Ingredients
- •4 white fish fillets (sea bass, snapper, or cod — 6 oz each)
- •1 tsp kosher salt
- •2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- •For moqueca stew:
- •2 tbsp dendê oil (palm oil) or extra virgin olive oil
- •1 large onion, sliced into rings
- •1 red bell pepper, sliced
- •1 green bell pepper, sliced
- •4 cloves garlic, minced
- •1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
- •1 can (14 oz) full-fat coconut milk
- •1 tbsp dendê oil (for finishing)
- •Salt and pepper to taste
- •For serving:
- •Steamed white rice
- •Fresh cilantro
- •Lime wedges
- •Hot sauce (malagueta pepper sauce if available)
Instructions
Season fish fillets with kosher salt and lime juice.
Place fillets in vacuum-seal bags in a single layer. Seal on the gentle setting.
Preheat sous vide bath to 130°F (54°C).
Submerge and cook for 35–45 min.
While fish cooks, start the stew. Heat 2 tablespoons dendê oil in a wide saucepan or clay pot over medium heat.
Add sliced onion and bell peppers. Cook 5–6 min until softened.
Add garlic and cook 1 min.
Add diced tomatoes and simmer 10 min until the sauce thickens slightly.
Pour in coconut milk and stir to combine. Simmer gently for 5 more minutes.
When fish is done, gently remove fillets from bags.
Carefully nestle the sous vide fish fillets into the simmering stew.
Spoon some stew over the top of each fillet.
Drizzle the finishing tablespoon of dendê oil over the surface.
Cover and simmer on very low heat for 3–4 min to marry the flavors (do not stir vigorously — the fish is delicate).
Serve directly from the pot over steamed white rice.
Shower with fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.
Notes
- •Dendê oil (palm oil) gives moqueca its signature orange color and nutty flavor — don't skip it
- •Sous vide solving the biggest moqueca problem is keeping the fish WHOLE in the stew instead of falling apart
- •A clay pot (panela de barro) is traditional for serving but any wide shallow pan works
- •Moqueca is from Bahia, Brazil — it's not the same as bouillabaisse despite the similarity