Recipe

South America → 🇧🇷 Brazil → Bahia
Moqueca Baiana (Bahian Fish Stew)
Afro-Brazilian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 25 min
~1321 cal · 55g protein · 177g carbs · 43g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Clay pot of orange coconut fish stew with peppers and cilantro
🇧🇷 Bahia
Moqueca has been cooked on this coast for over 300 years, and Bahia's version carries its Afro-Brazilian heart: golden dendê (red palm oil) and coconut milk brought across the Atlantic with enslaved West Africans and their descendants' foodways. Espírito Santo makes a rival version — Bahians are unmoved.
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Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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1.5 lbs firm white fish fillets (snapper, cod)
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3 tbsp lime juice
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3 cloves garlic, minced
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1 each red and yellow bell peppers, rings
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1 red onion, rings
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2 tomatoes, sliced
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14 oz can coconut milk
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2 tbsp dendê (red palm oil) — or 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp sweet paprika
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1 big handful cilantro, chopped
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4 cups cooked white rice
Instructions
1
Marinate the fish (or palm hearts) in lime juice, garlic, and salt for 20 minutes.
2
In a wide clay pot or deep skillet, layer half the onion, peppers, and tomato. Lay the fish on top, then the remaining vegetables.
3
Pour the coconut milk over, cover, and simmer gently 15 minutes without stirring — moqueca is layered, never stirred.
4
Drizzle the dendê over and shake the pan to marry it in. Simmer 5 more minutes.
5
Shower with cilantro and bring the whole pot to the table with rice.
Salvador da Bahia coastal cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Bahia. The Afro-Brazilian coast of dendê oil, coconut, and chili.
🗺️
Brazil. A continent-sized country with an Afro-Brazilian coastal soul.
🌍
South America. Andes, Amazon, and Atlantic all on one plate.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩‍🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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