Fish Stew: Fried Assorted Fish Stew

Fish Stew or “Obe Eja Tutu” is a rich, savory, and hearty West African and Nigerian stew recipe that will give you the best flavor and quality in one dish!

In this recipe, you will learn how to cook four different kinds of fish in homemade pepper sauce. The blend of sweet, spicy, and pungent flavors will surely bring you warmth and comfort.

It is popularly served with swallow foods and rice to upgrade the dining experience. Be prepared to cook your new favorite fish recipe!

You can certainly cook this dish for lunch, dinner, and celebrations to give your guests something new to try. Let’s get stewing to relish the best Fish Stew ever!

How to Make Fish Stew

In making Fish Stew, you need to fry the fish first to make it crispy outside yet tender on the inside. The fish will be further cooked in pepper sauce to infuse the dish with flavors.

Don’t worry because I will guide you every step of the way. Are you ready to cook this dish?

Ingredients

There are many versions of Fish Stew, but for the Yummieliciouz version, these are all you need to cook it:

Assorted fish

You can use almost any fish, but I suggest making the stew with croaker, hake, tilapia, and bream. Once seasoned and fried, these will have a naturally tasty flavor from the inside out.

These will surely taste delicious with the pepper sauce. You can season them with herbs and spices of your choice to take their flavor to the next level.

There are many ways to enjoy fish. You can bake, fry, deep fry, air fry, grill, roast, or stew them. I’ve cooked plenty of fish recipes for my family, and these are our favorites:

• Grilled Tilapia
• Red Bream Stew
• Grilled Croaker

Tomatoes

When it comes to African pepper sauce, you need to add tomatoes. These give the sauce a sweet and tangy flavor with a pulpy and smooth texture.

Their rich red color will also make any dish more appetizing. The tomato flavor will surely go well with the peppers. Here are more fun ways to use tomatoes:

• Jollof Rice
• Tortilla Wrap
• Spaghetti in Chicken Breast Sauce.

Sweet and bell peppers

Well, it’s not pepper sauce without sweet peppers and bell peppers! These peppers have a sweet, fruity, and slightly citrusy flavor to add flavor to any dish.

Once cooked, the peppers will have a fragrant aroma that will make your dishes appetizing. If you can’t get enough of peppers, then here are other recipes you might enjoy:

• Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
• Breakfast Wraps
• Moi Moi

Scotch bonnet

Don’t forget to give the pepper sauce a touch of spice with a scotch bonnet. Aside from its spicy flavor, the scotch bonnet also has a hint of sweet and floral taste – perfect for stews.

It will surely add a robust flavor to the fish and sauce. Alternatively, you can season the sauce or fish with homemade chili flakes.

Aromatics

Garlic and onions are some of my favorite aromatics because they also add a pungent and spicy flavor to improve sauces and dishes.

They will have a better aroma once you cook them with the peppers and scotch bonnet. You can also use garlic powder or onion powder as substitutes.

Seasoning

There are many herbs and spices you can use, but the best ones include sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder, all-purpose seasoning, mace, fenugreek, and cardamom.

You can use oregano, tarragon, sage, cardamom, coriander, and garam masala as optional seasoning. I also suggest using my tried and tested fish seasoning for great flavor.

You’re surely going to love this recipe because of its natural aroma, flavor, and quality. It’s a fine dining experience in your own home with satisfying and hearty food straight from your kitchen!

Directions

I can’t wait for you to taste this Fish Stew; let’s make it now!

Fish

1. Gut and descale the fish using a knife.
2. Cut the fish to your preferred size.
3. Season the fish with fenugreek, garlic powder, onion powder, cardamom, mace, all-purpose seasoning, and salt.
4. Cover the container with cling film and marinate overnight. 
5. In a pan, heat oil over medium-high fire until the oil simmers.
6. Then, fry the fish with tongs until golden and crispy.
7. Remove the fish from heat using a skimmer spoon.
8. Once cooked, transfer the fish to a lined tray lined. 
9. Set the oil aside for later use. 

Pepper Sauce

1. Chop the tomatoes, sweet peppers, bell peppers, onions, garlic, onion, and scotch bonnet.
2. Use a blender to blend the ingredients until smooth.

Fish Stew

1. Heat the leftover oil in a saucepan over a medium-high fire.
2. Then, pour in the blended sauce.
3. Cover the pot with a splatter guard and a lid to cook the sauce until it thickens. 
4. Season it with all-purpose seasoning, mixed herbs, salt, mace, paprika, knorr cubes, and curry powder. You can also add oregano, tarragon, sage, cardamom, coriander, and garam masala. 
5. Mix the seasoning into the sauce and cook for another five minutes.
6. Toss in the fried assorted fish.
7. Submerge the fish into the stew to infuse it with the sauce.
8. Cover and cook for another two minutes over low heat. 
9. Once you’re happy with the flavor, serve the Fish Stew with a smile!

Not only are you enticed to eat healthily, but you’re also enjoying an incredible culinary experience in your home! 

Tips

Fish

Buying fish

• In an article by Nestle, fresh fish should have clear eyes.
• The gills should also be moist and red.
• Check if the scales are glossy and slippery.
• Smell the fish for a neutral aroma.
• The flesh should also feel firm and plump.

Storing fish

• To refrigerate, put a rack inside a large container and place the rinsed fish on the rack.
• Do not stack or crowd the fish.
• Scatter ice below the rack and ensure that the ice does not touch the fish.
• Also, cover the container with cling film to use within two days. 
• For freezing, wash the fish over running water and store them in labeled freezer bags. Cook the frozen fish within two weeks. 

