Royal Seafood Soup

One of the gems of Moroccan cuisine is any dish made with seafood. This Royal Moroccan Seafood Soup, or Chorba Samak, is a soup that perfectly combines a medley of seafood with aromatics and warm spices. It's a comforting, flavorful soup that is fit for royalty but easy enough for anyone to prepare.

This soup is a hearty, savory dish featuring a variety of fresh seafood, with a mixture of traditional Moroccan spices, and cooked to perfection in a flavorful broth. The ultimate dish for a cozy gathering or a special occasion.

Growing up my mom only made 3 types of soup during Ramadan, harira, lentil soup, and chicha soup.

So I started to branch out, and great creative with soup options for iftar. One year I made a creamy mushroom soup (I'll add to the blog soon) and another year a potato leek soup (one of my favorites). This year it's this royal seafood soup that tastes like fish bastilla in a bowl.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Equipment
Storage
Top Tip
Pairing

Ingredients

You can find all these ingredients at your local grocery store, the seafood medley is usually in the frozen fish aisle and you can find the rice noodles and soy sauce in the Asian foods sections of your store.

Leeks
Mushrooms
Garlic
Ginger
Soy Sauce
Seafood: Shrimp, Calamari, Mussels, White Fish
Rice Noodles
Seafood Stock

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

This soup is very simple to put together, here are the steps:

Step 1: Sauté leeks and mushrooms and then add in calamari and seasoning.

Step 2: Add in broth and bring to a boil.

Step 3: Toss in rice noodles, shrimp, and mussels and add in a cornstarch slurry

Step 4: Serve with a garnish of herbs and a squeeze of lemon.

Substitutions

Although I used shrimp, calamari and mussels in the recipe you can mix it up and add whatever seafood you'd like. Some even add in chicken to this soup as well.

Equipment

You can use any large pot that has a lid, my favorite one to use is the perfect pot.

Storage

Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, if you plan on freezing the soup try to leave out the rice noodles and add them later when reheating the soup from frozen.

Top Tip

When using a cornstarch slurry to thicken a soup, patience is key. The soup will not get thick instantly, so continue to stir until you gradually start to see it thicken.

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this soup:

Print Recipe

Blog

Royal Seafood Soup

This Royal Seafood Soup is a luxurious and deeply flavorful soup that incorporates a medley of seafood and spices. This dish is not only a treat for the palate but a tribute to Morocco’s rich culinary heritage and the role that seafood plays in our coastal culture.

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yields: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

2tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 medium leek, cleaned and sliced thinly
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1tsp ground ginger
1 lb (450g) mixed seafood (calamari, shrimp, mussels, and white fish fillets)
6 cups seafood stock (optional)
1tbsp seafood seasoning or seafood bouillon
3tbsp soy sauce
4oz rice vermicelli noodles
10-12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2tbsp cornstarch
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Fresh lemon juice, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large pot, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped leeks and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms and minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.

2. Toss in your calamari and continue to mix. Add the ginger, seafood bouillon, or seasoning and black pepper. The spices will begin to release their aroma.

3. Pour in the fish stock (or water). Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.

4. While the broth is simmering, add the remaining fish/shrimp, soy sauce, and rice noodles. If using whole shrimp or fish, peel and devein as needed. Cut the fish fillets into bite-sized chunks.

5. Mix equal parts cornstarch and water, pour into the soup, and continue to stir until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Finish off with some chopped parsley and cilantro and serve.