[3] A wide variety of Mediterranean fish and shellfish may be used, such as red gurnard,[3] armored gurnard,[3] scorpionfish (scorfano),[2] small clams such as littleneck or manila,[1] firm-fleshed fish such as monkfish or other whitefish, red snapper, John Dory, or grouper,[1][4] mussels,[1][4] shrimp,[1] and calamari.

[3] Crabs, eels, cuttlefish, octopus, bream, mullet, or anything else caught that day might be used.

[4] The dish is traditionally attributed to the Near East, which might be true, as the word cacciucco comes from the Turkish kaçukli ("bits and pieces" or "odds and ends"), which reflects how the stew is made, from a variety of fish.

Taste for seasoning; but in any case it is not a bad idea to add a little olive oil, since the amount of soffritto was quite small and served "on two separate platters: on one you place the fish... and on the other... finger-thick slices of bread to soak up all the broth.

[3][7][8] Cioppino, another fish stew, was created by Italian American fisherman in San Francisco, who used the local Dungeness crab in a variation of the cacciucco recipe.