Chef Lupita
Arroz a la Tumbada Veracruzano
Veracruz's Gulf coast rice from Alvarado, built with seafood stock, tomato, chile chipotle, epazote, shrimp, fish, jaiba, and pulpo, served loose and brothy in a clay cazuela.
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Veracruz Fish and Shrimp Caldo
Created by
Veracruz's Gulf coast caldo, built from shrimp shells, fish bones, tomato, chile chipotle, oregano, bay, and white fish, finished with lime the way a coastal kitchen expects.
Soups & Stews
Mexican
Weeknight
Comfort Food
Quick Meal
25 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield6 servings
Veracruz, especially the Gulf coast from the port down toward Alvarado and Tlacotalpan, knows how to make a fish broth that tastes like the sea without tasting dirty. This caldo lives where fish comes in early, shrimp is sold by women who know which boat landed it, and lunch is decided by what looked alive at the market that morning.
The base is tomato, garlic, white onion, chile chipotle seco, Mexican oregano, bay leaf, and the shells from the shrimp. That last part matters. Do not throw away the shells and then complain the broth has no body. The señoras in the mercado will tell you the same thing: the flavor is in what careless cooks discard.
This is not a heavy stew. It is a clear, red, direct caldo with white fish added at the end so it stays whole, not shredded into sadness. Robalo, huachinango, mero, or mojarra all work if they are fresh. If the fish smells strong before it reaches the pot, no chile will save it. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
Serve it in wide clay bowls with lime halves, warm corn tortillas, and a small dish of chopped cilantro. Veracruz cooks with the Gulf in front of them and the port behind them. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
Veracruz's coastal cooking was shaped by Gulf seafood, Indigenous tomato and chile traditions, and the Spanish port trade that brought bay leaf, olive oil, and Mediterranean-style aromatics into local kitchens. Fish caldos in the state vary from clear fisherman-style broths to tomato-red versions enriched with shrimp shells, dried chile chipotle, and oregano, especially along the Sotavento coast. The dish is part of the same Veracruz logic as pescado a la veracruzana: local seafood first, then tomato, aromatics, and just enough chile to deepen the broth, not to bury the fish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large shell-on shrimp
Quantity
1 pound
peeled and deveined, shells reserved
firm white fish fillets
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
robalo, huachinango, mero, or mojarra, cut into 2-inch pieces
fish bones or fish heads
Quantity
1 pound
rinsed well
olive oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
white onion
Quantity
1 medium
half chopped and half left whole
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
2 smashed and 2 finely chopped
Roma tomatoes
Quantity
4
ripe, chopped
dried chile chipotle seco or chipotle meco
Quantity
2
stemmed
bay leaf
Quantity
1
dried Mexican oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
large carrot
Quantity
1
peeled and sliced into half-moons
medium potato
Quantity
1
peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
small chayote
Quantity
1
peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch chunks
small zucchini
Quantity
1
cut into thick half-moons
fresh epazote
Quantity
1 sprig
kosher salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons, plus more to taste
water
Quantity
8 cups
fresh cilantro (optional)
Quantity
1/2 cup
chopped
lime halves (optional)
Quantity
for serving
warm corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large shell-on shrimppeeled and deveined, shells reserved | 1 pound |
| firm white fish filletsrobalo, huachinango, mero, or mojarra, cut into 2-inch pieces | 1 1/2 pounds |
| fish bones or fish headsrinsed well | 1 pound |
| olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| white onionhalf chopped and half left whole | 1 medium |
| garlic cloves2 smashed and 2 finely chopped | 4 |
| Roma tomatoesripe, chopped | 4 |
| dried chile chipotle seco or chipotle mecostemmed | 2 |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| dried Mexican oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| large carrotpeeled and sliced into half-moons | 1 |
| medium potatopeeled and cut into 1-inch chunks | 1 |
| small chayotepeeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch chunks | 1 |
| small zucchinicut into thick half-moons | 1 |
| fresh epazote | 1 sprig |
| kosher salt | 2 teaspoons, plus more to taste |
| water | 8 cups |
| fresh cilantro (optional)chopped | 1/2 cup |
| lime halves (optional) | for serving |
| warm corn tortillas (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •6-quart stockpot for seafood broth
- •Wide clay cazuela or heavy Dutch oven
- •Fine-mesh strainer
- •Blender
- •Comal for warming corn tortillas
Instructions
- 1
Make the seafood broth
Put the reserved shrimp shells, fish bones or heads, half onion, 2 smashed garlic cloves, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, and 8 cups water in a stockpot. Bring just to a simmer over medium heat, then lower the heat and cook gently for 25 minutes. Do not boil hard. Fish broth turns cloudy and rough when you bully it.
