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?

Yes. This Pepesup recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Pepesup take to make?

About 50 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Pepesup — a Malabo, Equatorial Guinea recipe

Name: Pepesup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Equatoguinean
Ingredients: 1.5 lb firm fish, cut in chunks; 2, to taste scotch bonnet chilies; 2 tbsp ginger; 4 cloves garlic; 1 onion; 2 tomato; a handful basil (or scent leaf); 1 lime; to taste salt

Africa → 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea → Malabo

Pepesup

Equatoguinean · easy · serves 4

prep 15 min · cook 35 min

~298 cal · 39g protein · 10g carbs · 10g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Clear reddish pepper soup with chunks of fish

🇬🇶 Malabo

Pepesup is the warming pepper soup of Equatorial Guinea, a light but blazing broth of fish simmered with plenty of chili, ginger, and aromatic leaves. Eaten across the island of Bioko and the mainland, it is prized as both a comfort and a cure — the kind of soup that clears the head and lifts the spirit.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

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1.5 lb firm fish, cut in chunks

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2, to taste scotch bonnet chilies

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2 tbsp ginger

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4 cloves garlic

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1 onion

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2 tomato

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a handful basil (or scent leaf)

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1 lime

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to taste salt

Instructions

1

Simmer the onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, and chili 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. An island capital of peppery fish soup.

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Equatorial Guinea. A Gulf-of-Guinea nation of peppery fish soups.

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Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →