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Chilcano de pescado
Clear fish broth
Chilcano de pescado: Lima's clear, restorative fish broth with lime, onion, ginger and coriander
In the fishermen's terminals of Chorrillos and Callao, chilcano is what you drink on a Sunday morning after a long night: a clear, gingery broth made from the heads and bones left over from cleaning fish for ceviche, with chunks of fish, red onion, chilli and a squeeze of lime in the bowl. It is light and warming, around 160 kcal a bowl, and still gives about 24 g of protein from the fish fillet and the broth. The common mistake is squeezing the lime into the pot while it boils, which turns it bitter; add it to each bowl at the table. Don't boil the bones for more than 30 minutes either, or the broth turns cloudy and harsh. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger for heads and frames from mild white fish like sea bass or cod, and leave out oily fish such as mackerel, which makes the broth strong and fishy.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1 ¾ lb white fish heads and bonesgills removed, rinsed well
- 1.5 litre water
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- ⅔ oz fresh gingersliced
- 1 handful coriander stems
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
For the bowls
- 14 oz white fish filletsuch as sea bass or corvina, in 3 cm chunks
- 1 red onioncut into thin wedges
- 1 ají limo or red chillifinely sliced
- 2 spring onionssliced
- ½ oz coriander leaveschopped
- 2 limeshalved
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (10)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 1 ¾ lb white fish heads and bones and 1.5 litre water in a large pot and bring slowly to a simmer over a medium heat, skimming off the foam.
10 minStep 2: Add 3 cloves garlic, ⅔ oz fresh ginger, 1 handful coriander stems and 1 ¼ tsp salt and simmer gently, uncovered, for no more than 25 minutes.
25 minStep 3: Strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with kitchen paper into a clean pan. You should have about 1.2 litres of clear, golden broth.
Step 4: Bring the broth back to a gentle simmer, add 14 oz white fish fillet and 1 red onion and cook until the fish is opaque and just flakes and the onion has softened slightly.
4 minStep 5: Ladle into bowls and top with 1 ají limo or red chilli, 2 spring onions and ½ oz coriander leaves. Serve with 2 limes to squeeze into each bowl at the table.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 5 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chilcano de pescado take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 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.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
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