Name: Bagre en salsa de arazá: Caquetá catfish with tart Amazonian fruit sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients: 700 g catfish, 4 thick center-cut steaks, chilled and clearly identified; 15 ml neutral vegetable oil, for the skillet; 10 g unsalted butter; 3 g fine salt; 0.5 g ground black pepper; 180 g unsweetened arazá pulp, thawed in the refrigerator if frozen; 300 ml whole milk, brought to room temperature; 24 g wheat flour, sifted; 15 g unsalted butter; 3 g fine salt; 0.5 g ground black pepper

A wide plate of catfish in arazá sauce served with rice, salad and ripe plantain, with yellow arazá fruit in the background.

Region Cartagena del Chairá, Caquetá, in Colombia’s Orinoquía and Amazonian transition

Category Main course; catfish with arazá, milk and wheat-flour sauce

Yield 4 servings

Prep time About 20 minutes

Active time About 35 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Bagre en salsa de arazá: Caquetá catfish with tart Amazonian fruit sauce

Tender catfish steaks are served under a smooth, tangy sauce made with arazá pulp, milk and wheat flour.

Bagre en salsa de arazá is recorded in Colombia’s national traditional-cooking inventory for Cartagena del Chairá, Caquetá. Its defining combination is direct and distinctive: catfish steaks covered with a sauce made from arazá fruit pulp, milk and wheat flour. The inventory names local bearer Waldina Sánchez Sánchez, but the accessible record does not preserve quantities or a complete method. This recipe therefore offers a measured home adaptation of the documented dish rather than claiming to reproduce an unpublished original.

Arazá, or Eugenia stipitata, is an Amazonian fruit grown in Caquetá. Its pulp is aromatic and notably tart, not interchangeable with guava. Here, that acidity brightens a mild, milk-based sauce. A small amount of wheat flour thickens the milk, and the fruit is blended in gradually off the heat so the dairy is less likely to split. The finished sauce should be smooth, pale gold and tangy, not sweet or heavy.

This version serves four and uses clearly identified catfish cooked separately before the sauce is spooned over it. The source does not identify the catfish species, so choose a legal, labeled product from a reputable seller. Thick center-cut steaks are convenient, but ask for pin bones to be removed and check each portion yourself. Serve with yuca-cheese croquettes, a separately documented local pairing, or plain rice.

Ingredients

Catfish

700 g catfish, 4 thick center-cut steaks, chilled and clearly identified
15 ml neutral vegetable oil, for the skillet
10 g unsalted butter
3 g fine salt
0.5 g ground black pepper

Arazá milk sauce

180 g unsweetened arazá pulp, thawed in the refrigerator if frozen
300 ml whole milk, brought to room temperature
24 g wheat flour, sifted
15 g unsalted butter
3 g fine salt
0.5 g ground black pepper

Method

Thaw the pulp and keep the fish cold If using frozen pulp, thaw it in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Keep the catfish chilled until you are ready to cook. Use separate equipment for raw fish and ready-to-eat foods. If using fresh arazá, scoop out the pulp, discard the seeds and press it through a fine sieve. Do not sweeten it; the sauce should keep the fruit’s tart character.
Smooth and warm the arazá pulp Blend the pulp until smooth. If it contains fibrous pieces, pass it through a fine sieve. Put it in a small pan and warm gently for about 5 minutes, stirring, until hot but not rapidly boiling. Set aside. This brief heating helps the cold fruit meet the milk sauce at a closer temperature and makes it easier to incorporate evenly.
Make a light milk sauce Melt 15 g butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute without browning it. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat before adding the acidic fruit.
Blend in the fruit off the heat Whisk the warm arazá pulp into the milk sauce in several additions. Add 3 g salt and 0.5 g pepper. The sauce should be smooth and pourable. Do not boil it after adding the fruit. If it looks slightly grainy, blend briefly with an immersion blender and strain; if too thick, whisk in a little warm milk. Cover and keep warm while you cook the fish.
Check and season the catfish Pat the steaks dry. Run clean fingertips over each piece to find pin bones; remove any with fish tweezers. Season both sides with the remaining 3 g salt and 0.5 g pepper. Keep the seasoned fish refrigerated if the pan is not ready.
Cook the steaks to a safe temperature Heat the oil and remaining 10 g butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fish without crowding the pan. Cook for about 4–6 minutes per side, depending on thickness, turning once. Check the thickest part with a clean thermometer: it must reach 63°C and the flesh should separate into opaque flakes. Transfer the fish to a clean plate.
Coat and serve promptly Spoon the warm arazá sauce over each steak. For a more integrated finish, return the fish to the skillet after turning off the heat and carefully spoon sauce over it; do not simmer the fish in the acidic dairy sauce. Serve promptly with rice or yuca-cheese croquettes. Keep any extra sauce hot for the table rather than leaving it at room temperature.
Cool and store leftovers safely Refrigerate leftover fish and sauce in shallow covered containers within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if the room is hotter than 32°C. Use within 3–4 days. Reheat gently, stirring the sauce and heating the fish throughout to 74°C. Avoid a hard boil, which can make the sauce split.

