Caldou
“Saint-Louis fish stew — clear tomato-lime broth, chunks of grouper or capitaine, sharp with hot pepper, served with rice.”
Where it comes from
Saint-Louis fishing town on the Senegal River estuary, where the colonial city of Ndar met Lebou fishing culture. Caldou is the French phonetic of Portuguese «caldo» (broth), inherited via Cape Verdean fishermen. Documented in 1880s French colonial accounts.
On the plate
Pale-orange broth, almost translucent, you see the lime slices and chili rings. The fish is just-cooked through, flaky and clean. No tomato pulp, no oil slick — this is the anti-thieboudienne, light, sour, the broth meant to drink between bites.
How it works
Fish poaches in a sieved-thin tomato-onion-stock for 8 minutes only — overcooked and it goes from caldou to broken thieb. Lime juice goes in off the heat to preserve the bright acid. Hot pepper sliced fresh, never crushed, so the heat is gentle.
The default fish is Lethrinus (capitaine) caught off Langue de Barbarie. Restaurant La Linguère in Saint-Louis (open since 1968) serves it with the broth in a separate bowl. Yété (dried snail) is optional but a Saint-Louis cook will always add it.
Variations
Saint-Louis caldou (lime, no peanut), Casamance caldou which sneaks in palm oil, Mauritanian caldou with dried fish (guedj) for the riverbank version, and Dakar restaurant caldou which often over-tomatoes.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
4 steps · Show ↓7 min active · 42 min waiting
How it's made
4 steps · Show ↓- 130 min
Make clear fish stock: simmer fish bones + onion + lemon 30 min.
- 25 min
Strain; return to pot with chopped tomatoes; add 600 g cubed grouper.
- 312 min
Simmer 12 min with hot peppers + lime juice.
- 42 min
Serve with white rice.
