Catfish Pepper Soup

Catfish Pepper Soup Recipe

We first had Nigerian Catfish Pepper Soup while visiting a family friend during Thanksgiving. She had a huge amount of soup warming up in the slow cooker and served bowls of her well-curated soup to us as an appetizer. It was hearty, warming, and brothy!

Pepper Soups of different kinds are popular across West and Central Africa. They could be made with chicken, beef, or fish and with varied spices and herbs.

In Nigeria, Catfish Pepper Soup is common in open-air bars and sometimes referred to as point and kill. Our version features large cat fish and adds a few special ingredients like some Njangsa seeds which adds creaminess, earthiness and more umami to the soup.

One tomato and some red jalapenos give the soup a desirable bright orange color and add flavor!

How it comes together

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The Ingredients

Here is everything you need for this hearty, spicy soup. Be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the ingredient measurements, and suggestions on where to find specific ingredients.

Some notes on key ingredients:

• Whole catfish: Whole fish is ideal for pepper soup, as the bones add flavor to the soup as it simmers. Visit your local Asian market for whole catfish. Have the fishmonger clean and gut the fish for you to make for a shorter prep time.
• White pepper: Adds a unique fragrance to pepper soup that is different from black pepper and much better in our opinion. Get whole white pepper and blend together with the spices for the best flavor, But you could use ground white pepper too if that’s all you’ve got.
• Pepper soup spices: This blend of spices add a unique earthy flavor to pepper soup. You can get pepper soup spices from your local African market. Call them beforehand to see if they have some.

Some spices typically used in pepper soup.

You can also make your own peppersoup spice at home by blending together the following:

• African nutmeg or calabash nutmeg (known as pebe or ehuru)
• Grains of selim or negro pepper (known as uda)
• African black pepper (different flavor from American black pepper and also known as bush pepper, or uziza seeds)

For the full list of ingredients with measurements, check out the recipe card below.

How it comes together

With just 4 easy steps, you can make this light soup:

1. Wash the catfish with salt and lemon, then rinse thoroughly. Add the fish to a pot.
2. Blend garlic, ginger, njangsa, and white pepper and add to the catfish.
3. Blend peppers, onion, and tomato, and add them to the fish.
4. Add cups of water and seasoning, and simmer until the fish is done.

Serve catfish peppersoup with chunks of yam (African white yam), boiled plantains, or even rice.

Pantry notes

• Different kind of fish: No catfish, no problem! Use other kinds of fish like red snapper, sea bream, or tilapia for your pepper soup.
• Less heat: If you cannot tolerate a lot of heat, reduce the habanero to half and omit the jalapenos.
• Ground Crayfish: Add a tablespoon of crayfish powder for a more earthy flavor. Crayfish (dried little crawfish) is obtainable from African markets. You can blend it dry into a powder.

• Yield: 6 servings
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 pounds catfish, cleaned, gutted, cut into steaks*
• 1 lemon, for cleaning fish
• 3 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced into quarter-inch slices
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons njangsa seeds
• 2 teaspoons whole white pepper, substitute with one teaspoon of ground white pepper
• 1 medium onion, cut into quarters
• 3 red jalapenos or cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 habanero pepper, or scotch bonnet
• 1 roma tomato
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3 SMALL Maggi seasoning cubes, 4g cubes**
• 2 Tablespoons pepper soup spices, obtainable from African markets
• ¼ aidan fruit, obtainable from African markets
• 3 sprigs Thai basil, sub with Italian basil
• Boiled African white yams, plantains, potatoes, or rice for serving.

Method

1. Clean the fish. Add the catfish steaks to a large bowl. Sprinkle on a tablespoon of salt. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the lemon juice all over the fish. Using the lemon halves like a sponge and the salt as an abrasive, scrub the flesh of the catfish steaks to remove any slime. Rinse the fish three times with cool water and add to a large pot.
2. Blend the spices. Add garlic, ginger njangsa seeds, white pepper, and about half a cup of water to a blender. Blend into a smooth paste and add to the pot with the fish.
3. To the same blender, add the onions, peppers and tomatoes with some water, then blend into a coarse blend for some texture. Add the blend to the pot.
4. Add the salt, Maggi seasoning cubes (or bouillon powder, and pepper soup spices. Rinse the blender with about 4 to 6 cups of water and add to the pot. Add the aidan fruit whole.
5. Turn on the heat to high and bring the pot to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-high and let it simmer until the fish is done, about 15 to 20 minutes. To avoid breaking the fish, avoid stirring the pot as it cooks. Instead, lightly shake the pot from side to side and spoon some of the sauce over the fish.
6. Thinly slice the leaves of the Thai basil and add to the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
7. Serve hot with boiled African white yams, plantains, potatoes, or rice.

Notes

*For easy prep time, have your fishmonger clean and gut the fish for you.

**Maggi has salt, so make sure you use small cubes. If you use larger bouillon cubes, you only need one. Substitute the seasoning cubes with 3 teaspoons of chicken or beef bouillon powder.