Peruvian Seafood Stew Recipes

PERUVIAN SUDADO DE PESCADO (PERUVIAN FISH STEW)

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until slightly crispy. Add garlic and continue cooking until golden brown, about 1 minute. Stir in aji amarillo paste and cook for 1 minute.
• Add wine and cook until reduced slightly, about 2 minutes. Add fish stock and 1/2 cup tomatoes; stir to combine. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Season halibut and shrimp with salt and pepper. Add halibut to skillet, gently pushing down, but not covering, with sauce. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and add shrimp. Cover and continue cooking until fish is opaque, and shrimp is cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Add remaining cup of tomatoes and peas; cook until vegetables are heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer fish to a large serving platter, and spoon sauce over fish. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately.

AFRICAN FISH STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add seafood stock and tomato paste. Add bok choy, garlic, gumbo file, salt, pepper, and saffron; cook and stir until well incorporated, about 5 minutes. Add tilapia. Let simmer until flavors blend and fish flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S BRAZILIAN FISH STEW

Steps:

• Bring water and rice to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir just until onions start to get soft, 3 or 4 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Continue cooking about 3 minutes. Pour in coconut milk and add soy sauce. When mixture starts to bubble, let it simmer about 5 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and green onions. Let mixture come back to a simmer. Transfer fish to skillet; stir. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until fish starts to flake, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt, cilantro, and lime juice; stir carefully to avoid breaking up the fish. Serve with rice.

SPICY PERUVIAN STEW (CARAPULCRA)

Steps:

• Papa seca: In a dry Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the papa seca and toast until fragrant and light brown in spots, 5 minutes. (If you find small rocks or impurities while toasting, remove and discard.) Fill a medium bowl with 3 cups of water; add the toasted papa seca and stir to submerge. Set aside to soak, 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wipe the pot clean and prepare the pork belly.
• Pork belly: In the same Dutch oven over medium heat, add canola oil. Slice pork belly into 1-inch chunks, removing and discarding any skin. When oil is shimmering, add pork in an even layer and brown, 5 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, prep sofrito ingredients.
• Sofrito: Finely dice the onion; chop the garlic. When pork belly is brown on both sides, transfer to a plate and set aside, leaving the rendered fat behind. Reduce heat to low; add onion and garlic, along with a pinch of salt, and stir to combine. Sauté until brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes.
• Add aji amarillo and aji panca pastes to the caramelized sofrito. Turn heat to high and toast, stirring continuously to prevent burning, 5 minutes. Add wine and deglaze the pan; reduce, stirring, until the moisture has been cooked out and the mixture is dark and paste-like, 5 more minutes.Add the pork and stir to coat; then add the papa seca, including the soaking liquid. Add enough water to submerge all the ingredients in liquid, about 3 more cups. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, until potatoes are soft and pork is tender, stirring occasionally. Total cooking time will be 1½-2 hours, but check stew after 1 hour. Add 1 cup water to thin the stew. Continue cooking, adding water as necessary, until pork is tender and potatoes are soft, 30-45 more minutes.
• After 1½-2 hours, stew should be thick and creamy; add a few tablespoons of water to thin, if necessary. Heat stew to a low simmer, then add chocolate, sugar, a pinch of salt, and cumin. Pick leaves from oregano sprig, roughly chop, and add to stew; roughly chop toasted peanuts and add to the stew. Stir to combine. When the chocolate is melted and fully incorporated, season to taste with salt and serve. Serving suggestion: Chef Ramirez serves carapulcra with white rice on the side, and tops each bowl of stew with salsa criolla: shaved red onions tossed in fresh lime juice, cilantro, and salt to taste.

PERUVIAN CHUPE DE CAMARONES (PERUVIAN SHRIMP CHOWDER)

Steps:

• NOTE: Aji panca, aji amarillo and queso fresco can be found at Hispanic markets. You may be able to find the cheese at a well-stocked grocery store as well.
• Remove heads and shells from shrimp, and refrigerate the shrimp. Put shells and heads in a medium saucepan, add water to cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• While shells are simmering, heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Stir in the aji panca (or tomato paste) and aji amarillo pastes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring often, for 10 minutes, or until onion is softened.
• Puree shrimp shells and cooking liquid. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and reserve the liquid (solids can be discarded). Measure out the liquid and add enough water to make 4 cups.
• Add shrimp broth to onion mixture and bring to a boil. Stir in peas, rice and corn chunks. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add potatoes and salt. Continue cooking until potatoes and rice are just tender (approx 10 minutes more). Add shrimp and queso fresco. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until shrimp is just cooked through, about 4 minutes (shrimp should be pink).
• Stir in the evaporated milk and oregano. Continue cooking and stirring. When the soup begins boiling again, Crack the eggs into the soup, spacing them so they remain separate in the soup. If you prefer, you can beat the eggs together in a bowl before adding them to the soup instead).
• When eggs are cooked, soup is finished.