Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)
Published March 22, 2016
Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE FAROFA (OPTIONAL)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 ½ cups manioc or cassava meal, available online and in some specialty food shops
FOR THE STEW
1 ¾ pounds black sea bass, filleted, trimmings reserved
12 ounces large shrimp, peeled, shells reserved
Salt
2 bay leaves
1 small white turnip, peeled and diced
3 medium onions
4 large plum tomatoes
6 ounces shishito peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic
⅓ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped chives
1 green plantain
½ red bell pepper, cut in rings
2 green Cubanelle peppers, green frying peppers or 1 small green bell pepper, cut in rings
10 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
4 tablespoons dendê oil, or red palm oil, available online
6 ounces cooked octopus tentacles, cut in thick slices, or raw squid in thin rings
1 long red chile pepper, for garnish
½ cup long grain rice, steamed
Piri-piri or other hot sauce, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
67 grams carbs; 237 milligrams cholesterol; 725 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 33 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 1343 milligrams sodium; 45 grams protein; 15 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the farofa if desired: Melt butter in a skillet or shallow saucepan on medium heat. Add sliced onion, and cook, stirring, until it turns light brown. Stir in manioc and cook, stirring, 5 to 8 minutes, until it starts to toast. Cover and keep warm.
- Step 2
Make the fish broth: Cut each bass fillet in 4 or 5 pieces, cover and refrigerate. Place trimmings in a 3-quart stovetop casserole, preferably an earthenware pot. Lightly salt shrimp, cover and refrigerate. Place shells in the pot. Add 5 cups water; the bay leaves; the turnip; 2 onions, chopped; 2 tomatoes, chopped; half the shishito peppers; the garlic; and half the cilantro and chives. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
- Step 3
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut a slit in the skin of the plantain, wrap in foil and bake 20 minutes, until flesh is tender. Cool.
- Step 4
Strain broth into a bowl, pressing on the solids. Discard solids and return broth to pot. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 ½ cups.
- Step 5
Slice remaining tomatoes and remaining onion ¼ inch thick and add to pot. Add bell peppers, Cubanelle peppers, remaining shishito peppers, remaining chives and all but 1 tablespoon remaining cilantro. Bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
- Step 6
Peel plantain and slice it ½ inch thick. Add to pot. Add coconut milk and dende oil. Add fish and octopus, if using, and simmer 5 minutes. Rinse and dry shrimp and squid, if using, and add to pot. Simmer 3 minutes. Check seasonings. Strew remaining cilantro on top, garnish with a red chile and serve over rice directly from the pot, with farofa and piri-piri on the side.
Private Notes
Comments
You are describing the variety of this dish known as moqueca baiana. The state where I live, Espírito Santo makes their own version of this dish, but with olive oil instead of palm oil. I like it much better as the taste is lighter and fresher. They also do not make farofa with it, but make a creamy sort of gravy with manioc called pirão.
Also, it is usually cooked in an earthenware pot.
You can buy Certified Fair Trade red palm oil from sources that don't destroy rainforest to produce it. I believe Whole Foods and a few other places carry them. It does have some nutritional benefits as a fat and it has a unique flavor. Red palm oil is cold pressed and is not the industrially refined stuff used in mass-market confectionery.
Plantains can be cooked easily in the microwave.
Very nice. Did not have dende oil. Did not miss it.
I make a very easy, simple verison of this that is delish! I marinate cod (or other white fish) in lime juice, lots of fresh garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and cilantro while the rest of the ingredients are prepared. Saute thinly sliced green/red/orange peppers with thinly sliced onions in olive oil with salt/pepper/paprika. Layer the sauted veggies with marinated fish (and optionally chopped tomatoes) in a large pot. Pour coconut milk (unsweetened) over everything and simmer for 15 minutes. YUM
We made a large batch of this the first time, and we are making a lot larger batch this time. Shrimp, grouper, squid, and for fun, cooked mussels. Rather tan strain anything, we used an immersion blender to mix the initial peppers, cilantro, onion, turnip and garlic into a relatively smooth mixture before adding the seafood, sliced tomato, coconut milk, diced onion, and bell peppers. We served it over rice and refrigerated the leftovers. It is wonderful.