Moqueca baiana
Fish stew with coconut milk
Moqueca baiana: Salvador fish and prawn stew with coconut milk, dendê and peppers
Salvador's moqueca baiana is the richer, sunnier cousin of the capixaba one, and the contrast is worth knowing: where Espírito Santo uses only tomato, annatto and olive oil, Bahia adds coconut milk, sweet peppers and dendê, the orange-red palm oil that came to Bahia with enslaved West Africans and runs through its Afro-Brazilian cooking. The result is creamy, golden and fragrant with coriander. In Salvador it is a weekend lunch at the seafront restaurants and at home, served with white rice, a yellow farofa fried in dendê and pirão. Look for dendê (red palm oil) in Brazilian, African or Caribbean shops. Chef's tip: add the dendê near the end; its flavour is strong and fades with long cooking, so a little stirred in late goes much further.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the seafood
- 1 ⅓ lb firm white fish fillets (cod, hake, sea bass or monkfish)skinned, in 5 cm pieces
- 10 ½ oz raw king prawnspeeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 ½ tsp salt
For the stew
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onionsliced into rings
- 1 red peppersliced into rings
- 1 yellow peppersliced into rings
- 3 ripe tomatoessliced
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 3 tbsp dendê (red palm oil)
- ⅞ oz fresh corianderchopped
- 1 malagueta or other hot chilli (optional)finely chopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Toss the 1 ⅓ lb firm white fish fillets (cod, hake, sea bass or monkfish) and 10 ½ oz raw king prawns with the 2 tbsp lime juice, 3 cloves garlic and 1 ½ tsp salt and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes while you slice the vegetables.
15 minStep 2: Brush the base of a clay pot or wide, heavy casserole with the 1 tbsp olive oil. Lay in half the 1 onion, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper and 3 ripe tomatoes.
Step 3: Arrange the fish (not the prawns yet) on top, then cover with the rest of the onion, peppers and tomato and half the ½ oz fresh coriander.
Step 4: Pour the 1 ¾ cups coconut milk over evenly, cover and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat, about 8 minutes.
8 minStep 5: Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, swirling the pot now and then rather than stirring, so the fish stays in pieces. Common mistake: boiling hard once the coconut milk is in. It splits and turns grainy; keep it at a lazy bubble.
10 minStep 6: Tuck in the prawns and drizzle over the 3 tbsp dendê (red palm oil). Add the 1 malagueta or other hot chilli if you like heat. Cover and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the prawns are pink and opaque all through and the fish flakes easily and is opaque at the centre, 145°F/145 °F.
5 minStep 7: Scatter over the rest of the ½ oz fresh coriander, taste the broth for salt and serve from the pot with white rice and farofa.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 29 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does moqueca baiana 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 juice?
- Lemon juice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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