Preparing fish

The Spruce Eats suggests these steps to prepare the fish for cooking:

1. To descale, use a clean butter knife to scrape off the scales from the tail to the head.
2. Angle your knife and apply just enough pressure not to puncture the flesh. 
3. Next, gut the fish by cutting it in between the fins and slicing it upward. Let the knife hit the fishbone.
4. Expose the flesh and pull out the guts and liver.
5. Then, slice off the gills. 
6. Cut the fish to your preferred size to season, store, or fry! 

Cooking fish

• The oil should be hot enough to deep fry the fish without drenching it. 
• FryMax suggests using palm oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil, and sunflower oil because of their high smoke points.
• If you have an oil thermometer, then check if the oil is between 175°C to 180°C before lowering the fish.
• Do not overcrowd the pan for even frying.
• Cooking time can take up to five minutes on each side, but it depends on the thickness of the fish.

Pepper sauce

Tomatoes

Selection

• The tomatoes should be vibrantly colored, plump, and with glossy and smooth skin.
• They should feel heavy for their size too.
• The caps should be in a fresh green color. 

Storage

• Unripe tomatoes can be left at room temperature to last up to two weeks.
• Ripe tomatoes are best refrigerated in resealable bags to last up to a week longer. 

Sweet and bell Peppers

Selection

• The peppers should be firm to the touch.
• The skin should be shiny and bright without discoloration. 

Storage

• Room-temperature peppers can last up to five days but refrigerate them in plastic bags to extend their shelf life to 2 weeks. 

Scotch bonnet

Selection

• The scotch bonnet should feel heavy for its size.
• Check the scotch bonnet for soft spots or discoloration. 

Storage

• Put the scotch bonnet in plastic bags and store it in the fridge to use within two weeks.
• They can also be frozen to last up to several weeks.
• If you need an in-depth guide to preserving it, then be sure to check out Scotch Bonnets Storage Hacks.

No-Blender Pepper Sauce

In place of a blender, you can use a food processor or a food mill. Moreover, you can also steam the tomatoes and peppers before finely chopping them with a knife or a mortar and pestle. 

You can also use a grater to grate the onions and garlic before mixing them with the purees. Filter the contents with a  sieve for better consistency. 

Fish Stew Variations

With the seasoning alone, you can make any variation to the flavor. You may also use any other fish or seafood of your choice to enhance the quality of the stew.

Aside from using hake, bream, croaker, and tilapia, I also suggest using sea bass, prawns, pollock, black cod, and red snapper for more options.

For a vegetarian stew, you can use carrots, asparagus, green beans, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, vegetable broth, peas, and more. 

If you loved this stew recipe, then here are more stew recipes you can try out:

• Red Bream Stew
• Assorted Meat Stew
• Smoked Mackerel Stew
• Chicken Gizzard Stew

Recommended Tools

• Saucepan: Cook the sauce and the stew in a saucepan.
• Frying pan: Fry the fish in a wok.
• Blender: Prepare the sauce in a blender.
• Wooden spatula: Mix the ingredients with a spatula.
• Tongs: Toss the fish in the oil with tongs. 
• Splatter screen: Cover the saucepan with a splatter guard.
• Glass bowl: Prepare the ingredients, herbs, and spices in glass bowls.
• Skimmer spoon: Remove the fish from the oil with a skimmer. 
• Knife: Slice the fish and ingredients using a knife.
• Cling film: Marinate the fish by covering the container with cling film.
• Tray: Place the fish on a tray after frying.

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How to Serve Fish Stew

This dish is best served for lunch and dinner to relish the goodness of the sauce and the fish. Also, you can have them with:

• Jollof Rice
• Fried Rice
• Coconut Rice
• Steamed Plantains

Here are also some of the best swallow foods that will pair well with the stew:

• Oatmeal Fufu
• Banana Fufu
• Plantain Fufu
• Amala

This can also be served with roasted vegetables, a salad, or healthy drinks such as:

• Beetroot Apple Juice
• Watermelon Juice
• Zobo Drink
• Clementine Juice
• Cherry Juice

Storage Tips

• At room temperature: According to Bike Hike, the fish stew is best eaten within two hours at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another name for fish stew?

Nigerian Fish Stew is also called “Obe Eja Tutu”. It is also cooked in other countries, and it may have also earned other names. For instance, Indonesian Fish Stew is called “Asam Pedas”.

What is fish stew?

In Africa, Fish Stew is a dish made of fried fish and pepper sauce. The fish is seasoned and fried until golden brown outside and soft on the inside.

Meanwhile, the pepper sauce is made of tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet peppers, scotch bonnet, and aromatics. It is cooked with the fried fish for a hearty and savory meal.

Are stews healthy?

Yes, stews are healthy, especially when you make them with homemade sauce and fish!

For instance, this fish stew supplies your body with essential nutrients that you can get from seafood, such as omega acids, calcium, phosphorus, protein, and minerals. 

This dish is also great for a well-balanced diet with vegetables, seasoning, and fish. It protects your heart, boosts brain function, improves vision, and curbs the effects of depression. 

Where does fish stew come from?

The fish stew was inspired by French bouillabaisse, where fish was submerged in a delicious soup. From there, lots of fish stew recipes have been concocted from all over the world from Asian to African recipes.