Name: Sudado de pescado
Prep time: 22 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 800 g firm boneless white fish, four 200 g thick portions, chilled. Corvina, cojinova or equivalent firm fish; 240 ml unsalted fish stock, measured. Adds steam and broth; 22 ml vegetable oil, measured. For the onion-ají base; 3 g fine salt, measured. 2 g fish, 1 g vegetable base; 1 g ground black pepper, measured. For fish; 270 g red onion, 170 g feathers; 100 g finely diced. Base and layer respectively; 360 g ripe tomato, 260 g wedges; 100 g chopped. Layers and base; 70 g fresh ají amarillo, deseeded, in strips. Layer; 40 g ají amarillo paste, prepared. Base; 12 g garlic, crushed. Base; 20 g fresh culantro coriander, half chopped, half sprigs. Layer and finish; 1 g dried oregano, crumbled. Base

Sudado de pescado — Peruvian home recipe

Yield 4 portions

Prep time 22 minutes

Cook time 18 minutes

Passive time 0 minutes

Total time 40 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Sudado de pescado — Peruvian home recipe

Sudado de pescado is a moist, covered fish preparation. Unlike fish that is fried and then covered with sauce, the raw fish cooks among the vegetables and their liquid, giving a light broth flavoured by its juices. Onion, tomato, Peruvian ají and culantro are recurring components in different coastal versions.

The fish needs a wide covered pan so portions can lie mostly in one layer. A small initial onion-and-ají dressing develops flavour, then the tomato releases juices around the raw fish. Once the fish goes in, only a gentle covered simmer is needed. Vigorous boiling breaks the flesh into the broth and turns the vegetables into an indistinct pulp.

The recipe uses fish stock, with no added chicha de jora. Northern-coast recipes may use chicha and loche squash, which would change the flavour and identity of the broth. Here, the measured stock allows the natural tomato juices to remain present and the fish to cook evenly at the measured safe endpoint.

Ingredients

Fish and cooking liquid

800 g firm boneless white fish, four 200 g thick portions, chilled. Corvina, cojinova or equivalent firm fish
240 ml unsalted fish stock, measured. Adds steam and broth
22 ml vegetable oil, measured. For the onion-ají base
3 g fine salt, measured. 2 g fish, 1 g vegetable base
1 g ground black pepper, measured. For fish

Tomato and ají layers

270 g red onion, 170 g feathers; 100 g finely diced. Base and layer respectively
360 g ripe tomato, 260 g wedges; 100 g chopped. Layers and base
70 g fresh ají amarillo, deseeded, in strips. Layer
40 g ají amarillo paste, prepared. Base
12 g garlic, crushed. Base
20 g fresh culantro coriander, half chopped, half sprigs. Layer and finish
1 g dried oregano, crumbled. Base

Method

Season and separate the raw fish.Pat dry the 800 g white fish, rub with 2 g salt and 1 g pepper, and keep refrigerated while cutting the onion, tomato and ají. Clean the board before handling ready-to-eat herbs. The four portions are of roughly equal thickness and the sliced vegetables remain separate.
Soften the chopped aromatics.Warm 22 ml oil in a wide covered pan over medium heat. Add the 100 g chopped tomato, 100 g diced onion, 12 g garlic, 40 g ají amarillo paste, remaining 1 g salt and 1 g oregano; cook for 6 minutes. The chopped vegetables form a fragrant juicy base without dark burnt patches.
Arrange the vegetables and fish.Spread the 170 g onion feathers, 260 g tomato wedges and 70 g ají strips over the base. Place the four fish pieces in one layer, scatter over 10 g chopped culantro, add the other 10 g as sprigs and pour in 240 ml unsalted fish stock. Fish portions lie mostly in one layer amid visible tomato and onion pieces.
Steam under a covered simmer.Put the lid on, bring the liquid to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 12 minutes. Do not stir the fish; lift the lid briefly to check a thick portion with a cleaned thermometer. The fish flakes into large sections with gentle pressure and the cooking liquid remains light and spoonable. The centre of each thick fish portion must register at least 63 °C.
Finish without breaking the pieces.Remove from heat and use a broad fish slice to place one portion in each of four shallow bowls, spooning tomato, onion and warm broth around the fish. The fish remains in broad pieces with the ají and onion visible in the surrounding juices.

Practical

Success points

Cook the fish in a single mostly even layer in a covered pan. Avoid stirring once the pieces are settled among tomato and onion.

Practical guidance

Sudado is best served immediately so the seafood stays intact. Use a fish cut of fairly even thickness and start checking the internal temperature at the end of the covered cooking window; thicker medallions can need extra minutes. Chicha de jora, loche squash or yuca are documented additions in some versions, not interchangeable substitutes for the stock-and-tomato approach measured here. Chill leftovers promptly in shallow containers at 4 °C or below, consume within 3–4 days and reheat to 74 °C; remove fish pieces gently to limit breakage.

Control points

Fish disintegrates into the sauceThe covered liquid boiled violently or was stirred. Return the heat to a gentle simmer and leave the portions undisturbed.
Broth is thin but fish is already cookedA narrow pan trapped too much stock in one place. Serve the light broth as part of the dish rather than reducing it at the expense of the cooked fish.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Serving size1 of 4 equal plated portions
Calories309 kcal
Carbohydrate14 g
Protein43 g
Fat9 g
Fibre3 g
Sodium490 mg

Allergens and food safety

Fish; check any purchased fish stock for shellfish, celery or other declared allergens. Maintain separation between raw meat or fish, clean equipment and ready-to-eat ingredients; wash hands and tools after contact with raw animal food. Chill perishable food promptly in shallow covered containers at 4 °C or below and within 2 hours; avoid prolonged room-temperature standing. Cooked leftovers, when permitted by the recipe-specific guidance, must be reheated to 74 °C. The centre of each thick fish portion must register at least 63 °C. Cook fish and raw shellfish to at least 63 °C in the thickest part; citrus and vinegar do not substitute for heat. Follow FDA seafood buying and refrigeration guidance.

Closing

Result: Firm fish portions are gently cooked under a lid with onion, tomato, ají amarillo and culantro in a light, aromatic cooking liquor.
Decisive control: Cook the fish in a single mostly even layer in a covered pan.