A quick, comforting pepper fish stew with fresh corn, creamy potatoes, and yellow yam chunks in a refreshing cilantro, lime, and jalapeno broth.
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Feels Like Home: Pepper Fish Soup
The broth in this pepper fish stew is so flavorful with its fresh herbs, peppers, and citrus juice. It's tasty, super easy, and quick to make, so I plan to make this more often. It’s also a one-pot meal with everything I love, and reminds me of home.
I remember sitting in my grandma’s kitchen while she cooked a big pot of grouper and potato soup. She lived in the Bahamas for a few years and picked up their Bahamian Boiled Fish recipe.
Bahamian Boiled Fish
I recall a dish that contained chunky white potatoes and meaty grouper with a broth made from the thick bones of the fish. The broth had a peppery kick with loose dark thyme leaves pleasantly floating. Also, my grandma was a huge seafood person, and I witnessed her drying her fish and cooking whole fish or crab at least twice a week.
I love fish so much that I wanted to become a Poissonnier, the fish chef, like Eric Ripert! A chef dedicated to cooking such a slice of delicate meat that some hate due to bad experiences and wanted to make it right! But life happened, and that route didn’t. Hahaha. Psst... this is my blog's first post! Okay, let's continue.
If you are a big fan of fish dishes, you must try my most popular dish, Air Fryer Branzino with Lemon Potatoes and Vegetables recipe. And if you love Korean instant ramen, aka ramyeon, then Sweet and Spicy Seafood Neoguri with Mushrooms, Spinach, and Fried Egg will be just right for you!
Ingredients
- White or Yellow Yam
- Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Vegetable or Fish Broth
- Onion
- Jalapenos
- Garlic Cloves
- Cilantro
- Ground Cumin
- Lime
- Celery
- Carrots
- Fresh Corn
- Meaty White Fish Fillets (Snapper, Grouper, Tilapia or Cod)
See the Pepper Fish Yam Stew recipe card for quantities.
Busy Folks: Become a better home cook with tips to help you cook more efficiently on Cook's Notebook tab. You'll also find more detailed steps for the instructions above.
Video Quick Tips
Substitutions
- Yam - If you have trouble finding some at your local market, try yuca or double the potatoes.
- Jalapeno - Use chili peppers according to your heat preference. Also, you can try Serrano or Habenero. In addition, the white flesh, the pith, of the jalapeno holds the heat. You can either remove the pith and seeds or leave them in to control the heat level to your preference. You can learn about food pairings of Chili Pepper and the Scoville Scale under the Notebook tab.
- Vegetarian - Omit the fish and fish broth. Instead, use vegetable broth and add your favorite tropical tubers. I highly suggest mixing yam, Yukon potatoes, and Boniato. Boniato is a sweet yam popular in the Caribbean—the taste profile will be complete with peppers and sweet corn.
- Restricted Diets- This dish is gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free.
Chili Pepper Substitutions
Here are a few complimenting Peppers for the Fish Pepper Stew recipe, in order from mild to hot.
- Green Anaheim - New Mexican, should be roasted and peeled before use, giving a smoky characteristic. It has heat but is milder than poblanos but not as hot as serranos. Tricky: when you find a hot one, they can be hotter than poblanos. So much fun! Sigh.
- Poblano - ancho is bigger but not as hot, milder with a great flavor
- (Jalapenos)
- Serrano - hotter than jalapenos and smaller in size
- Habanero - a super hot chili with a distinctive flavor; I would combine this with poblano peppers. *Habenero peppers might change the taste of this recipe a little, so only use it if you are used to eating this pepper and know the flavor outcome.
Change Heat Level - Modify the fish pepper stew recipe's heat level to your liking and learn more about the Scoville Scale and Chili Pairings.
Variations
- Chicken - Replace the fish broth with low-sodium chicken broth. Add an 8 to 10-ounce chicken breast with the tubers and simmer until cooked with an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, remove the chicken and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then shred. Add back to the soup when you add the blended herb mixture.
- Kid-friendly - keep an eye on the chili pepper amount - serve based on your family's heat tolerance.
Equipment
- Large Dutch Oven - to cook the pepper fish stew. Dutch ovens are great for soups, especially enameled cast iron ones, like the Lodge 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Lid. For example, this is great for even cooking and versatility - they can go in the oven.
