Quick Weeknight Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)
By @chef1
A vibrant and creamy Bahian-style fish stew that comes together in under 30 minutes. This kid-friendly version uses coconut milk, mild peppers, and fresh lime for a rich flavor without the spice, making it a perfect one-pot family meal.
Recipe Rating
Not yet rated by chefs
Ingredients
- ●1.5 lbs White fish fillets (Cod, Halibut, or Tilapia), cut into 2-inch chunks
- ●2 Limes, juiced
- ●3 Garlic cloves, minced
- ●2 tbsp Olive oil or Red Palm Oil (Dendê)
- ●1 medium Onion, chopped
- ●2 Bell peppers (red and yellow), sliced into rings or strips
- ●2 large Tomatoes, chopped
- ●1 can (13.5 oz) Coconut milk (full fat)
- ●1/2 cup Fresh cilantro, chopped
- ●1 tsp Salt
- ●1/2 tsp Black pepper
Instructions
- 1Place the fish chunks in a bowl and season with half of the lime juice, half of the minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Let it sit while you chop the vegetables.
- 2In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- 3Add the remaining garlic, bell peppers, and tomatoes to the pan. Sauté for another 3 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
- 4Nestle the seasoned fish pieces into the vegetable mixture. Pour the coconut milk over everything.
- 5Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
- 6Stir in the remaining lime juice and fresh cilantro just before serving. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- 7Serve hot over steamed white rice.
Recipe details
- Cuisine
- Brazilian
- Category
- Main course
- Preparation
- 33 minutes
- Cooking
- 25 minutes
Estimated total: 58 minutes. Planning estimate: explicit duration ranges use their midpoint; documented preparation, heating and handling allowances are included. Overlapping tasks are counted once. Package directions and doneness checks take priority.
How these estimates were calculated
- Cut fish, juice limes and mince garlic: 10 min planning allowance (meat_prep)
- Season fish: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Chop vegetables while fish rests: 10 min planning allowance (vegetable_prep)
- Heat oil: 3 min planning allowance (pan_preheat)
- Nestle fish and add coconut milk: 5 min planning allowance (assemble)
- Bring small stew to gentle simmer: 3 min planning allowance (sauce_heat)
- Stir in lime and cilantro: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Serve with prepared rice: 2 min planning allowance (garnish)
- Accompanying rice is assumed already cooked; its preparation is not included in this fish-stew estimate.
- Using Atlantic cod as specified in recipe. Quantity is 1.5 lbs.
- Limes, juiced: USDA lime yields portion weight
- Using raw lime juice, assuming 2 limes yield 88g of juice.
- Garlic cloves, minced: USDA cloves portion weight
- Using raw garlic, 3 cloves.
- Olive oil or Red Palm Oil (Dendê): USDA tablespoon portion weight
- Using olive oil as the first option; red palm oil was an alternative.
- Onion, chopped: USDA medium (2-1/2" dia) portion weight
- Using raw medium onion.
- Bell peppers (red and yellow), sliced into rings or strips: USDA medium (approx 2-3/4" long, 2-1/2 dia.) portion weight
- Using raw medium red bell peppers as the first option for 'red and yellow' bell peppers.
- Tomatoes, chopped: USDA large whole (3" dia) portion weight
- Using raw large tomatoes.
- Coconut milk (full fat): Stated package net weight
- Using canned coconut milk (liquid expressed from grated meat and water). Quantity is 13.5 oz.
- Fresh cilantro, chopped: USDA cup portion weight
- Using raw coriander (cilantro) leaves, 1/2 cup.
- Salt: USDA tsp portion weight
- Using table salt, 1 tsp.
- Black pepper: USDA tsp, ground portion weight
- Using ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp.
- White fish fillets (Cod, Halibut, or Tilapia), cut into 2-inch chunks: 680.39 g · USDA reference 171955
- Limes, juiced: 88 g · USDA reference 168156
- Garlic cloves, minced: 9 g · USDA reference 169230
- Olive oil or Red Palm Oil (Dendê): 27 g · USDA reference 171413
- Onion, chopped: 110 g · USDA reference 170000
- Bell peppers (red and yellow), sliced into rings or strips: 238 g · USDA reference 170108
- Tomatoes, chopped: 364 g · USDA reference 170457
- Coconut milk (full fat): 382.72 g · USDA reference 170173
- Fresh cilantro, chopped: 8 g · USDA reference 169997
- Salt: 6 g · USDA reference 173468
- Black pepper: 1.15 g · USDA reference 170931
moqueca · fish stew · coconut milk · lime
Estimated nutrition per serving
441 calories · 34.2 g protein · 15.2 g carbohydrate · 28.7 g fat · 696 mg sodium
Source and basis: USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (2018), ingredient-based calculation per serving. Standard USDA portion weights; all listed ingredient mass included before cooking losses. Nutrients with incomplete inputs omitted. Full ingredient matches and assumptions below.
Recipe Context
This recipe was created with the following context in mind: