Fisherman Soup is a rich, flavorful dish loaded with shrimp, catfish, spicy peppers, and fresh veggies. It’s hearty, healthy, and perfect for anyone looking for a low carb, keto, or paleo-friendly meal that still brings big flavor.
❤️ Why you'll love it
Made with classic ingredients, Fisherman soup has been a popular dish hundreds of years. The spicy soup originally came from Hungary. It was often served warm for the fishermen during the cold winter months.
In Africa, many of the fish used for the Fisherman soup is native to the area and it's often not as spicy as the Hungarian version. The recipe I'm sharing today does have a bit of a kick to it but you can easily adjust the seasonings to tone it down if you want.
It can be customized to your preferences. You can use fresh seafood or your favorite fish to make this a hearty dinner that you love.
It's also healthy and made with healthy vegetables. It's high in protein, keto-friendly, low carb, and paleo-friendly so you can enjoy it without any guilt.
🧾 Ingredients Used
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- Seafood: This soup calls for cooked shrimp and catfish. You can cook the fish beforehand to save time.
- Vegetables: You'll need tomatoes, red bell peppers, and habanero pepper. These veggies add tons of flavor and a bit of heat to the soup.
- Mushrooms: This adds more texture and a richer flavor to this soup.
- Spices: With ground crayfish, cayenne pepper, bouillon powder, black pepper, and salt, this soup is not lacking in flavor. This combination of spices really packs a punch!
- Optional thickener: Add arrowroot powder if you want the soup thicker.
🔪 How To Cook Fisherman Soup
- Blend the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and habanero peppers together.
- Pour olive oil into a pot & when heated, add the onions. Sauté until translucent.
- Pour in the blended tomatoes & pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.
- Add in the spices and stir. Then, pour in 4 cups of water.
- To thicken, mix the arrowroot powder with ¼ cup of water & pour it in.
- Simmer for 5 mins, then add the catfish.
- After 10 minutes, add the shrimp and mushrooms.
- Simmer for another 10-15 mins or until all the seafood & mushrooms are cooked through.
🥫 Storing and Reheating
You can store this soup in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Remove the fish from the broth before reheating the broth. Then, add in the fish and heat briefly so you don't cook the fish for too long.
💭 Tips and Variations
- Add fresh herbs: Don't add herbs while the soup is simmering; add them just before serving for added flavor. You can top this soup with basil or scent leaves.
- Simmer longer: Before adding the fish, simmer the vegetables and spices for longer so the flavors have more time to blend and strengthen.
- Less habanero pepper: If you're not into spicy food, reduce the amount of habanero pepper to bring down the heat.
- Add more spice: Those who love spicy food can add more cayenne pepper or even some chili pepper to make the dish spicier.
- Use different vegetables: Feel free to use a variety of peppers, zucchini, or whatever vegetables you have on hand.
- It's better the next day: Some dishes get better after sitting – this soup is one of them. Let it sit overnight to let the flavors blend together and get a little sharper.
🍽️ What can I eat this recipe with?
You can eat fisherman's soup alone for a light soup meal or serve with some rice. On a low carb diet, I eat mine with cauliflower rice.
For a larger dinner, you can also try out these air-fried green beans, instant-pot kale, or instant-pot cabbage as a side for the soup.
Fisherman soup also goes great with dinner rolls or biscuits with butter for a super comforting, warm meal.
👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
This soup originated in Hungary, and it is native to the Danube and Tisza river regions. It is also popular among ethnic German Donauschwaben and their descendants. Made with hot peppers, it is one of the spiciest dishes native to Europe!
However, many cultures have their own versions of this soup. The recipe above is closest to some of the Nigerian versions of fisherman's soup; it's native to the people of the Rivers State in Nigeria.
Fish soups have been around since the beginning of human history. The original fisherman soup was known as 'Halaszly.' It was made by fishermen in Hungary where they used Turkish pepper to season the fish parts.
In other regions, this soup was referred to as 'halacli,' and was seasoned with paprika. It was purposely made to be spicy to warm up the fisherman after a long winter's day at sea.
Fisherman Soup is typically made from broth derived from fish trimmings like fresh carp heads, bones, skin, and fins. Then, it is simmered with vegetables like peppers and tomatoes. However, this recipe is slightly different, made from shrimp, catfish, mushrooms, and peppers.
Fish broth is made from simmering fish bones for an extended period of time which flavors and thickens the liquid. Fish soup is made from broth and usually has chunks of fish or vegetables.
📚 Related Recipes
Check out these other delicious recipes!
Black Soup (Nigerian Efirin Soup)
📖 Recipe
Fisherman Soup
Ingredients
- 4 lbs catfish
- 12 oz shrimp cooked
- 8 oz mushrooms
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 roma tomato
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 habanero peppers
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon ground crayfish
- 1 teaspoon pepper soup spice optional
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1.5 tablespoon bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder optional thickener
Instructions
- Blend the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and habanero peppers.1 roma tomato, 2 red bell peppers, 2 habanero peppers
- Pour olive oil into a pot and when heated, add the onions.2 tablespoon olive oil, ½ onion
- Sauté till translucent.
- Pour in the blended tomatoes & pepper and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.
- Add in the spices and stir. Then pour in 4 cups of water.2 tablespoon ground crayfish, 1 teaspoon pepper soup spice, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1.5 tablespoon bouillon powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt
- To thicken, mix the arrowroot powder with ¼ cup of water & pour it in.2 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- Simmer for 5 mins, then add the catfish.4 lbs catfish
- After 10 minutes, add the shrimp and mushrooms.12 oz shrimp, 8 oz mushrooms
- Simmer for 10-15 mins or until all the seafood & mushrooms are cooked through.
Notes
- Add fresh herbs: Don't add herbs while the soup is simmering; add them just before serving for added flavor. You can top this soup with basil or scent leaves.
- Simmer longer: Before adding the fish, simmer the vegetables and spices for longer so the flavors have more time to blend and strengthen.
- Less habanero pepper: If you're not into spicy food, reduce the amount of habanero pepper to bring down the heat.
- Add more spice: Those who love spicy food can add more cayenne pepper or even some chili pepper.
- Use different vegetables: Feel free to use a variety of peppers, zucchini, or whatever vegetables you have on hand.
- It's better the next day: Some dishes get better after sitting – this soup is one of them. Let it sit overnight to let the flavors blend together and get a little sharper.
Nutrition
Tayo Oredola is the founder of Low Carb Africa, where she shares healthy, low carb dishes with global flavors. She is passionate about teaching people how to cook drool-worthy dishes while losing weight and living their best lives. Tayo’s recipes have been featured on MSN, Women’s Health, Parade, Yahoo News, Pure Wow, Essence, and other online publications.
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