Ask the fish vendor for bones from robalo, huachinango, or mojarra. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado. They know which stall is clean and which one smells tired. - 2
Strain the broth
Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Press lightly on the shrimp shells, then stop. If you press fish bones too hard, you push bitterness and grit into the broth. Discard the solids. You should have about 6 cups of clean seafood broth.
- 3
Soften the chipotles
Put the dried chile chipotle seco in a small bowl and cover with hot water for 15 minutes, until pliable. Hot water is enough. Boiling makes the skin stubborn and can drag bitterness into the caldo. Keep 1/4 cup of the soaking water.
- 4
Cook the tomato base
Heat the olive oil in a wide clay cazuela or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until glossy, about 4 minutes. Add the 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, softened chipotles, Mexican oregano, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato collapses and the oil turns orange-red around the edges.
- 5
Blend and return
Transfer the tomato-chipotle mixture to a blender with 1 cup of the seafood broth and 1/4 cup chile soaking water. Blend until smooth. Return it to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, until the color deepens. This is where the broth gets its backbone. Raw tomato in caldo tastes thin. Cooked tomato tastes like somebody was paying attention.
- 6
Simmer the vegetables
Pour the remaining seafood broth into the pot. Add the carrot, potato, and chayote. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the potato is almost tender. Add the zucchini and epazote and cook 5 minutes more. Taste for salt now. The broth should taste complete before the fish goes in.
- 7
Add fish and shrimp
Lower the fish pieces into the simmering broth and cook for 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, just until the shrimp turn pink and the fish flakes when touched with a spoon. Do not stir like you are washing clothes. Move the pot gently so the fish stays in pieces. Así se hace y punto.
- 8
Serve with lime
Remove the epazote sprig. Ladle the caldo into wide bowls, making sure each serving gets fish, shrimp, vegetables, and enough red broth to drink from the spoon. Set chopped cilantro, lime halves, and warm corn tortillas on the table. The lime is squeezed at the table, not cooked into the pot. Fresh lime wakes the broth. Boiled lime turns bossy.
Chef Tips
- •Use firm white fish. Robalo is excellent, huachinango is classic, mero works, and mojarra is what many home cooks can afford. Thin fillets fall apart and make the caldo cloudy.
- •Dried chile chipotle seco gives smoke and depth without turning the soup into a chile contest. If you only have canned chipotle en adobo, use 1 chile and rinse off some adobo. It is a compromise, not an upgrade.
- •This caldo does not need lard. Veracruz's port cooking often uses olive oil with tomato, garlic, bay, and seafood. Forcing manteca into every Mexican dish is how people show they don't understand regions. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
- •Fresh epazote should smell sharp and green. If the bunch at the market looks blackened or smells tired, leave it out instead of using dead herbs.
- •Do not overcook the shrimp. The difference between sweet shrimp and rubber is two minutes. Watch the pot.
Advance Preparation
- •The seafood broth can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Keep it cold and bring it back to a gentle simmer before using.
- •The tomato-chipotle base can be cooked and blended one day ahead. Store it separately, then combine with the broth and vegetables when ready to finish.
- •Do not add the fish and shrimp ahead of time. Seafood is cooked at the end or it punishes you with a tough texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 650g)
Calories
390 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
155 mg
Sodium
950 mg
Total Carbohydrates
38 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
40 g
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