- Food Processor - to blend the herbs, peppers, and garlic. I use the KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper, especially for quickly chopping herbs to make green seasoning blends like in this recipe to boost the flavor of your meals.
Kitchen Must Haves - Find other tools I use here.
Storage
- Refrigerator - To store in the fridge, place in a 2-inch shallow pan to cool down quickly. Then, store in an air-tight sealing container. The soup will last for up to four days.
- Freezer - I do not recommend freezing this soup since it will change the texture of the potatoes and yams due to ice crystals forming when the moisture in the vegetables and soup expands during the freezing process.
Air Tight Food Containers - I use Glass Food Storage Containers with a plastic clipping lid to store food. For example, I always suggest glass storage containers since you can microwave them and hold food without staining the container, and the glass keeps them at a more stable temperature, which keeps the food fresher longer.
Fish Stew Cooking tip
Prevent Overcooking - Add the fish last, as the fish pepper stew recipe instructs to prevent the fish from overcooking. Varies fish cook for various amounts of time, but the rule of thumb is about 3 to 6 minutes for large chunks of fish in simmering liquid.
Frequently Asked Questions
The yellow and white yam is native to Africa. This tuber mostly comes in a cylinder shape with rough brown and stringy skin. The interior can also be white or yellow, with slightly different tastes.
You will mostly find this tuber in West Indie, Caribbean, Latin, or African markets. You might also be lucky to find it at a big chain supermarket.
When selecting the yam, pick one free of rotten spots and firm to the touch with no flesh cracks. In addition, if the yam is already presented cut (some stores will cut it into 6-inch pieces), be sure not to buy the end pieces, which may be more bitter.
Uncut yams can be stored in a cool, dry place for a long. Refrigerating yam can cause changes to the starch, which will eventually change the taste and is not recommended. Use a sharp knife, not a peeler, since the skin is thick. Also, oxidation may occur within a few minutes of being cut, just like a potato.
Seafood Recipes
Looking for seafood recipes like this? Try these:
- Healthy Haitian-Style Creole Spicy Shrimp Pasta
- Seared Snapper Spicy Creole Sauce and Roasted Vegetables
- Sesame Seed-Crusted Ahi Tuna with Spicy Sesame-Soy Sauce
- Grilled Shrimp Garlic Jalapeno Butter and Cilantro Lime Rice
African Recipes
Looking for African recipes like this? Try these:
- Spicy Zhug Chicken Pita Sandwich with Spinach Date Salad
- Spicy Falafel Pita Sandwich & Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Quick and Easy Lean Baharat Spiced Bean and Lamb Stew
- Vegetarian Ras El Hanout White Bean and Kale Soup
📖 Recipe
Pepper Fish Yam Stew
Ingredients
- 1 cup of yam peeled large diced
- 1 cup of Yukon gold large diced
- 4 cups vegetable or fish broth
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion large diced
- 1 medium jalapeno large diced
- 3 garlic cloves whole
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 stalk of celery small diced
- 2 small carrots peeled and small diced
- 1 cup of fresh corn kernels
- 12 ounces of white fish fillets snapper, grouper, tilapia, or cod, 2-inch chunks
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large 5-quart dutch oven, add the yam, potatoes, and broth.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring the tubers and broth to a simmer on medium-high heat.
- In a food processor, blend the olive oil, onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and lime juice.
- Set the herb paste mixture aside.
- After about fifteen minutes, the tubers are cooked halfway, and when pierced with a fork or knife, there is still some resistance, but the knife went threw more quickly than when prepping them.
- Add celery, carrots, and corn to the broth and tubers and combine.
- After about five to eight minutes, when the carrots are cooked, add the fish and herb mixture and gently combine well.
- After about five minutes, remove from the heat when the fish is done; the fish should be firm to the touch. You can test this by removing a piece and pressing it with your fingers, be careful because it is hot.
Nutrition
Food safety
- Cook chicken to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat to prevent foodborne illness from contaminated uncooked meats.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat to prevent cross-contamination.
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods; this can breed bacteria.
- Never leave cooking food unattended to prevent burns and fires.
- Use oils with a high smoke point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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