Pescado Sudado al Horno (Baked Colombian Steamed-Style Fish)

About This Recipe

Pescado sudado — literally 'sweated fish' — is a beloved dish from Colombia's Pacific and Caribbean coasts, where fish is gently braised in a tomato, onion and pepper sauce until it's tender enough to fall off the bone. Traditionally cooked on the stovetop in a covered pot, this version adapts it for the oven, which makes it easier to manage at home while keeping the same slow, gentle cooking that defines the dish. The sauce is built from a proper Colombian sofrito — onion, tomato, bell pepper, garlic and scallion, cooked down until sweet and thick — with a generous handful of cilantro finishing it. Fish fillets or a whole small fish are nestled into the sauce and baked covered, so they essentially steam in the tomato mixture rather than drying out, which is exactly the gentle cooking 'sudado' describes. Served with white rice, patacones and avocado, this is real coastal Colombian comfort food — humble ingredients, unhurried cooking, and a sauce worth spooning over everything on the plate.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4white fish fillets(such as tilapia or corvina, about 170g each)
• 1 tspfine sea salt(divided)
• 1lime(juiced)
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(thinly sliced)
• 1red bell pepper(thinly sliced)
• 2tomatoes(diced)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 2scallions(sliced)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 0.5 cupfish or vegetable stock
• 0.25 cupchopped cilantro

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the fish

   Season fish fillets with half the salt and lime juice. Let sit 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.

2. 2

   Preheat and build the sauce

   Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Heat olive oil in an oven-safe skillet or baking dish over medium heat. Cook onion and red pepper until softened, about 6 minutes.

3. 3

   Add tomato and aromatics

   Stir in diced tomato, garlic, scallion and cumin. Cook 5-6 minutes until the tomato breaks down and the mixture smells fragrant.

4. 4

   Loosen the sauce

   Add stock and remaining salt, and simmer 3-4 minutes to combine.

5. 5

   Bake the fish

   Nestle fish fillets into the sauce, spooning sauce over the top. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake 15-18 minutes until the fish flakes easily and is opaque throughout.

   Keeping the dish covered is what makes this properly 'sudado' — it traps steam so the fish cooks gently in the sauce rather than drying out in direct oven heat.

6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Scatter cilantro over the top and serve hot with white rice and patacones.

Variations

• •

  Use a whole small fish instead of fillets for a more traditional presentation, extending the bake time to 25-30 minutes depending on size.

• •

  Add coconut milk to the sauce for a Pacific coast variation that leans into that region's coconut-forward cooking.

• •

  Include sliced carrots or potato in the sauce for a heartier, more complete one-dish meal.

Storage

Refrigerate in the sauce up to 2 days. Reheat gently covered on the stovetop or in a low oven with a splash of stock to keep the fish moist.

Frequently Asked Questions