
Recipe: Chilcano de pescado (Peruvian fish broth)
Not to be confused with the other chilcano!. This is basically a fish broth that is often served as a complimentary starter in cebicherías. It’s simple, tangy, and comforting.
I’ve been craving chilcano de pescado for a while but didn’t have fish bones on hand. We had grilled fish the other day and I saved the bones to make a batch of broth.

Chilcano de pescado
This is a fish broth that is often served as a complimentary starter in cebicherías.
Ingredients
- bones from a medium to large fish
- 1 onion coarsely chopped
- 1 carrot coarsely chopped
- 2 celery stalks coarsely chopped
- 1 leek coarsely chopped
- 1.5 – 2 litres water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 6 green onions finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 500 g cassava
- 2 – 3 limes
- hot chillies optional
Instructions
- Place bones in a pot with onion, carrot, celery and leek. Cook on medium heat until vegetables are softened.
- Add enough cold water to cover everything, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 40 minutes.
- In the meantime boil cassava in salty water for 20 – 30 minutes. Drain and reserve.
- Strain broth, season with salt and pepper, and serve with chopped green onions, cassava, a good squeeze of lime juice and some nice hot chilli.
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4 Comments
kme141
Looks delicious, thanks for sharing!
john@heneedsfood
Sounds like a lovely and very tasty broth! Even a good base for a hearty soup with chunks of seafood.
Christine @ Cooking Crusade
Mmm yum this looks so light and flavorsome 🙂
Shanshan Lam (@food_religion)
Yay i finally find an alternative to be able to comment on wordpress blogs now! anywhooo love fish broths! Was going through a recent craze of fish soups/broths these few days! noms noms