Moqueca


Moqueca is a Brazilian seafood stew. It is slowly cooked in a terracotta cassole. Moqueca can be made with shrimp or fish as a base with tomatoes, onions, garlic, lime and coriander. The name moqueca comes from the term mu'keka in Kimbundu language.

Moqueca capixaba

Traditional moqueca is recognized as moqueca capixaba and is native to the state of Espírito Santo. It is a combination of Brazilian and Portuguese cuisine. It is considered a softer and ligher version of moqueca. Lighter oils, such as extra-virgin olive oil, are used instead of palm oil. Urucum pigment is added, and it is always cooked in a traditional clay pan. Moqueca capixaba can be made with fish, shrimp, crabs, sea crab or lobsters. There is a rare variety made with raw bananas, as a side dish. The dish is usually seasoned with onion, tomatoes, coriander, and chives. It is usually accompanied by pirão, which is the paste made with cassava root flour and the gravy from the stew.

The capixaba pan

Capixaba pans, special panellas de barro, are made with black clay and glazed with mangrove tree sap. After being shaped and fired, sap is re-applied. This blackens the clay and makes it water resistant. The pan must be seasoned with oil a couple of times before use.
These cassole pans are very important to Vitória, and the city is home to a grassroots organization of pan-makers known as Associacao Das Paneleiras De Goiabeiras.

Moqueca Baiana

Moqueca baiana was developed in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It was further influenced by African and Portuguese cuisines by adding dendê palm oil and coconut milk, respectively. Traditional ingredients remain the same with the dish typically garnished with chopped coriander, then served with rice and farofa.