Catfish pepper soup.
Ingredients:
1.2 kg fresh fish
110g onions, chopped (1 medium)
2 seasoning cubes
1 tablespoons ground crayfish
2 scotch bonnet
salt
2 big ehuru (3 small), ground 1/2 teaspoon ground uziza
2 sticks uda utazi leaves (bitters)
Cooking directions:
-Toast and grind ehuru, hit uda to just break it open.
-Wash catfish slices well.
-Pour hot water over the fish slices and leave to stand for 1-2 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water.
-Place in a pot and add just enough water to just cover the fish. Place over medium heat.
-Add onions, seasoning cube, crayfish, peppers and sprinkle some salt.
-Cover and bring to a boil, add ground ehuru, uziza and uda, gently shake and swirl your pot, cook for 5-8 minutes.
-Add about 5 leaves of shredded utazi and some water. Taste and correct seasoning.
-Cook for another 5-8 minutes until fish is well cooked. Take off the heat.
-Serve your Catfish pepper soup with boiled yam, plantain, rice, agidi (eko, corn paste pudding) etc.
Please note:
-To prevent your catfish from disintegrating in your pot of soup, use the hot water method. The hot water hardens the flesh so you can cook it long enough to get the seasonings and spices into the fish.
-Do not overload your fresh fish pepper soup with too many seasoning and spices.
-If using a spice blend, use just enough to have a mellow (not harsh) taste.
-Cook long enough to remove that harsh raw taste of spices.
-If you can stand the heat of hot peppers, this is one pepper soup that benefits from being very hot.
-Fish is one ingredient you do not want to cook from frozen.
-It needs to defrost properly right through to the centre and because it cooks very fast, there is no way the centre will defrost and cook at the same time as the outside.
-Leave your fish to totally defrost before cooking.
-Toast ehuru or better buy already toasted one like I always do.
Enjoy; Serve hot or warm with a chilled drink
