How to make fish pepper soup
Make fish pepper soup by boiling fish with water, chopped onions, and seasoning until tender. Add chopped habanero peppers, ginger, garlic, and African spices like Uziza or Ehuru. Simmer for 10–15 minutes to blend flavors, then serve hot with fresh herbs for garnish.
Fish Pepper Soup is a spicy, aromatic soup popular in West Africa, known for its flavorful spices and tender fish. This soup is enjoyed as an appetizer or main dish, commonly served at gatherings or family dinners. The main ingredients are fish, fresh herbs, spices, and peppers, all simmered to create a fragrant and comforting broth.
In this recipe, I am sharing ingredients and step-by-step instructions on how to make fish pepper soup.
Ingredients
To prepare fish pepper soup, gather the following ingredients:
- Fish: 1 kg Tilapia or Catfish
- Pepper Soup Spice: 2 tablespoons
- Cayenne or Cameroon Pepper: ¼ teaspoon
- Scotch Bonnet Peppers: 1 red and 1 yellow
- Fresh Scent Leaves or Basil: 2 tablespoons
- Stock Cubes: 2
- Ground Crayfish: 1 tablespoon
- Salt: to taste
- Water: approximately 2 liters
Fish Pepper Soup Recipe
Step 1: Prepare the fish:
Clean the fish well and remove the guts from the belly. Cut to the desired size. If you want, you can keep some parts whole.
Step 2: Marinate the fish:
Place the clean fish in a bowl. Add stock cubes, pepper soup spices, and salt. Mix well and leave for 30 minutes, so that the masala mixes well with the fish.
Step 3: Cook the base:
Pour about 1 liter of water into the marinated fish bowl. Then add cayenne or Cameroon pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Add ingredients:
Add bay leaves (or basil), crushed prawns, and crushed Scotch bonnet pepper to the pot. Stir gently to mix.
Step 5: Simmer the soup:
Allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes, so that all the spices and flavors blend.
Add salt or other spices to taste if required. Once cooked, remove from the oven. Serve hot. Boiled bananas or boiled potatoes make the whole meal fun.
Variations
The recipe uses catfish, but you can use tilapia or other robust fish instead. Also, many add unique spices like lemongrass or African nutmeg to diversify the flavor.
Tips
The number of scotch bonnet peppers can be increased or decreased as per your preference to control the amount of spiciness. Try adding different herbs like thyme or parsley to bring out different flavors. You can add a little coconut milk towards the end of cooking for a more delicious taste.
Homemade fish pepper soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg Tilapia fish
- 2 tbsp Pepper Soup Spice
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne or Cameroon Pepper
- 2 piece Scotch Bonnet Peppers: 1 red and 1 yellow
- 2 tbsp Fresh Scent Leaves or Basil
- 2 Stock Cubes:
- 1 tbsp Ground Crayfish
- Salt
- 2 liters ( approximately) Water
Instructions
- Clean the fish well and remove the guts from the belly. Cut to the desired size. If you want, you can keep some parts whole.
- Place the clean fish in a bowl. Add stock cubes, pepper soup spices, and salt. Mix well and leave for 30 minutes, so that the masala mixes well with the fish.
- Pour about 1 liter of water into the marinated fish bowl. Then add cayenne or Cameroon pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Add bay leaves (or basil), crushed prawns, and crushed Scotch bonnet pepper to the pot. Stir gently to mix.
- Allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes, so that all the spices and flavors blend.
- Add salt or other spices to taste if required. Once cooked, remove from the oven. Serve hot. Boiled bananas or boiled potatoes make the whole meal fun
