Paiche Recipes

Published: 01/12/2011 - Updated: 07/16/2016

Paiche (pirarucu or arapaima) is the second largest fish in the freshwater world, measuring up to 3 meters long and weigh up to 250 kg. At certain times of the year, it lives in poorly oxygenated water, so it doesn’t absorb enough oxygen through its gills, so it must breathe atmospheric air. With the meat of paiche, you can prepare delicious and nutritious recipes:

Paiche Salad

Ingredients

  • Four hundred grams of fresh paiche fillet
  • Two hundred grams of sliced hearts of palm
  • A red pepper, julienned
  • Four tomatoes, peeled, julienned
  • A julienned cucumber
  • Fifty grams of olive
  • A lemon
  • Two tablespoons of mayonnaise
  • A tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
  • A leaf of lettuce
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Cover the fillets with bread crumbs and fry, cut into strips and place them neatly on top of lettuce with hearts of palm, peppers, tomatoes, pickles and olives, cover with mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, salt and pepper.

Paiche in Lemon Butter

Ingredients

  • Four hundred grams of fresh paiche fillets
  • One hundred grams of bread crumbs
  • Two hundred grams of crushed yucca
  • Fifty grams of butter
  • Fifty grams of parmesan cheese
  • Half cup of heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the lemon butter

  • One hundred grams of butter bleached
  • Two teaspoons of lemon juice
  • Middle pepper finely chopped
  • A teaspoon of chopped parsley

Preparation

  1. Season the fillets, then cover with bread crumbs and fry. In a saucepan melt butter, add the yucca, cheese, cream, salt and pepper, then beat until the point of mush.
  2. Lemon butter: Combine all ingredients and cool in platinum paper for a few minutes. Finally, serve m the fish and put the lemon butter.

Paiche covered with Rice

Ingredients

  • 1 / 2 kilo of cooked rice
  • 1 / 2 kilo of chopped cooked paiche
  • 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
  • 1 / 2 cup of chopped red onion
  • 2 tomatoes peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon of black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of oil
  • Salt to taste

Preparation

  1. In a skillet, place the oil, fry the garlic, add onions, tomatoes, pepper, soy sauce, paiche and bring to the boil 5 minutes, at the end, add the soy sauce and coriander (cilantro), season with salt to taste, stir well and remove from heat.
  2. Strain over an aluminum plate and place the rice first, then the preparation and finally another layer of rice, press well and remove the container.

Paiche Ceviche

Ingredients

  • 800 gr. of paiche fillet
  • 5 lemons
  • 5 sweet lemons
  • 1 onion
  • 1 yellow yucca
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 green banana
  • 1 chili
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Cut fish into 2 x 2 cm cubes, season fish and marinade a few minutes in the red pepper and garlic.
  2. Then sprinkle with lemon juice, with half the onion and move a couple of minutes, then, add sweet lemon juice and remaining onion. Serve with a side of roasted banana and boiled yucca.

Paiche Omelet

Ingredients

  • A quarter of a kilo of dried salted paiche
  • Four eggs
  • A small onion
  • A small tomato
  • A teaspoon of chopped cilantro
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Soak paiche one or two hours apart, beat the eggs with salt and pepper, mix with onions and chopped tomatoes, cilantro and paiche.
  2. Fry in hot oil. You can serve it with rice, yucca or banana boiled or fried, and with a sauce of onions.

About the author
  • Nayeli Reyes

    Nayeli is an expert cook, with the title of Chef by the International Culinary School of Guadalajara (Mexico), where she obtained the honorable mention for her great talent and dedication. In Biomanantial.com she presents her best recipes so that we can prepare them easily.

4 Replies to “Paiche Recipes”
  • Gabrielle says:

    Actually I really don?t know if you can find this kind of fish in this place maybe the name is not the same or the variety doesn?t exists, at least in this city because I have never seen it in cans or fresh, but those recipes seem delicious! Even to prepare with other kind of fish or meat, I think? So thanks for the recommendations!

  • Jeanne Chiang says:

    Actually I just bought paiche at Whole Foods. Not that expensive either, for Whole Foods at 12.95 a pound.
    I have not tried cooking it yet but I am not inclined to bury the flavor of the fish in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. I will probably pan roast and apply lemon cilantro garlic so I can taste the figs better first.

  • victor says:

    where can I buy this type of fish? sounds pretty delicious!

  • Stacy says:

    What interesting and nutritious – looking recipes you have here! They look absolutely fantastic! I live in Alaska on the coasts of the southeast region, so fishing is a big part of our lifestyles. We eat a lot of fresh fish, but we actually don’t have any paiche here. Is that primarily a warm-water climated fish?