Brazil’s answer to the Thai seafood curry is an icon and an obsession

The dish: Moqueca, Brazil

Plate up You may think you don’t know moqueca, the classic Brazilian seafood dish, but wait until you hear the ingredients. This is a fish stew, though that fish will vary depending on the state in which you find yourself: ocean fish on the coastlines of Bahia and Espirito Santo; freshwater river fish in the likes of Amazonas and Para.

Stew on this… tomato, lime, spices, coconut milk and fish combine to creat a pot of deliciousness.Credit: Getty Images

The basic building blocks for the stew, however, are then the same. Onions and garlic are sweated in palm oil in a ceramic pan, before tomatoes, coconut milk, a little fish stock, and then the likes of cumin and coriander are added, and then the fish, which has been marinating in lime juice. The whole lot is simmered until cooked, then served over rice. Sound familiar? This is very much like a Thai curry, only with simpler, cleaner flavours, and less searing heat. And in Brazil it’s an icon and an obsession.

First serve Moqueca is a stew, a mix of disparate ingredients that all lend their own flavours while being allowed to blend with others – which, not coincidentally, is also the story of Brazil, and the story of this dish. You will find influences in moqueca from indigenous Brazilian cooking, though also from Portugal, and from Africa. The home state of moqueca, Bahia, was central to the slave trade in Brazil, and the use of palm oil and coconut milk, not to mention rice, can be traced back to Africa. This dish also resembles the basic fish stews that were popular in Portugal at the time. And of course the key ingredient, fish, is abundant in Brazil.

Order there Though moqueca is much loved throughout Brazil, its spiritual home is Bahia, so drop into Restaurante Casa de Tereza in Salvador for one of the country’s finest (terezapaim.com.br).

Order here In Sydney, grab an excellent moqueca at Bronte Belo in Bronte Beach (brontebelo.com). Melburnians, meanwhile, should try Bossa Nova Cafe in Carlton (bossanova.com.au). And in Adelaide, pay Trivial Brazilian Food a visit (trivialfood.com).

One more thing Though the traditional recipe for moqueca calls for the use of palm oil, this is a controversial ingredient: its production in the likes of Indonesia and Malaysia has led to vast deforestation and biodiversity loss. Consider subbing in olive or coconut oil.