catfish stew

Catfish Stew – A Fish stew made with Fresh Catfish cooked in a stew with bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomato, and broth. This is an elegantly simple stew. It’s hearty, full of flavor and absolutely delicious!

Okay, this catfish is a stew of my childhood. It was one of my favorites and still is today.  Growing up, every Sunday after Church we will drive down to the Fish or Chicken Market, and we either get fresh catfish or fresh Chicken to make fish stew or Chicken stew.

We usually don’t eat any snack till the whole meal is ready so that we can have enough room in our belly to accommodate all the goodness of the meal.

Till date, the aroma of the stew makes me dream about those times especially whenever hunger and nostalgia set in.

This recipe calls for fresh or whole Tilapia Fish, but it’s okay to use fish fillets for this. I’ve used fillets several times, and I must say, I love the outcome! However, bear in mind that once you add the fillets to the stew, you need to keep an eye on them to prevent them from disintegrating inside the stew. The fillet takes about 5 minutes to get done.

If you are looking forward to trying another fish recipe, I have compiled a list of Fish Recipes Everyone will love; you will enjoy them!

How to Clean Catfish

My butcher has helped to clean the Catfish I used for this recipe. However, if you have to clean it up by yourself, there are two main methods, I have always used:

1. Scrub the skin of the Fish with Salt
2. Scrub with Alum
3. Soak it in hot boiling water for about 3 minutes. The slime will fall off easily.

As you can see although my Fish had been thoroughly cleaned. I still soaked it in hot water. This is because Catfish is naturally a soft Fish, the hot water will not only remove the slime, but it will also help to firm up the fish a bit, therefore, reducing its chances of breaking apart in the stew.

Catfish Stew is an absolutely delicious fish stew! It’s so versatile that’s why it’s ideal for any menu.  You can serve with white Rice, Pasta, Couscous, use as a dip for bread and so much more.

How to cook Catfish stew

The butcher in my Fishmarket always cleans and cuts the fish for me and that saves me time and stress. You might want to tell your butcher to do the same if that service is available at your fish market. Otherwise, below is a quick explanation on how to clean your Catfish.

Other Fish Recipes you might want to try:

• Hearty Salmon Stew
• Oven Grilled Tilapia Fish
• Salmon Croquettes
• Catfish Stew

Other delicious soups and stews you might want to try:

• simple African chicken Pepper Soup
• West African Peanut soup (Maafe)
• Goat Meat Pepper soup
• Banga Soup
• Nigerian Chicken Stew

More fish recipes from my archives.

• Air fryer frozen salmon fish
• Grilled catfish
• African fish pastry
• Easy lemon garlic baked codfish
• Pan-seared Tilapia Fish
• Oven-Baked Salmon
• Salmon Bites – 3 ways with Dipping Sauce

Catfish Stew

Catfish Stew – A Fish stew made with Fresh Catfish cooked in a stew with bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomato, and broth. This is an elegantly simple stew. It’s hearty, full of flavor and absolutely delicious!

4.97 from 29 votes

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Course: Main

Cuisine: African

Keyword: Catfish stew, Fish Stew, homemade

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 162kcal

Author: Lola Osinkolu

Ingredients

• 2 lb Cat Fish
• 3 Red Bell peppers
• 4 Roma Tomatoes
• 2 Onions
• 1 Habanero Pepper
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Tbsp Ginger Minced
• 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp Thyme
• 2 Tsp Curry Powder
• 1 Tsp Bouillon powder
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 2 stalks Green Onions Optional

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Blend together the red bell peppers, Tomatoes, Jalapeno, 1 Onion, Ginger, and Garlic
• Preheat the Oil in a pan, add the Onions and saute over medium heat until the Onion is translucent.
• Add the thyme, ginger and Tomato paste and mix the paste around a bit so that it’s well scattered in the Oil. If it’s too thick you can add a splash of water. Leave to fry for about 3 minutes.
• Add the blended sauce and stir together. Cover it up and leave to cook for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally in order to prevent the stew from burning.
• Meanwhile, preheat some water enough to accommodate the Fish. Once the water is boiled, turn off the heat and put the Fish inside. After 3 to 5 minutes, remove the fish from the water, rinse, drain and set aside.
• Season with stew with Salt, black pepper, Curry powder, and Paprika. Add the chicken broth to loosen it up a bit. Adjust the seasoning at this point if necessary.
• Gently drop the Catfish Fish one at a time inside the stew. Cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes until the Catfish is cooked through or about 5 minutes for smaller or thinner fillets.
• Add the green Onions and serve.

Video

https://youtu.be/XGysZJTexRw

Notes

I love my stew slightly thick. If you like it thinner you can add a bit more water or stock I used Cut Fresh Cat Fish for this recipe, not fillets! You can safely store up this stew in the refrigerator for about 3 days. The flavor even shines stronger when it’s left overnight in the fridge. If you want to freeze it, simply takeout the portion you want to freeze immediately after cooking it. Let it cool down to room temperature then store in the freezer until you are ready to use it. I make this stew in large quantities because I feel there’s no point making 4 to 5 servings (my family size) since it freezes so well. If you want a less spicy stew, simply remove the seeds of the Habanero pepper or skip it totally I used Pimento peppers because the pepper is more aromatic compared to red bell peppers. They can be found in Asian or Hispanic food markets. If you can’t find them, simply use red bell peppers. They work just as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 717mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2355IU | Vitamin C: 71.2mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1.3mg

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