Sometimes, the swing and a miss is heavily foreshadowed. I’ve had this recipe on my “to do” list for a while and kept putting it off because it honestly didn’t excite me a whole lot. Tilapia is a fickle fish that way. I have found I enjoy it best when it is heavily seasoned or pan fried. But in a soup? I was skeptical.

So why move forward with a dish I wasn’t very excited about? In my early research, I didn’t find many options for dishes in Zambia that weren’t very similar, if not identical, to African dishes I’d already made. Secondly, sometimes I’ve been surprised by how much I enjoyed a dish.

I’d love to give you that perfect fairytale ending that I was pleasantly surprised and loved this dish. This dish had a little bit of spice thanks to fresh ginger and chili pepper, but this mix of fish, cabbage, tomato, and onion left me unsatisfied. Let’s just put it this way…after we ate some of it, Matt asked if I’d be offended if we had a PB&J. So yeah…this was a big miss in my book. But it marks country #70 in 15 short months so I’ll take that win!

Recipe can be found here: http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/zambias-spiced-tilapia-stew/

Overall Level of Effort: 1

Skill Level: Beginner

Would Make It Again? No

Additional Notes: It’s colorful, right? I used red cabbage instead of the Napa cabbage the recipe called for because that was what I could find in the store.