AI-generated image
Surinamese peprewatra
Hot pepper fish broth
Peprewatra: Paramaribo's hot pepper-water fish broth
Peprewatra means 'pepper water' in Sranan Tongo, and in Paramaribo it is the broth people reach for after a long night, on a rainy day or when they feel a cold coming: a clear, very spicy fish soup with Madame Jeanette peppers, onion, tomato and lots of herbs, often with a few pieces of cassava or plantain to make it a meal. Use firm white fish steaks with the bone in for flavour. The usual mistake is boiling the fish hard, so it breaks into shreds; add it to the hot broth and keep it just simmering. Chef's tip: drop the whole pepper in first and pierce it once; take it out when the broth is as hot as you like it.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb firm white fish steakssuch as snapper, kingfish or cod, bone in
- 1 limejuiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 1 onionsliced
- 4 cloves garlicsliced
- 2 tomatoeschopped
- 1 handful celery leaveschopped
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 10 ½ oz cassava (yuca) (optional)peeled, cored and cut into chunks
- 2 spring onionsliced
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (7)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rub 1 ½ lb firm white fish steaks with 1 lime and half of ½ tsp salt and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes. Rinse.
15 minStep 2: Put 6 ¼ cups water, 1 onion, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tomatoes, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and the rest of ½ tsp salt in a large pan. Pierce 1 Madame Jeanette or scotch bonnet chilli once with a knife and add it. Bring to the boil.
Step 3: If using 10 ½ oz cassava (yuca), add it now and simmer until tender, 20 minutes.
20 minStep 4: Lower the heat so the broth just simmers, slide in the fish and cook gently for 8–10 minutes, until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily from the bone.
10 minStep 5: Take out the pepper when the heat is right for you. Stir in 1 handful celery leaves, 2 spring onion and ½ tsp ground black pepper and serve in deep bowls, warning everyone about the bones.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 33 g
- Carbs
- 13 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does surinamese peprewatra take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 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 lime?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
Japanese
Soup joumouPumpkin soup
Every 1 January, Haitian families from Port-au-Prince to Brooklyn wake up to soup joumou. It marks independence from France on 1 January 1804: under French rule, enslaved Haitians cooked this pumpkin soup but were forbidden to eat it, so the free people of the new nation made it their own as a dish of freedom. In 2021 it was added to UNESCO's list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The base is a velvety purée of joumou (Caribbean pumpkin) with epis, and in it simmer chunks of carrot, potato, cabbage, celery and turnip, with pasta and a squeeze of lime. It's usually made with beef; this vegetable version is full and golden, rich enough for the day. Chef's tip: roast half the pumpkin before puréeing it; the caramelised edges give the soup the depth that slow-cooked meat usually provides.
Haitian