Moqueca (Brazilian fish and prawn stew)
45 min · 43 g protein · 462 cals / serving
Brazil's sunniest stew: thick chunks of white fish and prawns marinated in lime and garlic, then layered with sweet peppers, tomatoes and onion and gently simmered in coconut milk until the fish flakes. A spoonful of red palm oil gives it its golden colour and a deep, almost buttery flavour, and a fistful of cilantro and green onion finishes it. Spoon it over white rice.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb pacific cod, halibut or other firm white fish, in 5 cm (2-inch) chunks
- 2/3 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, sliced into rings
- 1 large red bell pepper, in rings
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, in rings
- 4 medium tomatoes, in thick slices
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 small red chili pepper, sliced, or to taste
- 1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
- 2 tsp palm oil, red palm oil (dendê), or 2 tsp more olive oil
- 2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onions, sliced
To serve
- 2/3 cup white rice, long-grain white rice, cooked
Steps
- Toss the fish and prawns with the lime juice, garlic and half the salt and leave 15–20 minutes while you slice the vegetables.
- Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot (a clay pot if you have one) over medium heat. Cook half the onion and half the peppers for 4 minutes until just softening.
- Lay the fish on top in one layer, tuck in the prawns, then cover with the rest of the onion and peppers and the tomato slices. Sprinkle over the paprika, chilli and remaining salt and pour the coconut milk over everything.
- Cover and simmer gently, without stirring, for 12–15 minutes, until the fish flakes and the prawns are pink and opaque through (145°F). Drizzle over the palm oil, scatter with cilantro and green onion, shake the pot gently and simmer 1 minute more.
- Bring the pot to the table and serve over the rice, spooning plenty of the sauce over each bowl.
Good to know
Where do I find dendê (palm) oil?
Brazilian, West African and Latin grocers stock it. It gives the Bahian moqueca its colour and flavour, and a little goes a long way. Without it you get the Espírito Santo style, which uses olive oil and annatto; add 1/2 teaspoon more paprika for colour. It's about the same score.
Why not stir it?
Layering and gently shaking the pot keeps the fish in big, juicy chunks. Stirring breaks it into flakes.
What is traditionally served with it?
White rice, and in Bahia a soft fish-broth porridge called pirão and a sprinkle of toasted cassava flour (farofa).
Per
- Calories
- 71
- Protein
- (37%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (26%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (37%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 141 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1849 kcal goes into the pot and 2781 g of ingredients comes out as about 2600 g of food: 71 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.