Moqueca is a Brazilian recipe based on fish or shrimp, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lime and coriander. It is slowly cooked in a terra cotta casserole.
Moqueca can be made with prawns or a mix of boneless fish species, like small shark, swordfish, etc.
Traditional from Espirito Santo, people tend to mistake with peixada, which is originally from Bahia, in the North East of Brazil. The difference between both dishes is mainly that Moqueca does not have coconut milk nor palm oil.
The name moqueca comes from the term mukeka in Kimbundu language.
Brazilians have been making moqueca for at least 300 years.
Moqueca is native to the state of Bahia and influenced by black culture, indian and mixed with Portuguese cuisine.
It is commonly called moqueca, when it is actually peixada. The healthier palm oil is uses, also coconut milk (in fact, oil), Urucum pigment is added, and it is always cooked in a traditional clay pan.
Moqueca can be made with fish, shrimp, crabs, sea crab or river lobsters. The dish is usually seasoned with onion, tomatoes, coriander, chives, and lots of spicies. It is usually accompanied by pirão, which is the paste made with cassava root flour ("farinha de mandioca") and the gravy from the stew.
