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Soup season · Santiago, Chile
The best bowl in Santiago: Conger eel soup
Conger (a white, meaty fish) poached in a broth of onion, tomato, potato, white wine and a little cream.
Pablo Neruda wrote a whole poem, 'Ode to Conger Chowder', with the recipe in it. Santiago eats it in the old iron fish market, at the counters that have been there since the 1870s.
Donde Augusto
Mercado Central, San Pablo 967, Santiago
Get: The caldillo de congrio and a glass of Chilean white
Un caldillo de congrio, por favor.A conger soup, please.
The biggest of the Mercado Central's seafood restaurants, under the market's 1872 iron roof; the caldillo is made with conger from that morning's stalls.
Lunch only, until the market closes in the late afternoon.
Make it at home
Caldillo de congrio (Neruda's conger soup)
Neruda's ode tells you the method: make a broth from the fish head, then soften onion, garlic and tomato, add potatoes, then the fish just at the end, and a little cream 'like a rose'. Conger is hard to find outside Chile; monkfish or cod do the job.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) conger, monkfish or thick cod fillets, in 4 pieces, plus the head and bones if you can get them
- 6 cups (1.4 l) water
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
How to make it
- Simmer the fish head and bones (or 6 cups fish stock) in the water with the bay leaf and 1 tsp salt for 25 minutes. Strain and keep the broth.
- Season the fish pieces with the rest of the salt.
- In a wide pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot and pepper 10 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, paprika and oregano for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer 2 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and the hot broth. Simmer 15 minutes until the potatoes are just tender.
- Slide in the fish, lower the heat and poach 6-8 minutes without stirring, until it's opaque and flakes.
- Pour the cream over and swirl the pot gently. Taste for salt, scatter with cilantro and serve straight from the pot.
Pans and tools
- Wide pot with a lid
- fine sieve
Chef's tips
- Ask the fishmonger for heads and frames; they're often free.
- Shake the pot rather than stirring once the fish is in.
- A Chilean sauvignon blanc goes in the pot and in the glass.
Four more bowls in Santiago
Chilean cazuela
A big bowl of clear broth with a piece of beef on the bone, a potato, a wedge of squash and a chunk of corn on the cob.
Liguria · Av. Providencia 1373, Providencia, Santiago
Get: Cazuela, a pisco sour, and whatever's on the chalkboard
Una cazuela de vacuno, por favor.A beef cazuela, please.
A noisy, much-loved bar-restaurant serving Chilean home cooking; there's often a wait.
Cazuela isn't on every day; ask.
Make it at home: Cazuela de vacuno
Chile's national soup: every bowl gets one of everything, whole, not cut up.
You need
- 4 pieces beef short rib or osobuco (about 2 lb / 900 g)
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 1 onion, chopped, 1 carrot, in sticks, 1 red bell pepper, in strips
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled
- 4 large wedges calabaza or butternut squash
- 2 ears of corn, halved
- 1/2 cup (60 g) green beans
- 1/4 cup (50 g) rice
- 2 tsp salt
- Chopped cilantro or parsley
How to make it
- Brown the beef in a little oil, add the onion, carrot, pepper, garlic and spices, and cook 5 minutes.
- Add the water and salt and simmer 1 hour, skimming.
- Add the potatoes and squash and simmer 15 minutes, then the corn, beans and rice for 15 minutes more.
- Serve each bowl with one piece of beef, a potato, a wedge of squash and a piece of corn, topped with cilantro.
Chef's tips
- Some cooks add a beaten egg in threads at the end.
Shellfish soup
Clams, mussels, piures, fish and shrimp in a garlicky wine broth, brought to the table bubbling in a clay bowl.
The small marisquerías of Mercado Central
Get: Paila marina, and a glass of white
Una paila marina, por favor.A shellfish soup, please.
Skip the touts at the big central restaurants: the small counters around the edge of the hall are where locals eat the same soup for less.
Lunch; the market closes in the late afternoon.
Make it at home: Paila marina
Chile's great hangover soup. Use the freshest mix of shellfish you can find.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) clams, scrubbed
- 1 lb (450 g) mussels, scrubbed
- 1/2 lb (225 g) shrimp, peeled
- 1/2 lb (225 g) firm white fish, in chunks
- 1/4 lb (115 g) squid, in rings
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tsp merkén or smoked paprika
- 1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
- 4 cups (950 ml) fish stock
- 1 tsp salt
- Chopped cilantro and lemon
How to make it
- In the oil cook the onion, garlic and pepper 8 minutes. Add the merkén.
- Add the wine and boil 2 minutes, then the stock, and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the clams and mussels, cover, and cook until they open, about 4 minutes.
- Add the fish, shrimp and squid and simmer 3 minutes. Season.
- Serve in hot bowls with cilantro and lemon.
Chef's tips
- Throw away any shells that stay shut.
Bean and noodle stew
Beans stewed with squash and long spaghetti 'reins', the cheap, filling winter lunch of Santiago's markets.
The cocinerías of La Vega Central
Get: Porotos con riendas with a spoon of pebre
Unos porotos con riendas, por favor.Beans with noodles, please.
Santiago's big produce market; the small kitchens upstairs and along the edges feed market workers set lunches.
Mostly a winter dish; lunch.
Make it at home: Porotos con riendas
Chilean comfort: beans, squash and spaghetti, coloured red with paprika fried in oil.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) dried cranberry or pinto beans, soaked overnight
- 1/2 lb (225 g) calabaza or butternut squash, grated
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp sweet paprika (color)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 oz (85 g) spaghetti, broken in thirds
- 2 tsp salt
- Pebre (chopped tomato, onion, cilantro, chile, vinegar) or merkén, to serve
How to make it
- Drain the beans, cover with fresh water by 2 in (5 cm) and simmer 1 hour, until nearly tender.
- Add the grated squash; it melts and thickens the pot.
- Cook the onion and garlic in the oil 8 minutes, then stir in the paprika and oregano and add to the beans.
- Add the spaghetti and simmer 12 minutes, adding water if it gets too thick. Season.
- Serve with pebre.
Chef's tips
- Don't salt the beans until they're soft.
Miso ramen
A Japanese-run ramen counter in the old center, with miso and shoyu bowls.
Ramen Kintaro · Monjitas 460, Santiago
Get: The miso ramen
Un ramen de miso, por favor.A miso ramen, please.
One of the first ramen shops in Santiago, and still the one locals name for an honest bowl.
Make it at home: Sapporo-style miso ramen
In Sapporo they stir-fry the pork, garlic and vegetables in a wok, then pour the broth into the same wok.
You need
- Miso paste: 1/3 cup (90 g) red miso, 2 tbsp white miso, 1 tbsp tahini, 1 tbsp soy, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chile bean paste (doubanjiang), 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, 1 tsp sesame oil
- 8 oz (225 g) ground pork
- 2 cups (200 g) bean sprouts, 1 cup (150 g) shredded cabbage
- 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) chicken stock
- 4 portions curly ramen noodles
- Toppings: corn, butter, scallions, soft-boiled eggs, nori
How to make it
- Mix the miso paste ingredients.
- Heat the oils in a wok and stir-fry the pork 3 minutes until browned. Add the sprouts and cabbage for 1 minute.
- Stir in the miso paste for 30 seconds, then the stock. Bring to a simmer (don't boil hard once the miso is in).
- Cook the noodles, drain and divide between bowls. Pour over the broth and vegetables and top with corn, a knob of butter, scallions and egg.
Chef's tips
- For tan tan, add 2 tbsp chile oil and a little more sesame paste.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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