This Brazilian coconut shrimp stew is traditionally called moqueca. It can be made with fish or various types of seafood. I decided to try this dish because I loved the look of the creamy coconut with the rich seafood.
In my version I only used shirmp and not multiple types of seafood. This simplified the dish to be something that I could make with mostly pantry staples and frozen shirmp.
I used a combiniation of tomato paste and diced tomatoes to add body and richness to this stew. Most recipe use one or the other, but I liked it better this way.
To save leftover tomato paste, freeze in 1 TBS portions. I use silicon muffin cups or a parchment lined baking sheet, then toss all the little pieces into a zip-top baggie for storage.
Variations to the Brazillian Coconut Shrimp Stew:
- Make it a soup instead of a stew: Add broth and rice to the mixture when you mix in the coconut milk in step 4.
- Budget Friendly: try this dish with an inexpensive white fish such as tilapia.
- Make it spicy: add your favorite kind of fresh chili pepper such as fresno, jalapeno, serrano or habanero when you saute the bell pepper.
Brazilian Coconut Shrimp Stew
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Alison's Allspice
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Brazilian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large green bell pepper, diced
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp each: black pepper, paprika, cumin and salt
- ¼ tsp red pepper flake
- ½ cup minced cilantro
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes (use fresh if they are in season!)
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup water (more or less to thin)
- 3 cup cooked brown rice
Instructions
- Toss shrimp with lemon juice and set aside to marinade.
- Saute onion and bell pepper in a large skillet with the olive oil until softened to your liking. I usually go for about 10 minutes.
- Add garlic, black pepper, paprika, cumin, salt and red pepper flake and let saute for another 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in cilantro, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, coconut milk and enough water to thin to your liking. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Mix in the shrimp with the lemon juice and cook for 2 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque.
- Serve over rice.
Recipe adapted from Eating Well.
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