Pulling one out of the archives today - this Moqueca, otherwise known as a Brazilian Fish Stew, has been on my mind with all these rainy cozy days we've been having in LA. It's one of my favorite recipes from my trip to Brazil 10 years ago!!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
Moqueca is a Brazilian fish stew made with various kinds of seafood, coconut milk, tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh cilantro and traditionally palm oil (sometimes referred to as dendê oil). While Palm Oil is an integral part of cooking in many parts of Brazil, it's also NOT great as the production of it is the cause of much deforestation in some of the world's most biodiverse forests. We've swapped it out in the recipe below but wanted to provide you with some context as to why.
I first sampled Moqueca in Bahia. It's one of my favorite parts of Brazil and the food, color, culture and music that exists there is beyond beautiful.
In my version of Moqueca, I opted to use mahi mahi and shrimp but you can easily sub in any kind of flaky white fish you prefer. Load it up with plenty of fresh cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice and you'll have an exotic meal that really takes less than 30 minutes to make!!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Mahi Mahi, or any other flaky white fish that you prefer
- Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Lime
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Palm Oil is traditional but I used Olive Oil with some extra Paprika for color
- Jasmine Rice
- Red pepper flakes
- Yellow Onion
- Bell Peppers, any color will do
- Chopped fresh tomatoes
- Fish or Vegetable Stock
- Coconut Milk
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
How to Make
For the Fish: Combine the Mahi Mahi, shrimp, lime juice and zest, garlic, ginger, olive oil and paprika in a large bowl. Toss everything together to combine and let the fish marinate for 20-30 minutes.
After marinating, drain the fish and shrimp of any excess liquid. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package directions. Once the rice is cooked, season with a little extra lime juice and zest, fluff and set aside.
For the Stew: in a large heavy dutch oven, melt the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the paprika, garlic, red pepper flakes, onions and bell peppers and sauté for 4-5 minutes until fragrant and the onions are softened. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat to medium and nestle the marinated Mahi Mahi and shrimp in the bottom of the dutch oven. Season the fish with salt and pepper and then add the fish stock and coconut milk to the pan. It should just about cover the fish and shrimp.
Bring the Moqueca stew to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes until the shrimp is cooked and the fish easily flakes apart. Taste and season with the juice of 1 lime, more if you'd like, and add the cilantro, basil and more salt if desired. Serve the stew over the jasmine rice.
Tips & Tricks
This recipe is super straight forward and works with with any number of flaky white fish varieties. No tips and tricks needed other than to really let the fish marinate for 30 minutes before adding it into the stew!
FAQ's
What is moqueca made of in Brazil?
Moqueca is made of fish or seafood, onions, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and traditionally palm oil.
How do you pronounce moqueca in English?
moh-keh-kah
Why is moqueca yellow?
Palm oil (Dende) is typically used in moqueca, which gives it a reddish yellow color. In this version, you'll find the palm oil is replaced with olive oil and red spices.
What is a substitute for Dende (Palm) oil?
Olive oil.
Similar Recipes
Moqueca
Ingredients
For the Fish
- 1 ½ pounds Mahi Mahi cut into large chunks
- 8 ounces shrimp peeled and de-viened
- 1 lime juiced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with 1 teaspoon of paprika
For the Stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil mixed with 2 teaspoons paprika
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 onion finely sliced or chopped
- 2 bell peppers finely sliced or chopped
- 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1 cup fish stock vegetable stock works too
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 lime
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1-2 cups jasmine rice
Instructions
For the Fish
- Combine the Mahi Mahi, shrimp, lime juice, garlic, ginger and olive oil in a large bowl. Toss everything together to combine and let the fish marinate for 20-30 minutes.
- After marinating, drain the fish and shrimp of any excess liquid. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package directions. Set aside once done.
For the Stew
- In a large heavy dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the paprika, garlic, red pepper flakes, onions and bell peppers and sauté for 4-5 minutes until fragrant and the onions are softened. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium and nestle the marinated Mahi Mahi and shrimp in the bottom of the dutch oven. Season the fish with salt and pepper and then add the fish stock and coconut milk to the pan. It should just about cover the fish and shrimp.
- Bring the stew to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes until the shrimp is cooked and the fish easily flakes apart. Taste and season with the juice of 1 lime, more if you'd like, and add the cilantro, basil and more salt if desired.
- Serve the stew over the jasmine rice.
This was SO good. We made some coconut rice with it using the leftover coconut milk.
Made this last night and me and my family LOVED it! Both kids and my husband. In fact, we loved it so much, that I made it, again, tonight.
My only addition was some fresh Thai chilies, because we love the spice, and I added an entire can of coconut milk just because I love coconut.
Thank you for sharing!
I made this lovely stew last week for my family - especially my son - who loves Mahi Mahi! It was quicker than I thought (though I'm sure the proper way is much longer). Thank you for inspiring me and teaching me about palm oil!
I’m making it tomorrow! However, unless it’s labeled sustainable, using palm oil destroys rainforests. Please consider another oil.
I totally hear you and was able to find a sustainable palm oil. You can use any oil - but the color will be slightly different. Recently I've been doing it with regular coconut oil
How crucial would it be to use the dendé oil for the moqueca?
Is it true moqueca is good for digestion?
you could use a different oil if you prefer but the color won't be the same