Moqueca Brazilian Fish Stew Recipes

MOQUECA BAIANA (BRAZILIAN SEAFOOD STEW)

Steps:

• Place crabmeat and shrimp in a dish; coat with lemon juice, lime juice, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap; chill until ready to use.
• Combine rice, 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, coconut milk, chopped onion, butter, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 clove garlic in a large saucepan or rice cooker. Simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
• Heat dende oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir sliced onion until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add yellow bell pepper, orange bell pepper, and crushed pepper. Cook and stir until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sliced tomatoes, chopped tomato, and green onions. Reduce heat to low; let vegetable mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and cilantro.
• Transfer 1/2 the vegetable mixture to a plate. Spread the remaining mixture to evenly cover the bottom of the skillet. Spread crab-shrimp mixture on top. Top with the remaining vegetable mixture and pour on coconut milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Cook without stirring until flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Serve over the rice.

MOQUECA (BRAZILIAN FISH STEW)

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Strain broth into a bowl, pressing on the solids. Discard solids and return broth to pot. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups.
• Slice remaining tomatoes and remaining onion 1/4 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.
• Peel plantain and slice it 1/2 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.

BRAZILIAN FISH STEW (MOQUECA CAPIXABA)

Steps:

• Pat fish fillets dry and put in a bowl. Stir together lime juice, malagueta peppers, 1 tablespoon garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, then pour over fish and toss to combine. Marinate, covered and chilled, 30 minutes. Add shrimp and chill at least 30 minutes but no longer than 1 1/2 hours more.
• Put tomatoes in bottom of a wide 5- to 6-quart heavy pot. Top with onion and remaining tablespoon garlic, then sprinkle with bell peppers. Place plantains on top of vegetables. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Arrange fish in 1 layer on top of plantain. Sprinkle cilantro and parsley over fish, then arrange shrimp in 1 layer over herbs, reserving marinade. Pour oil and marinade evenly over mixture in pot.
• Bring to a simmer, then cover pot. Adjust heat to gently simmer until vegetables are softened and have released liquid and fish is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Serve stew over soft manioc polenta .

MOQUECA BAIANA (BRAZILIAN FISH STEW)

Steps:

• Place fish and shrimp in a large bowl. Season with the lime juice, salt and pepper. Reserve in the fridge.
• In a large clay pot (or dutch oven), heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and chopped chili pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Arrange half of the tomato slices on the bottom of the pot. Then add a layer of half the bell peppers, half the sliced onions, half of the fish, half of the shrimp and 1/3 of the cilantro. Season gently with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Repeat the layering with all the ingredients, making sure to season again at the end. Reserve 1/3 of the cilantro for garnishing before serving.
• Pour the coconut milk, add the dendê oil and the crumbled bouillon, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then cover, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until the onions are tender and the fish and shrimp are cooked through. Be careful not to overcook it, as you don't want the fish to fall apart. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more dendê oil, if desired.
• Garnish with the reserved cilantro and serve with white rice.

MOQUECA (BRAZILIAN SEAFOOD STEW)

Steps:

• Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut along the length of each prawn deep enough to expose and remove the vein. Place the fish chunks in a large bowl and season with 1 teaspoon salt. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and toss to coat. Set the prawns and fish aside while preparing the sauce.
• In a large, shallow Dutch oven or large, deep skillet, melt 2 tablespoons dendê oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, 1 minute. Add the onion, stir and cook, stirring until translucent, about 2 minutes.
• Increase the heat to high, add the peppers, tomatoes and chile. Season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the peppers are softened and any liquid from the tomatoes is beginning to evaporate, 4 minutes.
• Pour in the coconut milk, stir and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens and reduces to a creamy sauce, about 10 minutes. Taste, adjust the salt, if necessary, and stir in 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro.
• Carefully place the prawns in the sauce in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the prawns to cook the other sides and add the cod. (Discard any juices in the bowl.) The fish will be partly submerged. Cook until the fish is tender and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat, drizzle in the remaining 1 tablespoon dendê oil and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro. Slice the remaining lime into wedges. Serve immediately, with steamed rice and lime wedges for squeezing.

BRAZILIAN FISH STEW - MOQUECA

Steps:

• Rinse and pat dry the fish and cut into 2 inch peices. Place in a bowl. Add salt, zest from half the lime and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Massage lightly to coat all pieces well. Set aside.
• In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and salt, and sauté 2-3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, add carrot, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno and cook 4-5 more minutes. Add tomato paste, spices and stock. Mix and bring to a simmer and add tomatoes. Cover and simmer gently on medium low for 5 mintues or until carrots are tender.
• Add the coconut milk and taste and add more salt if necessary.
• Nestle the fish in the stew and simmer gently until it's cooked through, about 4-6 minutes. Spoon the flavorful coconut broth over the fish and cook until desired doneness or longer for thicker pieces. ( You can also finish this in a 350F oven).
• Taste and adjust salt and squeeze with lime.
• To serve, serve over rice, sprinkle with cilantro or scallions and a squeeze of lime.
• Drizzle with a little olive oil if you like.

MOQUECA (BRAZILIAN FISH STEW)

Steps:

• Combine sea bass fillets, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Heat palm oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, cilantro, green onions, parsley, and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add marinated sea bass and coconut milk. Reduce heat to low; cook for 12 minutes. Add shrimp. Continue cooking until sea bass flakes easily with a fork and shrimp is opaque, about 3 minutes more.

BRAZILIAN SHRIMP AND FISH STEW (MOQUECA)

Steps:

• Note from the test kitchen Pickled hot cherry peppers are usually sold jarred, next to the pickles or jarred roasted red peppers at the supermarket. Haddock or other firm-fleshed, flaky whitefish may be substituted for cod. We prefer untreated shrimp, but if your shrimp are treated with sodium, do not add salt to the shrimp in step 2. Our favorite coconut milk is made by Aroy-D. Serve with steamed white rice.
• 1. FOR THE PEPPER SAUCE: Process all ingredients in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Season with salt to taste and transfer to separate bowl. Rinse out processor bowl.
• 2. FOR THE STEW: Toss shrimp and cod with garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Set aside.
• 3. Process onion, tomatoes and their juice, and ¼ cup cilantro in food processor until finely chopped and mixture has texture of pureed salsa, about 30 seconds.
• 4. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add red and green bell peppers and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add onion-tomato mixture and ½ teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until puree has reduced and thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes (pot should not be dry).
• 5. Increase heat to high, stir in coconut milk, and bring to boil (mixture should be bubbling across entire surface). Add seafood mixture and lime juice and stir to evenly distribute seafood, making sure all pieces are submerged in liquid. Cover pot and remove from heat. Let stand until shrimp and cod are opaque and just cooked through, 15 minutes.
• 6. Gently stir in 2 tablespoons pepper sauce and remaining ½ cup cilantro, being careful not to break up cod too much. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing remaining pepper sauce separately.