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Mojito en coco
Flaked fish in coconut sauce
Mojito en coco: flaked fish in coconut-milk sofrito, as cooked in Maracaibo
Around Lake Maracaibo, 'mojito' means not a cocktail but a home dish of poached fish flaked into a sofrito of peppers, onion and ají dulce and finished with coconut milk. Families serve it at weekday lunch with white rice and tostones. Any firm white fish works. The common mistake is leaving bones in the flakes. Chef's tip: flake the fish with your fingers rather than a fork, so you can feel and remove every pin bone.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 limehalved
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 red pepperfinely chopped
- 4 ají dulce (sweet chilli peppers)chopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 3 spring onionssliced
- 1 tomatochopped
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ oz fresh corianderchopped
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 1 ½ lb firm white fish fillets such as grouper, hake or cod, 1 bay leaf and half of ½ lime in a wide pan, cover with water and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, until the fish is opaque all through and flakes easily.
10 minStep 2: Lift out the fish, cool slightly and flake it with your fingers, removing skin and bones.
5 minStep 3: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil and fry 1 onion, 1 red pepper, 4 ají dulce (sweet chilli peppers), 3 cloves garlic and 3 spring onions for 8 minutes, until soft. Add 1 tomato, ½ tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp salt and cook for 3 minutes.
11 minStep 4: Pour in 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, simmer for 5 minutes, then fold in the fish and heat for 2–3 minutes. Squeeze over the rest of ½ lime and scatter with ½ oz fresh coriander.
8 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 34 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mojito en coco take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of lime?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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