Fish Choka

Fish choka is a delicious mash up of tender, seasoned white fish, roasted tomatoes, and garlic. It's a wholesome, fresh, flavorful, pescatarian meal that I never get tired of.

Course Paleo, Whole30

Cuisine Guyanese

Keyword fish choka, fish choka recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 160kcal

Author Althea Brown

Equipment

Small sheet pan
Large Skillet

Ingredients

1 lb of white fish filet like tilapia, red snapper or cod
1 lemon
3 roma tomatoes
1 small yellow onions thinly sliced
4 green onions thinly sliced
4-5 cloves of garlic peeled
About 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
2 wiri wiri chili or similar finely chopped (can also be substituted for a pinch of cayenne pepper)
About 1/2 cup of oil suitable for cooking
1/2 teaspoon of iodized sea salt or salt to taste

To Season the fish:

1/2 tablespoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of iodized sea salt

Instructions

Prep the fish:

Squeeze lemon juice liberally over the fish filets and let rest for 10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
Next season fish with onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika and salt.
Mix together well and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Roast the tomatoes and garlic

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Add tomatoes and garlic cloves to a small sheet pan or skillet. Drizzle with about a tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, then mix together well.
Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until tomatoes and garlic are soft and mushy.
Then remove from the oven and crush with a fork until the tomatoes and garlic are soft and mushy. You can also do this is a mortar and pestle.

Two way to Roast the fish:

Oven Roast:
Drizzle the seasoned fish with 2 tablespoons of oil and add it to a sheet pan. Roast the fish along with the tomatoes and garlic. This should take no more than 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the fish. Once the fish is translucent in color and flakes easily, remove from the oven, place in a large bowl and set aside.
Pan roast:
Add two tablespoons of oil to a skillet on medium heat and bring up to temperature. Then add the seasoned fish and immediately cover. Cook covered for 10 minutes or until the fish is opaque in color and can be easily flaked with a fork.
Remove from the pan and place into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Chonkay (chonk) the aromatics:

Add about 3 tablespoons of oil to a skillet on high heat and bring up to temperature.
Then add the sliced onions, followed by a sprinkle of salt and cook until the onions are translucent.
Next add the green onions and chilis and stir fry for about a minute.
Then pour the cooked onions, green onions, chilis and all the oil from the pan over the roasted fish, followed by the roasted tomatoes and garlic.
Finally add the chopped cilantro and mix together well.
Serve warm.

Nutrition