Ecuadorian pescado encocado or fish with coconut sauce
Recipe for fish with coconut sauce or Ecuadorian pescado encocado – this delicious coastal dish consists of fish seasoned with citrus and spices and then cooked in a sauce of cilantro, onions, bell peppers and coconut milk.
This Ecuadorian fish with coconut sauce, called pescado encocado, is a traditional coastal dish of fish seasoned with citrus and spices and then cooked in a sauce of cilantro, onions, bell peppers and coconut milk.
My memories of the beaches in Ecuador always include fresh seafood and fresh coconuts, sometimes separate and sometimes together like in this delicious recipe for fish cooked in a coconut sauce, which in Ecuador is called pescado encocado or just encoca’o, which literally translates as coconutted fish.
In Ecuador this dish is made with corvina, a type of sea bass, I used halibut but any fresh fish would go well with this sauce, I’ve made it before with snapper, cod and salmon, and of course there are variations of fish encocado using shrimp, clams, crab, squid, etc.
You can use a fresh coconut to make the sauce, use both the coconut water and grated coconut flesh, but if you are in a rush – like me – you can use canned coconut milk for convenience.This is a very easy dish to make and the coconut gives it a nice twist, we eat a good amount of fish and I am constantly trying to prepare the fish in new dishes so that each time we have something a little bit different than the previous meal.
I served this pescado encocado with rice and fried ripe plantains, you can also serve it with patacones or green plantain chips instead of the sweet ripe ones, just like many Ecuadorian and South American seafood dishes having rice as a side is a must, especially when there is a rich sauce as there is nothing better than soaking it up with rice.
Pescado encocado or fish with coconut sauce
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs halibut or any other fresh fish cut in medium size chunks
- ¼ cup lime juice from about 2 limes
- Juice from 2 oranges
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika or achiote powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 2 tbs oil
- 1 medium sized onion diced or sliced
- 2 bell peppers diced or sliced
- 4 roma tomatoes peeled and chopped
- 14 oz can of coconut milk
- 3 tbs cilantro finely chopped
- Fresh shredded coconut – optional
- Salt to taste
Side dishes:
Instructions
- Mix the lime juice, orange juice, crushed garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander powder and salt in a small bowl.
- Marinate the fish chunks for at least an hour if possible.
- Heat the oil to prepare a refrito or base for the sauce, add the onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and salt, cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the coconut milk to the refrito, mix it in well and cook for about 10 minutes, if you prefer a thicker sauce you can thicken the sauce by adding ½ tsp of tapioca starch or corn starch.
- Add the fish fillets, with the marinade, cover partially and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. The exact time will vary based on the thickness of the fish. You can also reduce the cooking time by increasing the heat if you want it ready faster.
- Add some freshly grated or shredded coconut (optional and if you have it available).
- Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice and fried ripe plantains.
Step by step preparation photos for Ecuadorian pescado encocado or fish with coconut sauce
Other Latin American variations of fish/seafood with coconut sauce to try :
Dominican Pescado con Coco recipe
Brazilian Moqueca Bahian-Style Seafood stew recipe
Hola
Saludos desde españa
Es genial la pagina felicitaciones espero colaborar con ustedes necesito enseñar y prender soy cocinero ecuatoriano que trabaja y vive en España.
las fotografias y su calidad son espectaculares espero unirme al mundo fantastico de la cocina internacional saludos espero respuestas y propuestas
con afecto
German
Hi Laylita,
While living in Esmeraldas I learned to make encocado. We make it using salmon and we love it. We found your site while looking for a pan de yuca recipe. You are now in our favorites bookmark. It brings good memories and we like the explanations you give for each dish. Great site!
Xavito y Karita
hi Layla,
What type of other fish do you recommend for this dish. The Halibut at my Wholefood market was very expensive. It was about $30 for one pound and a quarter. I had to leave it. Any suggestions?
maria
Maria – Go for any fish that looks fresh, it works well with any type of fish (or seafood) you can try tilapia, cod, monkfish, etc.
OMG this is got my mouth watering!
A quick question – do you think this would work with tilapia, or not so much?
Hi Sandy – I think it would work well with tilapia, tilapia has a very mild taste and works great in saucy dishes like this one, you’ll probably want to reduce the cooking time since the tilapia filets are usually thinner than halibut filets.
Oh that looks wonderful, great photos & recipe too :)
My sister asked me to prepare a fish dish with coconut sauce (and w/out a curry/thai spin) for her and my 2 year old nephew, i found this dish and cannot wait to make it, but i see only one person has reported that they actually prepared it…i will give my report. i also wanted to say i love the way you set up your site, the photos are wonderful and the commentary a pleasure to read. thank you so much!
I love fish and coconut curry combination and yours looks delicious! I’d try it right niw if I had fish in the fridge. Tomorrow.
Although I love fish, no one in my house will eat it without complaint. When I saw this recipe, I immediately decided to try and use it as a secret weapon to bring everyone over to my side of the table! I suspect I can’t fail. Thanks so much for this incredible-looking dish!
This just knocks me out! I love the way you’ve set up the photos. I’ll be making this soon.