Gimme Your Fish Stew Recipes

October 8, 2024 10:51 AM

I made a fish chowder type thing this week and loved the ease:enjoyment ratio so and now I would like to continually make fish soups, stews, chowders, and so forth until I'm sick to death of it. Do you have a recipe that you enjoy?

Really, all seafood is fine, but fish forward is great, from fresh to frozen to tinned. Things with lots of vegetables, great, and I'm trying to burn through a Rancho Gordo shipment so I'll be dumping beans in everything I make, if that's relevant.

I live in central Los Angeles so it will be easy for me acquire anything needed for Thai, South Asian, Mexican, Central American, Armenian, Lebanese, and other cuisines.

Also, I enjoy very spice food! But I don't require it.

posted by kensington314 to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

Response by poster: Dunno why all my posts have at least one stupid typo sticking out like a sore thumb, even though I review them in preview. EDIT: "Also, I enjoy very spicy food! But I don't require it." This is not a Dune thread.
posted by kensington314 at 10:57 AM on October 8 [4 favorites]

Very much a cold weather soup, so maybe not the thing that one craves in LA, but Lohikeitto, Finnish salmon soup is a go to for me in winter. Lots of recipes online, but you cant go wrong with simmering potatoes and leeks with broth, adding cream or a milk, then some big chunks of salmon along with dill until the fish is just cooked.
posted by bendybendy at 11:03 AM on October 8 [3 favorites]

This is an A+ (especially with the Rancho Gordos--I'm also a bean club member).
posted by thivaia at 11:10 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]

Every so often (like usually right after Valentine's Day) I can find lobster tails for a reasonable price. I buy about 4-5 of them, and cook them the usual way, and enjoy some of the tail meat but try to save at least two tails worth of meat. Then (this is the clever bit) you take the shells, and throw them in a crockpot with water, and let them gently cook for several hours or overnight. This results in a lovely lobster-flavored broth. (You can also do this with crab shells, or shrimp shells, or a mixture of whatever you've got) Strain out the shells and throw them away, after picking out any leftover meat, and save the broth.

Then you take your shell-flavored broth, and to it, you add some cream, a splash of sherry, and just a couple of flavorful small tomatoes, and then you put all the shellfish meat you've managed to save, minced up, and salt/pepper/whatever to taste. The result is basically a bisque but it's got lovely shellfish flavor. You can make a mirepoix to add to it, but if you just make it with shellfish, water, cream, and only a tiny bit of tomato, it's keto-friendly (which is what I was after).
posted by The otter lady at 11:17 AM on October 8 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Not to threadsit but I will definitely take cold weather soups even though winter will never visit Los Angeles in my lifetime.
posted by kensington314 at 11:18 AM on October 8

I don't have recipes, but I read your question and two immediate thoughts came to mind, which you may want to explore:
1. Bouillabaisse -loads of recipes online, but the one thing to emphasize is a variety of fish and the use of saffron are key
2. Sichuan hot pot using fish - I normally don't enjoy hot pot, but it's amazing using fresh fish!
posted by darsh at 11:24 AM on October 8

A true story about me cooking the America's Test Kitchen Creole-Style Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo recipe.

Me: I'm going to make the America's Test Kitchen Creole-Style Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo recipe.
Kiddo: I hate shrimp. I won't be eating that.
Spouse: I don't like gumbo. You can eat that one on your own.
Me: Ok, well I'm spending a day food prepping and I will make you guys something else while I make the gumbo for myself.
Them: Ugh. Whatever. Waste of time.
[later]
Spouse: Is that smell... the gumbo?
Me: Yes.
Spouse: When can we eat that? Like how soon?
Me: A while longer. I also have to make the [other thing] for you and kiddo.
Kiddo [sniffing, drooling]: No you do not. Concentrate on the gumbo. Give us the gumbo.
[the next day]
Kiddo: Can we have gumbo again today?
Me: Well, your mom took some for lunch, so I don't know if she will w--
Spouse: Yes, gumbo two times in one day is fine.

The next day the same thing happened. Then the fourth day, we argued over who got to have the one remaining serving while the others had to eat something else.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:29 AM on October 8 [12 favorites]

In the last years of the 20thC, I was node.ie of an EU quango. Every time we met in Bruxelles, I made a pact to eat moules marinière at least once. What's not to love about cream and garlic? I run a parallel regime with caldo verde in Portugal. Wot? no fish?? Live outside the box and substitute the sausage with salt cod.
DOT: I larfed and clattered my soup-spoon!
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:40 AM on October 8 [2 favorites]

How about a mussels thing-
Sautee onions and garlic, ginger, thinly sliced carrots, mushrooms, and a couple hot chilis if you like them. You can add green curry paste too if you want.
When those veggies are soft, dump in a couple cans of coconut milk, the juice of a couple limes, some wine or chicken broth, some brown sugar, and a lot of Vietnamese fish sauce. Cook to combine. Taste this yummy coconut cream soup, and adjust so you get a strong flavour with lots of salt and acid and a little heat and sweet. When that's good, add chunks of white fish or shrimp etc, and cook them in the broth. Finally, when everything else is pretty much done, throw in a bunch of cleaned fresh mussels in the shell, and some snow peas. Cover and steam for a few minutes until the mussels open and the snow peas are bright green. Eat with sliced bread. It's goooood!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 11:56 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]