Practical guidance

Practical

Nutrition per serving

These are high-uncertainty estimates based on generic catfish, milk, flour, butter and oil composition and a Colombian food-composition profile for arazá pulp. They assume about 5 ml of the measured cooking oil remains with the finished dish and that four servings are made. Actual values vary with the catfish species, fruit pulp, product labels and fat retained in the pan. This is a recipe-based estimate, not a laboratory analysis.

Practical guidance

Choose arazá, not a substitute fruit: The documented sauce depends on arazá pulp. Look for unsweetened frozen pulp labeled arazá or Eugenia stipitata; thaw it in the refrigerator. If using fresh fruit, remove the seeds and sieve the pulp. Guava, passion fruit and sweetened juice have different flavor and acidity, so they will not reproduce this sauce. Arazá is naturally tart; do not add sugar unless you are deliberately changing the flavor profile. Keep the dairy sauce smooth: Arazá’s acidity can make a milk sauce unstable, especially if the mixture is boiled hard. Cook the flour with butter first, whisk in milk until it thickens, then take the pan off the heat. Add warm fruit gradually and avoid boiling afterward. If a few curds form, blend and strain the sauce; if it separates substantially, start a fresh sauce rather than masking it with extra flour. Buy clearly identified catfish: The inventory does not name a species. Purchase fish from an authorized seller, keep it cold on the way home and refrigerate it until cooking. A mild smell and clean display on ice are useful signs, but follow the seller’s handling advice and local labeling. Do not infer a species from the name “catfish” alone. Check every steak for bones: Even center-cut pieces may contain pin bones. Feel along the flesh with clean fingers and remove any bones with tweezers before seasoning. Keep the raw-fish plate and utensils away from the finished sauce and cooked food; wash hands, boards and tools after handling raw fish. Use temperature as the safety check: Cook fish to at least 63°C in its thickest part. The sauce’s warmth and the fish’s color are not a substitute for a thermometer. Refrigerate leftovers quickly, use them within 3–4 days and reheat to 74°C. The recipe contains fish, milk and wheat/gluten; check labels for cross-contact information.

Final notes

Bagre en salsa de arazá pairs mild catfish with the fragrant tartness of arazá in a milk-and-flour sauce. Blend the fruit in gradually off the heat, remove every pin bone and verify that the fish reaches 63°C. Remember 1: Use unsweetened arazá pulp; guava or sweetened juice changes the defining flavor. Remember 2: Keep the sauce below a boil after adding the fruit, and reheat leftovers to 74°C.

Nutrition per serving

Serving basis: One of 4 portions with catfish, arazá pulp, whole milk, flour, butter and an estimated share of retained pan oil
Calories: 390 kcal
Carbohydrate: 18 g
Protein: 37 g
Fat: 18 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sodium: 690 mg

Bagre en salsa de arazá: Caquetá catfish with tart Amazonian fruit sauce

Ingredients

Catfish

Arazá milk sauce

Method

Practical

Nutrition per serving

Practical guidance

Final notes

Nutrition per serving

Colombian National Dishes

Picillo de pescado: smoked fish with ají and scallions from Meta

La barranca (mazamorra de arroz): a warm rice colada from Popayán

Preparación del pescado de Orocué: grilled fish with guiso and casabe