Moqueca Baiana with Coconut Milk (Bahian Fish Stew)

Bahian fish stew with dendê oil and coconut milk — moqueca baiana is one of Brazil’s most soulful dishes, a fragrant simmer of firm white fish, sweet peppers and creamy coconut milk stained gold by dendê palm oil. It cooks slowly in a clay pot, and the reward is a broth so silky you’ll want to spoon it over rice to the last drop.

It’s one of the 20 recipes inside our Brazilian Cookbook, and we’re sharing this Moqueca Baiana with Coconut Milk in full so you can taste the standard before you buy the book. The hands-on work is small — a quick marinade, a careful layering — and the pot does the rest in under half an hour.

Why this recipe works

The magic is in the layering, not the stirring. Onions, peppers and fish are stacked in the pot and the coconut milk is poured around the edges so it seeps down without disturbing the marinade, while the dendê oil floats on top. Left undisturbed on a gentle heat, each layer keeps its shape and the broth stays clear, blooming orange as the palm oil releases at the end.

Ingredients

Fish & broth

• 400 g firm white fish fillets (grouper or cod), cut 4 cm
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsp dendê palm oil

Aromatics

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced rings
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced rings
• 1 red onion, sliced rings
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

Optional garnish

• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Serves 2 · Prep 20 min · Cook 25 min · 540 kcal per serving

Instructions

1. Marinate the fish. Toss fish with lime juice, half the garlic, salt and a pinch of ground coriander. Rest 15 minutes in the fridge while you prep the vegetables.
2. Layer the clay pot. In a panela de barro or heavy pot, arrange onion rings on the base, then peppers, then fish. Scatter remaining garlic and a handful of coriander stems between layers.
3. Add the liquids. Pour coconut milk around the edges so it seeps down without washing off the marinade. Drizzle dendê oil over the top — do not stir, let the layers stay intact.
4. Simmer and rest. Cover and cook 15 minutes on medium-low until fish flakes at a fork’s nudge. Kill the heat, rest 5 minutes covered so the broth settles and the dendê blooms orange on the surface.

Chef’s tip

Never stir moqueca — shake the pot by the handles. Stirring breaks the fish and muddies the broth; shaking folds the flavors together while keeping each layer visible.

Get the full Brazilian Cookbook

Loved this one? It’s a single recipe from a 20-strong collection of Brazilian classics built the same way — clear ingredients, exact timings, no guesswork. Grab the full Brazilian Cookbook below.