A Creole version is fish plus all the usual suspects: tomato, onion, green pepper, celery, etc. I don't have a particular recipe, but the internet does. And since Cajun is not the same Creole, search on that, too.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:18 PM on October 8

Moqueca is delicious. It's a lot healthier - although less tasty as well as less authentic -- if you skip the dendê (palm oil).
posted by dr. boludo at 12:41 PM on October 8

Minorcan clam chowder! Tomato-ey like Manhattan clam chowder but vastly superior in every way. Easy to also add some white fish (or just fully substitute fish and/or shrimp for clams).
posted by saladin at 12:57 PM on October 8

Prepare some bacalao (salt cod) with tomatoes (canned or fresh) and milk a/o cream.
posted by 8603 at 1:15 PM on October 8

I'm trying to burn through a Rancho Gordo shipment so I'll be dumping beans in everything I make, if that's relevant.

Fellow Rancho Gordo stan here coming to share that Rancho Gordo's own site has a number of soup/stew recipes that incorporate seafood. I haven't made them all, but I sure as heck have bookmarked them.

Seafood posole
Grilled shrimp with white beans, sausage, and arugula
Shrimp and Bean Soup
Fish and Shrimp stew with alubia blanca

I've also made this recipe from Patagonia Provisions; it calls specifically for Patagonia Provisions' own "mussels in sofrito" tinned fish, but I suspect it would also be equally lovely with a different brand of tinned mussels.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:23 PM on October 8 [1 favorite]

Never made it myself but I ate a lot of Conch chowder when I was in the Bahamas. The only tomato-based fish stew I've ever loved (Manhattan-style clam chowder is an abomination, I will fight you).

This recipe looks to have all the right elements.
posted by danapiper at 1:51 PM on October 8

I've a southwestern-ish fish chowder thing I make often, usually using haddock. Sauté an onion in olive oil (or butter), then add chicken stock. Toss in some diced Yukon gold potatoes and bring to a boil, simmer until the potatoes are mostly done. Salt to taste and add any herbs (I usually add thyme because I usually have it on hand). Then I add a prepackaged frozen mix of corn, black beans, and peppers (green and red bell). This is unseasoned. I'd be leery of adding a seasoned mix. If you don't have access to such a mix, just add the components separately. Bring back to a simmer, then add the fish. At the end, add cream or milk if you want any. I often don't add any dairy, just because I rarely have any hanging around.

For spice, you can add any fresh chile peppers you want, or powdered dry chile peppers. I usually add ground péquin to my bowl because I'm the most spice tolerant one in the household.
posted by mollweide at 2:06 PM on October 8

Dad’s fish stew is easy and the clam juice is key! I add potatoes, but white beans would also be great in it.
posted by hooray at 2:48 PM on October 8 [1 favorite]

Andong just made an easy Creamy Cod & Bacon Chowder that, since these things are hard to find in Germany, uses fish sauce instead of clam juice and buttered bread crumbs instead of oyster crackers. Recipe's in the description.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:58 PM on October 8

Came here to also recommend Brazilian Shrimp and Fish Stew (Moqueca). It is a bit of work, but so, so good. Creamy, citrusy and spicy. It has now become our Christmas Day meal.

Brazilian Shrimp and Fish Stew (Moqueca)
posted by nanook at 5:51 PM on October 8

I have made fish curry. Saute onions in oil, add tomato sauce, add a nice blend of curry spices, as hot as you prefer. Then add fish and let it poach in the tomato sauce until done. Top with yogurt.
posted by theora55 at 7:09 PM on October 8

My family are all vegetarians, so I have no fish ideas, other than Creamed Tuna on toast which is pretty awesome...

But, tuna from a can is pretty much "Chicken of the Sea"...

So good, but...

I have a mate who will add prawns to dishes. And I think I like eating shrimp, so I am tempted to try that. But, shrimp seem to be problematic these days. Wish I could find a fish I felt like I could eat. Seems like an FUed food source.

Fresh caught broiled trout? Yum. Also remember eating bass and bluegills we caught...

Factory farmed or massively netted random fish, not so much. Hope others will have ideas, but I can't go there yet. The whole industry seems so fucked up I just can't. And I live in Seattle, where Salmon and fish are a thing. And Salmon are pretty great. However, we seem to be running out of them.

And if anyone has ideas for fisheries that aren't ethically bad, due to overfishing and shit, would love to hear. I need ideas too

Good luck in your quest
posted by Windopaene at 10:00 PM on October 8

Response by poster: I appreciate ethical commitments. If folks have, like, sustainable tinned fish recipes or whatever, I'd probably defer to them most times. I feel like catfish would also sub reasonably well for most ocean whitefish but maybe I'm an ignoramus.
posted by kensington314 at 10:25 PM on October 8

For those with concerns about sustainability in seafood - the Monterey Aquarium has its Seafood Watch, which gives excellent guidance about which varieties of which seafood species are sustainable or recommended.

As for tinned fish - usually the higher-end stuff is sustainable. Patagonia Provisions definitely is. Fortunately Trader Joe's tinned fish also seems to be, and they're a little more wallet-friendly (and surprisingly good).

While we're speaking of other concerns, though - some kinds of seafood run the risk of mercury exposure. WebMD has some guidance on that, including which particular species are high or low in mercury and how much fish they recommend people have per week.

Back to recipes!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:41 AM on October 9 [1 favorite]