans (to be soaked later)
- Eight ounces of samp or cracked cry corn
- Three pounds of pork neck bones (your butcher should have some)
- Three large and minced onions
- Two tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
- Two packages of chuorico meat, which is a spicy sausage
- One-quarter cup of vinegar to taste
- Three packets of minced kale
- Salt and pepper to taste
Most of these ingredients should be fairly simple to find, beyond the pork neck bones. That item helps to add flavor to the broth, meaning that you’ll be making a broth by hand! While you could just buy pork broth, it’s simply not the same. Pulling neck bones out of your Munchupa soup is a major part of the experience and is one that you shouldn’t take for granted in this meal.
How to Make This Munchupa Soup Recipe
If you’re interested in the Munchupa soup recipe and want to make it as tasty as possible, the following steps can help. They are designed to be easy to understand and effective for just about any dining situation. We carefully choose the ingredients listed based on ease of cooking and their appropriateness for the unique nature of Munchupa soup. Here’s what you need to do to get started:
- Place your dry beans and corn in a pot of cold water until they’re fully covered
- Let this pot sit at room temperature overnight to help them soak up the water needed
- Carefully drain the water from these ingredients and place them in a large kettle
- Cover them with water again until there’s a few inches above the top of the beans or more
- Boil this mixture and add in the pork bones to start creating the broth flavor
- Saute onions and the chourico in a pan in the oil and add them to the kettle when done
- Turn the heat down on the kettle until the water is simmering and not boiling
- Cook on simmering heat uncovered for at least two hours, adding water as necessary
- Put in the kale and heat it properly until the soup cooks down to a chili-like texture
- Remove from heat and stir to help the broth thicken a little in the pot
- Add salt, pepper, and vinegar to the soup to your specific taste needs
- Serve in medium-sized bowls to multiple people, as this recipe produces a lot of soup
- Store extra soup in the refrigerator for over a week or freeze for up to six months
You should have a full kettle of soup when you finish with this recipe, which should be enough for multiple servings for several people. Follow the last step if you have any extra soup and you plan on eating it again later. You can also cook a large kettle of soup and give it away to friends, if you like. The choice is yours because this Chunchupa soup recipe is extensive and very popular.
Ways to Make It Better
If you make this Chunchupa soup recipe but think it needs a bit more, we have a few suggestions for you! These tips can improve either the taste or health of this soup recipe. Some even do both, which is particularly nice! The following steps are the most popular options that we could find and should help make your soup that much more enjoyable the next time you make it.
Remove the Kale (Taste)
Some people just don’t do kale and may find this ingredient is hard to tolerate in this soup. While we don’t necessarily agree with kale hate, we understand that it isn’t to all tastes. If you can’t handle it, try to replace it with something like cabbage or lettuce. While not as healthy as kale, their tastes are a bit easier for some people to tolerate, and they provide a similar nutrient level and texture.
Add More Beans (Taste and Health)
By mixing in different types of beans (such as red or white) with your soup, you can create a denser and healthier mix. The varying beans will also cause different tastes that will make your soup even more enjoyable. Note that more beans will give your soup a denser fiber content. While more fiber is definitely a good thing for your diet, it may cause cramps or gas if you eat too much at once.
Removing the Sodium (Health)
While this step may make your soup a bit blander at first, it’s a good choice if you want to reduce the salt level. Don’t oversalt the soup but simply skip this step entirely. You will still get some salt naturally from the broth (particularly the pork bones) and will have a healthier overall soup. If you feel like it’s a little too bland without salt, add sea salt. This type is a bit healthier than traditional table salt, though still shouldn’t be overdone to avoid health issues.
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