Timea's Kitchen

  • Recipes
  • Blog Posts
  • About Us
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Blog Posts
  • About Us
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Blog Posts
  • About Us
×
Home » Recipes » Soups

Best Fish Soup Recipe

Published: May 17, 2020 · Modified: Dec 8, 2024 by Timea · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

Sharing is caring!

179 shares
  • Share
  • Email
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Best Fish Soup Recipe-Fisherman's Soup Served in Bowl

In my opinion, the best fish soup recipe is the Hungarian fisherman's soup, cooked from river fish and with a lot of onions and paprika powder. Hot and spicy are the best!

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Fisherman's Soup Served in Bowl

Fisherman's soup is a typical Hungarian recipe, like the famous goulash. It's cooked from fish parts such as head, tail and fins: carp, crucian carp, bream or catfish, which we used to make a soup base. Connoisseurs say the more types of fish we use, the tastier the soup will be.

Jump to:
  • What Ingredients Do I Use From This Soup?
  • Let's Do the Base of the Best Fish Soup Recipe
  • Finishing the Fisherman's Soup
  • Serving the Soup
  • Best Fish Soup Recipe-Hungarian Fisherman's Soup

Let me show you how to make the basis of this delicious soup.

What Ingredients Do I Use From This Soup?

We used fish caught in local rivers and lakes in the original recipes, but today I had to buy two pieces of farm carp of about 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) each.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Two Carp Fishes

If you love fish soup, you can use a trick. Every time you cook fried fish, when you clean the fish, you can freeze the head and tail of the fish and use them when you want to make fisherman's soup.

I will also use three medium-sized onions, one red kapia pepper and two ripe tomatoes.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Onions, Tomato and Sweet Kapia Pepper

Let's Do the Base of the Best Fish Soup Recipe

Preparing the Fish

For this, we will prepare the fish first. Clean and wash the carps well, then cut off the head, the tail and the fins for each one. From these, we will make the base for the soup.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Carp Heads, Tails and Fins

From the remaining fish bodies, we will cut them into fillets or steak, and we will add them to the soup at the end.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Carp Fish Bodies

We wash and clean the vegetables.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Cleaned and Peeled Onions, Tomatoes and Sweet Kapia Pepper

Slice the onion coarser, and cut the tomatoes and kapia peppers into larger pieces.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Sliced Onions
Best Fish Soup Recipe-Cut Tomatoes and Sweet Kapia Pepper

Making the Fish Stock

Take a large soup pot in and place the fish pieces first on the bottom of the pot.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Carp Fish Head and Tail in a Soup Pot

Put the coarsely sliced onions over the fish pieces in the pot.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Sliced Onions Over the Carp Fish Head and Tail in a Soup Pot

In the end, add the cut tomatoes and the sweet paprika.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Carp Fish Head, Tail and Vegetables in a Soup Pot

Fill the pot with cold water, about 5 litres, and put it to boil, over medium heat, for about two hours. Season with one tablespoon of sea salt and add one teaspoon of peppercorns.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Pour Water Over the Carp Fish Head, Tail and Vegetables in a Soup Pot

It must boil well until the gelatine comes out of the bones and the meat comes apart.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Boiled Fish Soup Base

After it has boiled, let it cool a bit, then, while it is still hot, pass this soup through a sieve. Try with a wooden spoon to mix in the sieve so that you can press the solid part through the sieve.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Boiled Fish Soup Base on the Sieve

This fish stock will be the base for my best fish soup recipe.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Fisherman's Soup Base

Finishing the Fisherman's Soup

For this, I added three tablespoons of Hungarian sweet paprika to the fish stock, which will give both colour and a unique taste to the soup.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Sweet Paprika Powder in Fisherman's Soup Base

Pour these fish stock back into the pot and boil it. Because it is a fish concentrate, it must add about two litres of water to dilute it.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Fisherman's Soup Base in a Soup Pot

Season with of one teaspoon of chilli flakes and taste, if you want, add more salt and pepper.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Seasoning the Fisherman's Soup With Dried Chilli

Cut the remaining carp bodies into fillets or steaks, as you like, and the fillets into not very small pieces.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Carp Fish Steak and Fillet

When the soup starts to boil, add the fish pieces, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Now we are careful not to mix the soup so that the fish pieces remain whole.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Carp Fish Meat in the Fisherman's Soup

Serving the Soup

The fisherman's soup is served hot, with more fresh or jarred chilli peppers and fresh bread.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Fisherman's Soup Served in Bowl

Because it is hot and spicy, you will need more bread, but it is delicious.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Fisherman's Soup Served Hot in a Bowl

If you liked this recipe, I also recommend other Hungarian soup recipes such as:

  • White Bean Soup With Smoked Ribs
  • Smoked Sausage Potato Soup
  • Best Cabbage Soup Recipe
  • Romaine Lettuce Soup
  • Sauerkraut Sausage Soup Recipe
  • Best Mushroom Soup Recipe
  • Hungarian Green Bean Soup Recipe
  • Creamy Kohlrabi Soup Recipe

And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and always be up to date with our new recipes.

