Liberian-style cabbage soup

So, the secret to Liberian cooking?

Use a TON of oil, Maggi seasoning cubes, MSG, hot peppers, and boil meat and vegetables together and serve with rice.

I omitted the MSG but otherwise was pretty authentic.

*Fry chicken in about 1/2" of oil. (I used two large chicken legs, and it took a long time until it seemed nearly done.)

Remove chicken.

Add chopped* onions (3 small), garlic (5 cloves), peppers (4 long hot ones) to the oil.
Toss in a couple of bouillon cubes and a small can of tomato paste.
Allow to saute over low-medium heat until onions are transparent.

Add chopped cabbage. (I used a small head, but I needed at least twice that much.) Saute for a few minutes. When cabbage starts to wilt, add back the chicken and allow to cook over med-low heat for about 30 minutes, until the cabbage softens and flavors meld.

Chicken should fall off the bones, which is how I like it, but pull chicken out earlier if you don't like it so soft.

Serve with rice.


*Liberians use a mortar and pestle to pound the peppers, onion, and garlic. The flavor is superior that way to chopped, but I use what I got.