Fish Parihuela Recipe

The fish stretcher is one of the most consumed soups both in winter and summer. It is made with fish, scallops, mussels and crab, sometimes also accompanied by canchita serrana. But this traditional dish has a particular history, many years ago the fishermen of Callao carried the catch of the day on “palmette” a kind of boards and when they were broken or damaged they were discarded in the sea. Well, when they ate this soup they said “let’s go get more stretchers to make a soup” and over time it was distorted to “let’s make a stretcher” and that’s how it got its name. We point out that this rich soup has a panca pepper dressing and fried yellow pepper with garlic and onion.

Ingredients to make Fish Parihuela:

• 1 dessert spoon of ají panca paste
• 1 dessert spoon of yellow chili paste
• 1 dessert spoon of garlic paste
• 1 liter of chilcano fish
• 1 sprig of coriander
• 2 fish fillets
• 2 mussels
• 3 fan shells
• 1 pinch of cumin
• ½ cup of chicha de jora
• 1 jumbo crab or 2 medium crabs
• 1 dessert spoon of tomato paste

How to make Fish Parihuela:

1. To start making the fish stretcher recipe, you must first cut the onion into small squares for the dressing.
2. Wash the crab with plenty of water and remove the gills that are inside. Reserve in the refrigerator.
3. Wash the mussels with plenty of water, removing the sand that is on the outside. To be able to open the mussels, place water in a pan and cover over low heat. After a few minutes when they are open, remove the interior and reserve.
4. Clean the fan shells and remove with the help of a spoon.
5. In a medium saucepan, add the onion and sauté with a stream of oil over low heat.
6. Tip: it is recommended to add a pinch of salt to speed up the dehydration process.
7. Add a tablespoon of yellow pepper paste, panca and a pinch of cumin. Move all the ingredients with the help of a spoon. After a few minutes add the tomato paste, and if you don’t have tomato paste you can add a tomato cut into small squares. You should also add half a cup of chicha de jora.
8. Place the crab and the liter of chilcano, cook approximately 15 minutes. If the chilcano does not have salt you can add it. The seafood stretcher is almost ready!
9. Tip: it is recommended to add a sprig of coriander to the soup.
10. Dilute a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water and add the cornstarch to the soup in the form of a thread, stir with a spoon to avoid lumps.
11. When the soup is diluted and there are no lumps, add the mussels, scallops and the fish, calculate approximately 5-7 minutes. It is important to control the time, since shellfish cook very quickly.