Brown Stew Fish
How good is brown stew fish? No words to describe it, honestly! This Jamaican dish is a staple seafood dish and should be a part of your repertoire if you really want to master the art of creating delicious seafood dishes. The concept behind this dish is to “brown” the fish first by frying it. The second part of making this awesome dish come alive is to “stew” it.
The Concept Behind Stewing
The stew is created by building a gravy full of flavor by adding fresh herbs & seasoning to a pan, and placing the fried fish back into the pan. The fried fish is finished off in this magnificent gravy and the flavors marry to create an explosion on your taste buds! It’s my favorite way to enjoy fish!
You can enjoy this dish with any type of rice you’d like. Rice and peas, white rice, yellow rice, etc or you can simply have it with steamed veggies or callaloo! Either way, Jamaican style brown stew fish is a delicious treat and you’ll enjoy it no matter what side dish you choose to pair it with.
Ways to Prepare this Dish
Everyone has their own way of making this dish, and honestly, there isn’t a wrong way as long as the flavor is there and the spices are authentic. Some people flour the fish before frying it. This step isn’t necessary, but adding a bit of flour to your fish sometimes helps prevent it from sticking to the pan. Some like their brown stew gravy tomato based (using tomato sauce, paste, or simply ketchup). Others such as myself, prepare the brown sugar method which involves creating your own browning by caramelizing brown sugar.
Tips for Frying Fish
-Use a generous amount of oil in a shallow pan. Use an oil with a high smoke point such as: Canola, Vegetable, or Corn oil. Grapeseed oil can work as well. Olive oil shouldn’t be used for frying. It has a low smoke point and at elevated temperatures, the fumes given off are toxic.
-Keep your fire on medium/high. Make sure the oil is very, very hot before adding the fish. If you begin to see steam rising from the oil, you’ll know it’s at the right temperature. Using oil that is very hot will prevent your fish from sticking and breaking apart in the pan.
-Pat the fish dry before adding it to the oil. Do not add wet fish to hot oil. The splatter that will occur may cause third degree burns, and your fish will most likely break apart or stick to the pan.
-If you can, use a great non stick pan that conducts heat well. Cast iron skillets and aluminum pans are excellent conducters of heat and you can guarantee that your food will cook evenly. Cheaply made pans cause your food to burn easily. Take a look at my Amazon shop here for some recommendations.
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Brown Stew Fish Recipe
- 3 Fish (Medium sized snapper, porgy, king, whichever fish you prefer)
- 1 1/2 cups of oil (corn, canola, or vegetable)
- 1 1/2 tsp of salt on each fish
- 1 tsp of Black Pepper on each Fish
For the Gravy (Stew)
- 1/2 cup of Oil (use the same oil you fried the fish in)
- 1/4 Green Pepper, chopped
- 1/4 Red Pepper, chopped
- 1 medium sized onion, chopped
- Few sprigs of Thyme
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper (may use habanero)
- 5 cloves of Garlic
- 1/3 cup of Brown Sugar (use turbinado)
- 1 tsp of All Purpose Seasoning
- 1 tsp of Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp of Onion Powder
- 1 tsp of Seafood Seasoning
- Optional: 1/2 chicken bouillon cube
- 1 3/4 cups of water
- Small handful of All Spice Berries
Directions:
Wash your fish and pat dry. Make two slits on the surface of the fish (on the both sides). You may want to add your 1 1/2 cups of oil to your frying pan at this point. This way, by the time you’re done seasoning the fish, your oil should be hot enough to fry the fish in. Set the fire on medium/high. Sprinkle your salt and pepper on each fish and massage it in. You may want to open the fish near the mouth area and sprinkle salt & pepper in there as well. Adding flour to your fish is optional, but if you do, pat the the flour onto the fish and make sure you shake off any excess.
Now that your oil is hot, (it should take about 5 minutes for your oil to be fully heated) add your fish to your oil and fry for 5 minutes on each side. Do your best not to manipulate the fish while it’s in the pan. Only turn it on the other side when it’s ready to flip.
Drain the fried fish on a paper towel. Throw off a cup of the oil and you’ll use the remainder to build your stew. Turn your fire down to medium and add your brown sugar. Keep stirring until it begins to melt. You will see it start to take on an slight orange color and foam after about 3 minutes. As soon as this occurs, add your onion, peppers, thyme, and sautee for 20 seconds. Now add your all purpose seaoning, optional chicken bouillon cube, onion & garlic powder, and seafood seasoning and sautee for 20 seconds. Add your water and all spice berries. Stir. Cover the pot and allow the gravy to cook for 5 minutes. Add the fried fish and cover. Cook for another 10-15 minutes on low/medium heat. Serve and enjoy!
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Faye says
Simply delicious and so easy to prepare!! Love it!!!
Dianah nassimbwa says
This is so good !
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes.
You have made my marriage happy again because my husband loves food and he was tired of the routine.
Thank you indeed.