What is the difference between Veracruz and Sinaloa caldo de mariscos?

The Veracruz version is lighter and clearer: fish broth with tomato, epazote and mild dried chillies, with emphasis on fresh prawn and fish. The Sinaloa version is thicker and redder: it carries intense chile guajillo and ancho, head-on prawn, clam, octopus and sometimes chile chipotle. Both are festive and served on Sundays, but the Sinaloa one tends to be spicier and more aromatic, while the Veracruz one is subtler.

What does caldo de mariscos taste like?

It tastes deeply of the sea, with sweet notes from the slowly cooked prawn, salty notes from the fresh fish and umami from the clams. The tomato and chile guajillo broth provides acidity and colour; the epazote or coriander adds herbal freshness. When it contains chile chipotle, there is smokiness. The lime at serving heightens the marine flavours. It is robust, complex, festive, far from the subtle profile of a fish consommé.

How is caldo de mariscos served?

It is served very hot in a large deep bowl with the whole pieces of seafood visible — head-on prawn, clam in shell, octopus in pieces, fish fillet. It is accompanied with lime, chopped white onion, chile serrano or chiltepín, coriander and warm tortillas or tostadas. In Sinaloa it is customary to serve it with crackers. It is a one-dish main meal, especially on Sundays or post-party as a restorative.

Where does caldo de mariscos originate from?

It comes from the Mexican coasts, with two main focal points: Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and Sinaloa-Nayarit on the Pacific. It inherits pre-Hispanic techniques of fish and shellfish broths described by Sahagún in the 16th century, fused with Spanish bouillabaisse and calderetas. By the 19th century it was already a typical dish of ports such as Veracruz and Mazatlán. Today it appears on all the Mexican coasts.

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Caldo de mariscos: the coastal soup with prawns, fish and epazote

What is it?

Caldo de mariscos is a Mexican coastal soup with deep roots in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific, especially in Veracruz, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Sonora and Guerrero. Its base is a fish or dried prawn broth flavoured with roasted tomato, chile guajillo, garlic, onion and epazote or coriander. On top of this base, varied pieces of seafood are cooked: head-on prawns, fish fillets, clams, octopus, mussels, snails and chunks of fresh fish. It is a Sunday main dish in coastal restaurants, seafood houses and beachside palapas. It is served with lime, hot sauce or chiltepín, chopped onion, coriander and warm tortillas or tostadas. Larousse Cocina and México en mi Cocina document it as one of the most rewarding and festive broths of Mexican maritime cuisine, comparable to the menudo of the north for its Sunday character. There are regional variants with very different personalities depending on the coastline.

Origin and history

Caldo de mariscos in Mexico is a continuation of pre-Hispanic traditions of harvesting marine resources combined with colonial techniques. Before the conquest, coastal peoples — Totonacs, Huastecs, Totorames, Yaquis — already consumed broths of fish and shellfish boiled with epazote, tomato and chilli, according to testimonies gathered by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún in his Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva España (16th century). With the arrival of the Spanish, Mediterranean techniques of bouillabaisse and caldereta were added, along with dried prawns as an interchangeable ingredient when fresh ones were scarce. By the 19th century, caldo de mariscos was already a typical dish of the ports of Veracruz (Veracruz, Tuxpan, Alvarado) and the Mexican Pacific (Mazatlán, Manzanillo, San Blas). Cardamomo News documents two main strands: the Sinaloa version, reddish, thick, with chile guajillo and ancho, and the Veracruz version, lighter, with tomato, epazote and mild dried chillies. The Mexican fishing industry — which produces more than one and a half million tonnes annually according to Conapesca — sustains the abundance that allows caldo de mariscos to be an everyday dish in coastal areas.

Characteristic ingredients

The base is fish broth or dried prawn broth: the prawn heads and shells are lightly toasted and boiled with onion, garlic, bay leaf and coriander for 20 to 30 minutes, then strained. On top of this broth the soup is built: chile guajillo hydrated and blended with roasted tomato, garlic and onion gives it the characteristic red colour. Chile ancho adds sweetness; chipotle, smokiness in modern versions. The seafood is added according to cooking time: octopus and snail cooked beforehand; clams and mussels first (until they open); fish and prawns at the end (3-5 minutes) so as not to overcook. Epazote or coriander perfume the broth. Some versions include potato and carrot; others leek. Regional variants: the 'siete mares' broth from Sinaloa carries seven types of seafood; the Veracruz chilpachole is thicker and is served with crab; the Nayarit caldo de mariscos uses dried prawns and is cooked with coriander. The classic accompaniment is lime, chopped white onion, chopped chile serrano or chiltepín, and tortillas or tostadas. In Sinaloa it is served with crackers, a legacy of the regional 'mariscada'.

Cultural significance

Caldo de mariscos is an emblematic dish of Mexican coastal cuisine and represents the economic livelihood of fishing communities of the Gulf and the Pacific. In Veracruz it appears in historic restaurants such as La Parroquia, Los Compadres and palapas of Boca del Río and Mandinga; in Sinaloa, in the seafood markets of Mazatlán and Culiacán and in seafood houses such as El Cangrejo Loco. The 2010 UNESCO declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine implicitly includes regional coastal cuisines as part of the corpus that sustains national diversity. The tourist industry of the ports — Mazatlán, Veracruz, San Blas, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco — sells caldo de mariscos as an essential gastronomic experience. It is also a Lenten and Vigil dish, especially important during Holy Week when meat is replaced. SAGARPA and Conapesca promote the national consumption of fish and seafood through the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Programme, and caldo de mariscos appears as a featured recipe in their campaigns. Chefs such as Aquiles Chávez, Gabriela Cámara and Lula Bertran have reinterpreted it in elegant menus.

Related recipes

Now that you know what it is, try cooking it at home with our step-by-step recipes:

Seafood Broth

Ingredients to cook it

Find where to buy authentic ingredients in Mexican shops in the US:

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Veracruz and Sinaloa caldo de mariscos?: The Veracruz version is lighter and clearer: fish broth with tomato, epazote and mild dried chillies, with emphasis on fresh prawn and fish. The Sinaloa version is thicker and redder: it carries intense chile guajillo and ancho, head-on prawn, clam, octopus and sometimes chile chipotle. Both are festive and served on Sundays, but the Sinaloa one tends to be spicier and more aromatic, while the Veracruz one is subtler.
What does caldo de mariscos taste like?: It tastes deeply of the sea, with sweet notes from the slowly cooked prawn, salty notes from the fresh fish and umami from the clams. The tomato and chile guajillo broth provides acidity and colour; the epazote or coriander adds herbal freshness. When it contains chile chipotle, there is smokiness. The lime at serving heightens the marine flavours. It is robust, complex, festive, far from the subtle profile of a fish consommé.
How is caldo de mariscos served?: It is served very hot in a large deep bowl with the whole pieces of seafood visible — head-on prawn, clam in shell, octopus in pieces, fish fillet. It is accompanied with lime, chopped white onion, chile serrano or chiltepín, coriander and warm tortillas or tostadas. In Sinaloa it is customary to serve it with crackers. It is a one-dish main meal, especially on Sundays or post-party as a restorative.
Where does caldo de mariscos originate from?: It comes from the Mexican coasts, with two main focal points: Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and Sinaloa-Nayarit on the Pacific. It inherits pre-Hispanic techniques of fish and shellfish broths described by Sahagún in the 16th century, fused with Spanish bouillabaisse and calderetas. By the 19th century it was already a typical dish of ports such as Veracruz and Mazatlán. Today it appears on all the Mexican coasts.