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Fisherman's Soup Served in Bowl

Best Fish Soup Recipe-Hungarian Fisherman's Soup

Timea
In my opinion, the best fish soup recipe is the Hungarian fisherman’s soup, cooked from river fish and with a lot of paprika powder. Hot and spicy is the best!
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Course Dinner, Soups
Cuisine Hungarian
Servings 6 portions
Calories 644 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Soup Pot

Ingredients
 
 

  • 3 kg carp fish fresh or frozen
  • 1 piece red pepper sweet
  • 3 pieces onions large
  • 2 pieces tomatoes riped
  • ½ teaspoon chilli flakes dried
  • 1.5 tablespoon sea salt kosher
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground pepper freshly ground

Instructions
 

  • Clean and wash the carps well, then cut off the head, the tail and the fins for each one. Slice the onion coarser, and cut the tomatoes and kapia peppers into larger pieces.
  • Take a large soup pot in which place the fish pieces first on the bottom of the pot. Put sliced onions on the fish and add the tomatoes and chopped paprika. Fill the pot with cold water, about 5 litres, season with sea salt and peppercorns and put it to boil, over medium heat, for about two hours.
  • After it has boiled, let it cool a bit, then, while it is still hot, pass this soup through a sieve. Try with a wooden spoon to mix in the sieve, so that you can press as much of the solid part through the sieve.
  • Add the Hungarian sweet paprika to the soup base and pour the soup base back into the pot and boiled it. Because it is a fish concentrate, add about two litres of water. Season with one teaspoon of chilli flakes and taste, if you want, add more salt and pepper.
  • When the soup start to boil, add the fish pieces, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Served hot, with the addition of chilli and fresh bread.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gramsCalories: 644kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 89gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 330mgSodium: 1993mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1g
Keyword best fish soup, best fish soup recipe, fish soup, fish soup recipe, fisherman's soup, Hungarian fish soup, Hungarian fisherman's soup
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Tried this recipe?Mention @WPRecipeMaker or tag #wprecipemaker!

More Soups

  • Creamy Chicken Soup With Vegetables-Chicken and Vegetable Soup Served in Bowl With Lemon Slice and Chilli Peppers
    Creamy Chicken Soup With Vegetables
  • White Bean Soup With Smoked Ribs Served in Bowl
    White Bean Soup With Smoked Ribs
  • Romanian Tripe Soup Served in the Bowl With Sour Cream and Jared Chilli Pepper
    Romanian Tripe Soup Recipe
  • Traditional Hungarian Goulash Recipe-Served in a Soup Bowl
    Traditional Hungarian Goulash Recipe

Comments

  1. Genesis Ron says

    May 18, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    5 stars
    Good to know that works too! It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Wow great post.

    Reply
  2. Genesis Ron says

    May 18, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    5 stars
    Good to know that works too! It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Wow great post.

    Reply
  3. Genesis Ron says

    May 18, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    5 stars
    Good to know that works too! It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Wow great post.

    Reply
5 from 5 votes (2 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Timea and Laci-Timea's Kitchen

Welcome!

Hi, I am Timea and together with my husband Laci we decided to invite you to our virtual kitchen. You will see step by step how we cook and how tasty is the Transylvanian and Hungarian cuisine.

More about me

Popular

  • Air Fryer Duck Legs Served on Plate With Mashed Potatoes
    Air Fryer Duck Legs
  • Cosori Air Fryer Whole Chicken Served on the Cutting Board
    Cosori Air Fryer Whole Chicken
  • Tuna Corn Salad Served in Bowl and With a Glass of Beer
    Tuna Corn Salad Recipe
  • The Best Russian Cheesecake Recipe - Served on Plate With Grapes
    The Best Russian Cheesecake Recipe

New Recipes

  • Oven Baked Whole Chicken Wings Served On Plate With Fries and Garlic Cream
    Oven Baked Whole Chicken Wings
  • Feta and Spinach Filo Pastry Served on Yellow Plate
    Feta and Spinach Filo Pastry
  • Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs Served on Plate With Fries Greek Salad and Tzatziki
    Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs
  • Air Fryer Pork Ribs Served on Plate With Fries
    Air Fryer Pork Ribs

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 Timea's Kitchen

179 shares
  • 84
179 shares

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.