Quick, tasty fish stew

In today’s busy life style sometimes, all that we need is a quick prepared meal which tastes good and does not compromise with health. One such meal that comes to my mind is the fish stew. It is easy to prepare. It is quick and can be prepared in minutes. It tastes delicious and has all the health benefits associated with it. I often prepare this stew when I am in a hurry and need a quick meal ready in minutes. I do not follow a set recipe or guideline while making the fish stew, just that the fish pieces must be intact and not broken and it should have some vegetables added along to make it more wholesome. The fish that I will use to make this stew is Cod fish. Cod fish is a grey-green fish with a spotted pattern on their scales. Cods can grow up to 150 cm long, but most of the cod fish is around 80cm long and weigh around 25 - 30 Kg. Cod is a type of salt water fish that may come from the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean or the green land. All these types of fish can replace each other with little variance, however the Pacific cod provides larger, thicker fillets and that’s why chefs prefer the Pacific variant. Cod is one of the top 5 fish eaten in Europe. Cod fish is the perfect choice to make fish and chips. A lot of people like cod because of its mild taste and its ease of preparation for a variety of meals. You may have tried it in your fish and chips, fish fingers, fish cakes, fish pies or fish stews. I am sure you must have heard about the cod liver oil and its associated health benefits. Yes, this fish is the source of all the goodness of that fish oil. Cod is a good source of heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and is especially rich in lean protein and Vitamin B-12. Doctors recommend eating fish twice a week for its Omega-3 acids. These essential fatty acids help lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides in your bloodstream. Salmon and tuna have significantly more omega-3, but cod makes a good overall everyday common choice. Cod fish have a recognisable organ on their chin called barbel. The cod barbel has taste buds like our tongues and is used to help the cod to find food in murky water.
A cod’s size depends on the species. However, an average cod can reach 51 inches in length and can weigh between 55 to 77 pounds. There are some extreme cases of cod that reach up to 220 pounds due to having a rich food supply.
The backside of their body is greenish brown in colour which is the lateral side is lighter, their belly is almost always white. They are carnivores, which means they eat meat. Their normal diet includes other cod, sand eels, mackerels, squids and crabs. They are slow swimmers and travel in groups called ‘schools’. This helps them avoid their predators like sharks. They are easy to catch and do not resist much that’s why they are easily caught and preferred in recreational fishing. They are mainly caught for their meat and oil and humans are their biggest predators.

Easy fish stew

Ingredients
Cod Fish fillet 800 gm
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Yellow onion 1 no.
Tomato 2 nos.
Bell pepper 1 no.
Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
Celery 2 stalk
Parsley few sprigs
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Lemon juice 2 tsp
Coconut milk 100 ml
Siracha sauce 2 tbsp
Cilantro to garnish

Method
Wash and pat dry the cod fillet and cut into 1” squares and keep aside.
Rub enough olive oil onto cod fillets and season with salt and black pepper, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom sauce pan or skillet over medium heat.
Sauté chopped onion until soft, add ginger garlic paste and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in diced tomato, diced celery and cook over slow flame.
Arrange cod fillets on the mixture and pour coconut milk over the fillets.
Sprinkle green parsley and drizzle siracha sauce on top and adjust the seasoning.
Cover the skillet or pan and reduce the heat to low, cook until fish is cooked and flakes easily.
Do not stir the fish otherwise it will break apart, slightly move the skillet to stir the liquid in it.
Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro and lemon juice drizzle, serve hot.

Note: The whole idea behind this recipe is to make you aware about the basic fish stew. You can try some different ingredients like shrimp, broccoli, carrot, mushrooms, snow peas, lemon grass, zucchini and make your own style of fish stew. Like most of the times, I add turmeric to my stews and soups for their anti-inflammatory properties and health benefits.