Hot Pepe Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
½ c
finely chopped yellow onion
1 tbsp
grated fresh ginger
3-4
garlic cloves, as needed, minced
1
habanero or Scotch bonnet chili (sliced, if you like it extra spicy)
4 c
fish stock or water
1
bay leaf
2 tsp
ground dried crayfish or shrimp or 2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tsp
ground white pepper
1 lb
tilapia or red snapper fillet, cut into large 2-inch chunks
½ lb
medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ lb
bay scallops
Fine sea salt
2
scallions, thinly sliced, for serving
2 tbsp
chopped fresh basil (preferably Thai basil), for serving
1
lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
Hot Pepe Soup
Hangovers. They happen even to the very best of us, and unfortunately, the only way out is through. Lucky for you, I have a remedy that I hope will help ease your pain. Pépé is West African pidgin English for “pepper.” This soup is a formidable cure for those challenging days post–wild night out (trust me, I’ve been there, too!)— but you’ve got to be able to stand the heat. This is a spicy dish, and there’s no way around that, unless you remove the habanero—it’ll still be tasty, but you can’t really call it a pépé soup anymore.
4 servings
- In a large pot, combine the fish stock, onion, ginger, garlic, habanero, bay leaf, crayfish powder, and white pepper, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes. Add the tilapia, shrimp, and scallops. Return to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the seafood is cooked and fragrant, another 6 to 8 minutes. Add salt to taste and stir to incorporate. Use the back of the wooden spoon to crush the habanero into the broth to release the spiciness. (The more you crush, the spicier it will be.) Serve hot in bowls, topped with the scallions and basil, with lemon wedges on the side to squeeze into the soup.