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Costeño-Style Fish Stew

Name: Costeño-Style Fish Stew
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: 🇨🇴 Colombia
Ingredients: 600g corvina fillet pieces; 300g pork loin cubes; 1 cup of non-starchy yuca; 1 cup of non-starchy yam; 2 cups of green plantain without starch; 1 mediumly chopped white onion; 3 crushed garlic cloves; 1 red bell pepper strips; 1 green bell pepper strips; 1 fresh cilantro leaves; 1 fresh culantro leaves; 2 cups of water; to taste salt and black pepper

📍 🇨🇴 Colombia

⏱️Prep: 20 min

🔥Cook: 40 min

⏰Total: 60 min

🍽️4 servings

● Difficulty: Medium

When the scent of freshly chopped cilantro mingles with the aroma of culantro, you know the costeño-style fish stew is about to begin. The first spoonful of thick, aromatic broth wraps you like a warm blanket, while the fish pieces gently dissolve, leaving their juice in every bite.

The secret of this recipe lies in the blend of traditional ingredients. Freshly caught sea fish brings a marine freshness and flavor. Pork, cut into small cubes, releases fat that emulsifies with the broth, creating a velvety texture that feels like a hug in the mouth. Finely chopped cilantro and culantro dissolve into the sauce, adding a herbal note that balances the richness of the meat.

To achieve the perfect balance, start by sautéing onion, garlic, and tomato in oil until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Add the pork and fry until browned, releasing its fat. Incorporate the fish broth, cilantro, and culantro, and let everything simmer. When the broth has reduced and the flavors have fused, add the fish and cook just long enough to keep it tender without falling apart.

The result is a dish that celebrates Colombian coastal tradition, with a dense, fragrant broth full of life. Each spoonful reveals harmony between sea and land, between the fish’s freshness and the pork’s richness. This is the essence of costeño-style fish stew: a warm, savory embrace that transports you straight to the Colombian Caribbean shores.

🛒 Ingredients

4 servings

600g corvina fillet pieces
300g pork loin cubes
1 cup of non-starchy yuca
1 cup of non-starchy yam
2 cups of green plantain without starch
1 mediumly chopped white onion
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper strips
1 green bell pepper strips
1 fresh cilantro leaves
1 fresh culantro leaves
2 cups of water
to taste salt and black pepper

👨‍🍳 Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: In a pressure cooker, heat 2 tablespoons of oil to 200 °C and sear the pork loin for 1 minute on each side until it develops a golden crust. The Maillard reaction locks in flavors and creates a protective layer.
Step 2: Add onion, garlic, and peppers; cook over high heat for 3 minutes, stirring only when the oil starts to bubble, to prevent the garlic from burning.
Step 3: Add yuca, yam, and plantain; stir for 30 s and add water. Raise the pressure and cook at 1 atm for 8 minutes. The pressure raises the boiling point of water to 121 °C, cooking the tubers without disintegrating.
Step 4: Release pressure safely, open the lid, and add the corvina fillets. Re‑close the pot, re‑pressurize, and cook 3 minutes at 1 atm; the fish steams and stays juicy.
Step 5: Add cilantro, culantro, salt, and pepper. Stir gently, let rest 5 minutes off the heat to allow aromas to meld. Serve hot.

💡 Chef's tip

When closing the pot, let the pressure stay natural for 5 minutes; this prevents the fish from falling apart when removed and preserves its texture.

📝 Our take

Este sancocho no es solo un caldo; es una sinfonía de mar y tierra que despierta los sentidos. La combinación de pescado fresco con yuca, plátano y maíz crea texturas contrastantes que se funden en cada cucharada. La frescura de los ingredientes, el aroma del cilantro y el toque de ají aportan profundidad y calidez. Una experiencia que te hace sentir, de inmediato, la brisa del mar y la alegría de la costa colombiana.

🍷 Wine & food pairing

Prueba un tinto joven de la DO Ribera del Duero; su fruta domada y su acidez ligera cortan la riqueza del guiso, mientras los taninos suaves complementan el sabor del pescado.