Hello there !
We’re back with a vegan recipe : Vegan Moqueca with Tofu!
I had the chance to spend 9 months in Brazil on an exchange program back in 2016-2017.
Brazil is a huge country with different culinary traditions: my favorite Brazilian cuisines are the ones from Minas Gerais; where I lived, and of course from Bahia!
I chose to go to Salvador during Carnival season instead of the overtly commercial one in Rio de Janeiro… and boy was I right!
Bahia was one of the main landing areas of slave ships hence why, to this day, it’s still the region with the most connections to the African continent and culture. Many foods and dishes resemble those of Western Africa and one of my absolutely favorite dishes is the Moqueca.
The Moqueca is a stew made of onions, garlic, red peppers, tomatoes, coconut milk, lime and marinated seafood usually served with white rice or cassava farofa or mashed cassava.
It is a beautiful explosion of flavors ranging from sweet, tangy to bitter.
I was craving this dish the other day but due to the scarcity of great quality seafood here, I decided to make it vegan.
Vegan Moqueca is often prepared with plantain bananas, zucchini or black beans, the national bean of Brazil, as I like to call it.
I decided to take a risk and use tofu instead, to make it lighter and richer in protein. The risk taking paid off: it was delicious!
I let the tofu marinate overnight to ensure it was drenched in flavor because, let’s be honest, plain non-smoked tofu tastes like air if not seasoned xD
Feel free to serve this dish with whatever you want I like mine with white rice or farofa, toasted cassava flour, but I didn’t have the latter.
Well, without further ado, here’s the recipe. Scroll down for video instructions!
Bon appetit!
Vegan Moqueca with Tofu (Brazilian Stew), with video
Course: Main6
servings10
minutes30
minutes3
hoursIngredients
- Tofu Marinade
250g Tofu
Juice of 2 limes
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon salt
- Moqueca
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
1 large onion (minced)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 Tomatoes (chopped)
3 teaspoons Paprika
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 Red pepper (sliced)
400ml Coconut milk
2 tablespoons palm oil (optional)
2 Green onions (chopped)
1 bouquet Coriander
Salt to taste
Directions
- Tofu Marinade
- Press and drain the tofu. Cut into cubes.
- In a bowl, combining the tofu, lime juice, garlic and salt. Stir, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hours.
- Moqueca
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add in onions and garlic. Cook until translucent.
- Add in tomatoes, paprika, cumin and cayenne. Cook until softened.
- Add in red pepper, coconut milk and palm oil. Bring to boil then cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Drain the marinated tofu and reserve the marinade.
- Add in the tofu, green onions and coriander to the sauce. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Taste and add as much marinade juice and salt as necessary.
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