Rockfish Stew
Rockfish Stew is a rich, savory dwarven dish made from coastal rockfish, tunnelroot vegetables, and a thick, stony broth flavored with smoked seaweed and fermented rootstock. While most Dwarves live beneath the mountains, coastal clans and trading strongholds like Stonepan Hall and Brineholdt developed this stew to bring the taste of the crashing surf to the deepest tunnels.
Meant to be eaten with a chunk of stonebread or spooned with a piece of driftbone flatware, it’s a meal that smells of salt, ash, and long journeys.
“A stew as deep as the sea and thick as cavefog.”
Manufacturing process
Instructions
- Sear the Fish (Optional)
If using skin-on fish, lightly sear skin-side down in a hot pan with cave oil to crisp it. Set aside. This adds depth and texture, but you can also stew the fish raw. - Build the Base
In a large stewpot, heat oil. Sauté ash-onion and ash-garlic until soft. Add emberroot and stone potatoes. Cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring. - Deglaze & Simmer
Add root-mash paste, kelp, and black salt. Pour in water or stock. Bring to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes until roots are tender. - Add the Fish
Gently submerge fish pieces into the stew. Simmer another 10 minutes, or until fish is flaky and infused with the broth. Stir very gently to avoid breaking the fillets. - Finish
Adjust seasoning with emberpepper and salt. If desired, swirl in a spoon of cave cream or stone ale just before serving. - Serve
Ladle into stoneware bowls. Top with chives or mushroom flakes. Eat with a wedge of stonebread, or pour it over Tunnelgrain Noodles for a feast-worthy meal.
"Yer spoon's standing upright? Well, seems ye cooked it right."
Significance
Cultural Notes
- Feast of Tides: Served during the Moonpull, a dwarven coastal festival marking safe shipping tides.
- Sacrament of the Deep: The Chef-Priests of the Brineholdt use it in memorial rites for lost sailors.
- Myth: Some dwarves say the best stew is made using water boiled over volcanic vents that “remember the ocean.”
Item type
Consumable, Food / Drink
Raw materials & Components
Ingredients (Serves 4–6)
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) rockfish fillets (or firm white fish: cod, hake, monkfish), skin on if possible
- 2 tbsp cave oil or smoked lard
- 1 large ash-onion, chopped
- 2 cloves ash-garlic, minced
- 2 medium emberroot (carrot or turnip equivalent), diced
- 2 stone potatoes or starchy tubers, cubed
- 1 tbsp root-mash paste or fermented rootstock (sub: miso + tamarind)
- 1 tbsp crushed kelp flakes or dried seaweed
- 1 tsp black salt
- ½ tsp emberpepper (optional)
- 1.5 liters mineral water or fish stock
- Optional: a splash of stone ale or vinegar to deglaze
- Garnish: chopped scorched chives, smoked mushroom flakes, or a drizzle of cave cream
Other than the mushroom flakes (allergy I would need to avoid) this actually sounds scrumptious and most definitely fantastic. And oooh Gord makes another appearance, this one approving, if begrudingly. Someone has stepped up in that kitchen, excellent!
Ah, a pity, mushrooms are a Dwarven staple. Glad you like it all the same! And of course, he has made appearances across many of these recipe articles, as it is quite fun to include his opinions.