Nigerian Salad excerpted from Chop Chop by Ozoz Sokoh (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2025. Photographs by James Ransom.
In Nigeria, the word “chop” is all about food and feasting and “chop chop” a nickname given to someone who loves to eat. And it’s no surprise Nigeria has an entire vocabulary dedicated to eating—with more than 50 nationally recognised languages and over 250 ethnicities, Nigeria’s food is as rich and diverse as its people. This book reflects the foodways’ incredibly flavourful complexity, ingredients, and recipes from all six regions, gathered and showcased in a highly photographic cookbook.
In Chop Chop, author, culinary anthropologist, and Nigerian native Ozoz Sokoh celebrates classic and traditional Nigerian cuisine to underscore the ingredients, flavours, and textures that make it not only beloved, but delicious and easy for the home cook. Featuring:
- A COLLECTION OF CLASSIC AND TRADITIONAL NIGERIAN RECIPES: Think smoky spicy beef suya skewers, egusi soup with greens, restorative pepper soup, jollof rice studded with tomatoes, soft puff puff dough bites, and sweet-tart hibiscus drinks, and more from across the country.
- LEXICON OF NIGERIAN CUISINE: Learn how to shop and cook like a Nigerian and learn about the ingredients integral to Nigerian cuisine, like nuts and seeds, greens, grains, and cereals (especially in the north), roots and tubers (favourites of the south), and proteins that come together on the plate in the form of hearty soups and stews, steamed puddings, salads, rice dishes, fritters, and more.
- ILLUMINATING CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL EXPLORATIONS: With headnotes and sidebars that give important cultural and historical context, including how Nigerian cuisine travelled the globe leaving its mark, you will learn the deep roots behind dishes and drinks, and global foodways connections.
- STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHY: With gorgeous photos from Nigeria’s landscapes, food markets, and people, as well as beautiful photography of ingredients and finished dishes, Chop Chop is a cookbook to behold.
Written through the lens of Ozoz’s deep connection to the region, Chop Chop will bring Nigeria’s food-loving spirit to home kitchens everywhere, so you can travel, by plate.
Nigerian Salad
Serves 4
In its simplest form, the salad is vegetarian, and combines cabbage, carrot (raw and grated, or chopped and cooked), lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green bell pepper, and boiled eggs. Add-ins might include cooked elements like baked beans, boiled potatoes, cooked green beans, fresh or blanched white or red onions, sweet corn, green peas (commonly marrowfat peas), kidney beans, and pasta (elbow macaroni and fusilli are common). Non-vegetarian versions might feature canned corned beef, sardines in oil, or flaked panfried tilapia.
Whichever way you choose to make it, this salad is best served cold. Make it up to a day ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
1 cup (100 g) shredded white or green cabbage
1 cup (100 g) shredded carrots
1 cup (75 g) shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce
½ cup (90 g) chopped firm Roma (plum) tomatoes (seeded, if you like), plus 1 firm tomato, cut into ¼-inch-thick (6 mm) slices
½ cup (65 g) chopped peeled cucumber (seeded if you like), plus ½ medium cucumber, cut into ¼-inch-thick (6 mm) slices (peeled and seeded, if you like)
¼ cup (30 g) diced green bell pepper
¼ cup (25 g) chopped scallions
Up to 3 tablespoons homemade Salad Cream (recipe follows), plus more for serving
½ cup (125 g) canned vegetarian baked beans, preferably heinz original brand
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into quarters, wedges, or slices
Simply known as “salad,” this colourful, coleslaw-like mix is present at almost every Nigerian event, dressed with sweet, tangy, pale yellow salad cream.
In a shallow dish or platter, combine the cabbage, carrots, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, bell pepper, and scallions. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the salad cream over the top. With a spoon, combine the vegetables gently but thoroughly.
Spread the coated vegetables into an even layer over the dish and spoon the baked beans over the top. Garnish with small piles of the tomato slices, cucumber slices, and hard-boiled eggs. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
Serve with extra salad cream.
Excerpted from Chop Chop by Ozoz Sokoh (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2025. Photographs by James Ransom.