Smoked Dried Fish substitute

Best substitute

Hot-Smoked Mackerel Fillets

Use One fillet, about 4 ounces, for every 4 ounces of dried smoked fish

Best for egusi soup

Different texture

The best supermarket match because it is genuinely smoked oily fish. Flake it off the skin and add it in the last 10 minutes; it is already moist and fully cooked, so a long simmer just dissolves it.

Other smoked dried fish substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Smoked Herring (Kippers) or Smoked Trout
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Both are widely stocked and both carry a strong, unmistakable smoke.
What changes
Smoked herring in particular is already a staple in Caribbean and West African cooking, so it sits naturally in these dishes.
Best for
egusi soup, stews, rice dishes, pepper sauces, shito
More assertive and oilier than most West African smoked fish, and kippers can be very salty, so rinse them briefly and use a little less than the recipe calls for. Taste the pot before adding salt.
3Dried Unsmoked Fish Plus Liquid Smoke
Close match
Use Same weight of dried fish, plus ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke for every pot
This is the most faithful reconstruction, because it keeps the two things that matter most, the concentrated savour and the firm chew, and adds back the only thing missing.
What changes
Use stockfish, panla or any plain dried fish.
Best for
egusi soup, ogbono soup, okra soup, bitterleaf soup, any soup where the chunk matters
Add the liquid smoke in drops and taste as you go. It is blunter than real wood smoke and turns acrid and ashtray-like very fast if you overshoot, and there is no way to take it back out.
4Ground Crayfish or Dried Shrimp
Taste and texture differ
Use 2 tablespoons ground for every litre of soup
Already in most of these recipes and the fastest way to carry the savoury weight of the pot.
What changes
It dissolves completely and seasons everything evenly.
Best for
all West African soups, stews, pepper sauces, vegetable dishes
Tastes sweeter and distinctly shellfish-like rather than smoky, and contributes nothing to chew. Perfectly good soup, but a version made this way smells of shrimp where the original smelled of a wood fire.
5Smoked Paprika Plus Fish Sauce
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 teaspoon smoked paprika plus 2 teaspoons fish sauce for every litre of soup
For when there is no fish in the house at all.
What changes
The paprika supplies smoke and the fish sauce supplies salty marine savour, which between them point the dish in the right direction.
Best for
emergency substitution, quick weeknight stews, seasoning a flat pot
Tastes noticeably simpler and slightly sweet from the paprika, and it reddens the soup, which matters if you wanted a green vegetable soup. Reduce the salt, because fish sauce is salty. No texture at all.
6Smoked Turkey or Smoked Ham Hock
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Common in Nigerian home cooking and in African American greens alike, and genuinely excellent for smoky depth.
What changes
Add it early with the meat so it has time to soften and flavour the stock.
Best for
egusi soup, greens and vegetable soups, stews, beans and porridges
This makes a meaty soup rather than a marine one, so the whole character shifts from sea-savoury to bacony. It also needs 30 to 45 minutes to become tender, unlike smoked fish which is ready when it hits the pot.

What is Smoked Dried Fish?

Smoked Dried Fish is Smoked dried fish, called azu in Igbo and sold as mangala, smoked mackerel, smoked catfish or smoked herring, is whole or chunked fish hot-smoked over wood until firm and dry, and it seasons the pot rather than being eaten as fish.

Cooking tips

Debone it before it goes in. Smoked fish is sold with skin, bones and often the head, so break it into chunks in your hands under warm running water and pull the spine and rib bones out, or you will be picking bones out of every spoonful.
A quick rinse in warm water removes dust and any bitterness clinging to the skin without washing out the smoke. Do not soak it, though, or you will rinse away the savour you paid for.
Match the timing to the form. Hard dried pieces go in early, 15 to 20 minutes, so they soften and season the broth. Soft supermarket smoked fillets go in during the last 10 minutes, or they melt away entirely.
Taste before you salt. Traditional dried smoked fish is often only lightly salted, but kippers, hot-smoked mackerel and smoked turkey all carry a lot of salt with them.
Store the packet in the freezer rather than the cupboard. Smoked dried fish is oily, and that oil goes rancid, plus the smoke aroma leaches into everything else on the shelf.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use canned tuna or sardines instead of smoked fish?

It is a weak swap and worth knowing why. Canned tuna and sardines bring oil, salt and mild fish flavour, but no smoke and none of the concentrated depth that comes from drying. Canned smoked oysters or smoked sardines are better, since at least the smoke is there. Drain them, add them at the very end, and lift the pot with ground crayfish or a little fish sauce as well.

Can I just leave smoked fish out?

Yes, and vegetarian versions of these soups exist and are good. But do not simply omit it and change nothing, because smoked fish is often the main source of savoury depth in the pot. Replace it with ground crayfish, dried shiitake and its soaking liquid, or a combination of smoked paprika and a savoury seasoning, or the soup will taste like vegetables in oil.

Is smoked fish the same as stockfish?

No. Stockfish, or okporoko, is air-dried without salt or smoke and is prized for a dense springy chew and a clean aged savour. Smoked dried fish is hot-smoked over wood, so it carries an obvious smoke aroma and flakes apart more readily. Many West African soups use both, precisely because they contribute different things.

Which supermarket fish is closest to Nigerian smoked fish?

Hot-smoked mackerel is the closest in flavour, and if you can find hard-smoked or dried smoked herring at a Caribbean shop it is closer still in texture. Avoid cold-smoked salmon, which is soft, delicate, expensive and disappears in a soup. The traditional fish are mackerel, catfish, herring and tilapia, so look for smoked oily fish rather than smoked white fish.

How much smoked fish goes into one pot of soup?

For a large family pot, roughly 4 to 8 ounces before deboning, which is not much once the skin and bones are gone. It is a seasoning as much as a protein. If you are also using stockfish and ground crayfish, stay at the lower end, because all three push in the same savoury direction and can crowd out the vegetables and palm oil.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Smoked Dried Fish substitute

Other smoked dried fish substitutes

2Smoked Herring (Kippers) or Smoked Trout

3Dried Unsmoked Fish Plus Liquid Smoke

4Ground Crayfish or Dried Shrimp

5Smoked Paprika Plus Fish Sauce

6Smoked Turkey or Smoked Ham Hock