AI-generated image
Cachama frita
Fried river fish
Cachama frita: the Llanos' butterflied river fish fried crisp, with cassava and fried plantain
Roadside restaurants on the way from Bogotá down to Villavicencio and Restrepo sell cachama by the hundred at weekends: a farmed river fish of the Orinoco basin (the same family as pacu), opened out like a book, seasoned with garlic, cumin and lime and fried until the edges turn to crisp, salty lace. Its flesh is firm, fatty and sweet, and the rib bones, fried crisp, are half the pleasure. It comes with boiled cassava, ripe plantain tajadas and a little tomato salad. Outside Colombia, look for frozen whole pacu or cachama in Latin or Asian shops; otherwise use pompano or a large sea bream. A soggy, greasy fish usually means the oil wasn't hot enough; keep it at 180 °C and fry one at a time. Chef's tip: score the thick side of the fillet in a fine crosshatch down to the bones; the fine intramuscular bones fry crisp and the heat reaches the thickest part.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the fish
- 1 whole cachama or pacuabout 1 kg, scaled, gutted and butterflied along the back; or pompano
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 6 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor frying
To serve
- 1 ⅛ lb cassava (yuca)peeled, cut into chunks, woody core removed
- 1 ripe plantainyellow with black spots, peeled, sliced diagonally
- 2 limesin wedges
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Lay 1 whole cachama or pacu skin side down and cut a 1 cm crosshatch into the flesh, down to the bones. Rub with 3 garlic cloves, ½ tsp ground cumin, 2 tbsp lime juice and 1 ½ tsp salt. Leave in the fridge for 15 minutes.
20 minStep 2: Boil 1 ⅛ lb cassava (yuca) in salted water for 20–25 minutes, until tender and starting to split. Drain and keep warm.
25 minStep 3: Heat 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a wide, deep pan or wok to 350°F. Fry 1 ripe plantain slices for 3 minutes, until caramelised. Drain.
5 minStep 4: Raise the oil to 350°F. Pat the fish dry and dust with 3 tbsp cornflour. Lower it in, flesh side down first, and fry for 5–6 minutes without moving it, until golden.
6 minStep 5: Turn carefully with two spatulas and fry 5–6 minutes more, until the skin is crisp, the tail is crunchy and the thickest flesh near the spine is opaque and flakes easily.
6 minStep 6: Drain on a rack for 1 minute and serve at once with the cassava, plantain and 2 limes.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 820 kcal
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 35 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does cachama frita take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of ground cumin?
- Cumin seeds, toasted and ground.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
Spanish
Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta
Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.
Greek