Moqueca de Peixe
The Bahian stew of the African diaspora: thick white fish simmered in a terracotta pan with coconut milk, dendê palm oil, tomato, onion, and cilantro until the broth is a brilliant orange, perfumed with something entirely its own — tropical, rich, and gently fiery.
Ingredients
For 4 servings · tick what is ready
Use the scaled ingredient list. Steps and temperatures stay unchanged; use a larger pan or dish if needed. Seasonings to taste stay to taste.
How to make it
Cut the fish fillets into large portions (approximately 150 g each). In a bowl, combine with the lime juice, half the garlic, and salt. Toss gently to coat. Marinate for 20–30 minutes in the refrigerator. The lime juice will begin to denature the surface proteins, giving the fish a slightly opaque look and a more flavourful surface.
In a heavy clay pot (ideal) or wide, heavy-bottomed pan, pour the dendê oil. Layer the onion rounds across the base, then the tomato rounds, then the pepper strips, then the chilli. This layered approach is traditional — the vegetables cook in sequence from the heat of the oil below.
Lay the marinated fish pieces on top of the layered vegetables. Pour the coconut milk over everything — it should nearly submerge the fish. Cover tightly and cook over medium heat for 15–20 minutes, without stirring, until the fish is just cooked through and the coconut milk has combined with the vegetable juices and palm oil to create a brilliant orange-red broth. Add most of the coriander in the final 2 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
About this recipe
By ForkRecipe Kitchen · Source: ForkRecipe / FoodML and contributors. Recipe content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Serving count is an estimate; check quantities in the source recipe.