Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Pepesup
A fiery, clear fish pepper soup of Equatorial Guinea, sharp with chili, ginger, and lime.
Equatoguinean · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 35 min
~298 cal · 39g protein · 10g carbs · 10g fat · 2g fiber · 4g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Pepesup is a fiery, clear pepper soup from Equatorial Guinea, fish or meat simmered in a sharp, aromatic broth loud with chili, ginger, and lime. Unlike the region's thick palm-oil stews, pepper soup is deliberately light and brothy, its heat and acidity meant to clear the head and warm the body.
Pepper soups are found all along the West and Central African coast, valued as much for their restorative, almost medicinal qualities as for their flavor, often eaten when someone is unwell or in need of comfort. The clarity of the broth lets the chili and spices shine.
In Malabo, pepesup is a starter, its bracing heat and citrus brightness a welcome contrast to richer dishes. Simple, sharp, and invigorating, it is the lighter, spicier side of Equatoguinean cooking.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 lb firm fish, cut in chunks
2, to taste chilies
1 tsp ground guinea pepper (grains of paradise), or black pepper
2 tbsp ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 tomato
a handful basil (or scent leaf)
1 lime
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Simmer the onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, chili, and guinea pepper in water to build a fragrant broth.
2
Season well with salt.
3
Add the fish (or mushrooms and hearts of palm) and poach gently until just cooked.
4
Stir in the basil and a good squeeze of lime.
5
Serve very hot, on its own or with a little rice.
Malabo tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Malabo. The signature dish has a name, pepesup, which is Pidgin English for pepper soup. It is built on whole scotch bonnets and red palm oil, with one or two mashed into the broth and the rest left floating so each person can crush in as much heat as they want.
🗺️
Equatorial Guinea. Pepesup is pepper soup rendered through Pidgin English, and the method is the point: whole scotch bonnets go into a broth of fish or meat with red palm oil, one or two mashed in and the rest left whole so each diner crushes as much heat as they want into their own bowl. Bambucha is the cassava-leaf sauce alongside.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Equatorial Guinea
Plátano Frito con HuevoSweet ripe plantains fried till caramelized and topped with a fried egg, Spanish and African breakfast worlds on one plate.
Pescado con YucaFish braised in a tomato and onion sofrito, served with boiled cassava, a Spanish-inflected coastal lunch of Malabo.
Akwadu (Baked Bananas with Coconut)Bananas baked in butter, citrus and honey under a blanket of coconut, a simple Equatoguinean sweet.
Browse all Equatorial Guinea recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Equatorial Guinea meal
MalambaDrink
Akwadu (Baked Bananas with Coconut)Dessert
Pescado con YucaLunch
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Bergensk FiskesuppeNorway
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Frequently asked questions
What is Pepesup?
A fiery, clear fish pepper soup of Equatorial Guinea, sharp with chili, ginger, and lime.
Where does Pepesup come from?
Pepesup is a Equatoguinean dish from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Can Pepesup be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Pepesup recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Pepesup safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Pepesup take to make?
About 50 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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