One major perk to traveling is coming home with an arsenal of new ideas and inspiration for the kitchen. I left Brazil with a crazy amount of concepts swimming around in my head, and I’ve shared a variety of them in the past month like Brigadeiro, Pão de Queijo, Pesto Broccoli and Caipirinhas.
Today I’m sharing my all time FAVORITE Brazilian inspired recipe… Moqueca!!
Moqueca is a Brazilian fish stew made with various kinds of seafood, coconut milk, tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh cilantro and palm oil (sometimes referred to as dendê oil). I first sampled this dish in Bahia which is where it’s originally from. You can now find it all over Brazil, but the various stews I tried while in Salvador de Bahia were truly incredible – especially at Villa Bahia.
Palm oil, which gives this dish it’s beautiful color and is naturally reddish as it’s high in beta-carotene, is essential for making Moqueca! You can find it at Whole Foods or on Amazon.
I opted to use mahi mahi and shrimp for my version of Moqueca 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!!
Moqueca
Ingredients
For the Fish
- 1 1/2 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 palm oil melted
For the Stew
- 2 tablespoons palm oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 onion finely sliced
- 1 cups bell peppers finely sliced
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup fish stock vegetable stock works too
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 lime
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 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 palm 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, melt the palm oil over medium high heat. Add the 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 is one big beautiful soup! This is a must try! I will most definitely load the soup up with cilantro and lime juice! Yum!
This turned out so gorgeous. As if I wasn’t already lusting after the whole trip experience, now I’m wishing we were simply neighbors so that I could come taste the flavors of Brazil as you recreate them.
I’m drooling. This looks amazing!!
Fabulous! And it doesn’t even appear to be that complicated!!!
My husband looooves fish stews! Pinned and definitlely will be making!!
This looks amazing, my kind of food for sure. Just pinned. Will be making soon, great tip about the oil.
This looks so incredibly delicious I cannot even handle it Gaby! I will be making this very, very soon!
I’m loving all the recipes from your Brazil trip! This looks and sounds so good!
I made this last night and it turned out delicious! I substituted cod for the halibut, and coconut oil + paprika for the palm oil. It did take me about 1 hour from beginning to end probably because I had to stop and read the recipe many times- I am sure next time- it will be closer to 30 minutes.Thank you for the great recipe! 🙂
This looks so beautiful! I love the vibrant colors in the dish and it just pops!!
This looks fabulous! Looking forward to trying it.
Gaby, this looks so amazing….and easy! Thanks for sharing your food finds with us!
Gah! I need this in my mouth! I also need to go to Brazil!
Wow, I love the perks we get from your trip to Brazil! This looks incredible Gaby! I’m putting it on our menu for next week right now. Thanks for sharing this 🙂
Wow, what a gorgeous dish Gaby! Brazil looked like a dream!!
This looks amazing Gaby! I’ve been looking for a good recipe for Brazilian Fish Stew so this is timely! Pinned!
How gorgeous is this?! Oh my, I NEED to make this!!
thanks for posting! i made this and it had such delicious flavor!
Wow this looks amazing!!! I love your recipes Gaby they’re always so original!
I made this and it was SO good! I substituted chilli infused olive oil for the palm oil and used sea bream as it was on offer in my favourite supermarket. I will find palm oil for next time I make it, I didn’t have time to call in the shop I know often has it. Thank you for another great recipe!
wow, I am amazed by how wonderfully you described this dish and it looks fantastic !
I can truly say these truthfully since I was born and raised in Bahia. Great job Gaby.
I made this for supper tonight and it’s a hit! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m making this dish for Spanish class, really hoping it turns out good.
How many people will this recipe serve?
I made this for my wife on Valentines day and we loved it. You may want to add a baguette to sop up the delicious sauce. Mahi Mahi wasn’t available so I substituted Silver Corvino (sp?). We recently went to a fancy Brazilian restaurant and I ordered their Moqueca; it was not as good as this recipe.
How many servings is this?
4-6 people!
I’ve been making this dish for a while and wanted to check to see if there were any cool recipes on the internet and guess whose recipe came up as the third google? YOURS! Glad to see your site has been so successful! Can’t wait to try it.
Brad!! Thank you! Hope you like my version! 🙂
What kind of a salad can I serve with this dish? Thanks!
something like this would be fun https://whatsgabycooking.com/tropical-avocado-salad/
Thank you! I am making the stew and this salad tomorrow night. Can’t wait to try it!!!!
Made this for a large group for dinner last night (I tripled the recipe). It was delish and got rave reviews. I will definitely make again.
yay!! so glad you guys enjoyed it!
I’ve made this several times with all kinds of different seafood. Its beyond awesome, I can’t get enough of it. I always use 2 or three times the recommended ingredients and 6 or more lb.’s of seafood, White fish, scallops, & shrimp are my favorite. Oh and a dash of hot sauce for some heat. I love this, Thank you!
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
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
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!