I Love the Soup in the Zimbabwean Fish Stew!
I have finally found a good recipe for a light fish stew that has a delicious soup. It was a nice change from the heavier oxtail stew or soup that I’ve made in the past.
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
I love fish and have been eyeing the large variety of whole fish and fish steaks at the supermarket, wondering how I would cook them. After making Oxtail Stew from Princess Tafadzwa’s blog, I searched her website and was thrilled to find another Zimbabwean dish that looked good. This time, it was for a fish entrée!
Inspiring Recipe
What caught my attention from Princess Tafadzwa’s recipes was the one for fish stew.
First Try
Because the recipe didn’t show the serving size, I referenced an article from Reference.com called, How Much Fish Should You Serve Per Person? Figuring out that the recipe was probably meant for two or three servings, the shopping trip became a breeze, since I already had more than half the ingredients at home.
Ingredients to Use
With 2 1/4 pounds of red snapper cut in pieces, I approximately doubled everything else in the recipe and used the following:
- 6 3/4 teaspoons of oil
- 2 chopped onions
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 2 chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup of water
- Salt
- Pepper
The only substitute that I made for the ingredients was switching olive oil to avocado oil since that’s what I had available.
Steps to Prepare
When it came to the simple instructions, I followed all the steps as written.
Time to Eat
After plating the fish stew, I was excited to try my second Zimbabwean dish!
Recipe Rating
Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8️⃣* | 🤏 | 💰💰💰 | 🙂 |
I really enjoyed the light and sweet soup with flavors from the onions, tomatoes, and fish. However, it needed a little bit more salt and pepper. Also, the fish was overcooked.
Second Try
For the second attempt, I wanted to add more seasoning to the stew and keep the fish tender.
Ingredients to Use
With less fish this time, 1.89 pounds, I only decreased the oil to 1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon.
For the salt and pepper, I started with 1 teaspoon each.
As for everything else, I kept them the same as before.
Steps to Prepare
For the process, I modified steps 1 and 3 as compared to the first time.
For step 1, I sautéed the onions and garlic longer, so they would be more caramelized.
For step 3, I watched the fish more carefully and ended up simmering the first side for six minutes and the second side for four minutes.
Time to Eat
After scooping the fish stew into a bowl, I was ready to taste whether the flavors in the dish had improved with the changes that I had made.
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8️⃣* | 🤏 | 💰💰 | 🙂 |
The soup was definitely tastier with one teaspoon of salt. Also, there was a nice hint of peppery flavor in it. Most importantly, the fish was not overcooked this time.
I’ve eaten bony fish since I was a kid, so I’m used to picking out the bones during my meals. However, some people prefer to spend less effort separating the bones from the flesh when they’re eating. To see if I can decrease the work, I will try the following next time:
Continuous Improvement
- Make the fish stew with a cod.
As a result of trying the fish stew recipe, I would like to share the following with my previous self:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- A recipe with a short list of ingredients and an easy cooking process can lead to a very tasty dish!
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the fish stew recipe from Princess Tafadzwa’s blog?
- Learn more about fish serving sizes from Reference.com’s article called, How Much Fish Should You Serve Per Person?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)