Pescado encocado or fish in coconut sauce

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 tilapia, 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 in 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

1 tsp ground coriander seeds

2 tbs sunflower or olive oil

1 medium sized onion, diced

2 bell peppers, diced

4 roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped

14 oz can of coconut milk

3 tbs cilantro, finely chopped

Salt to taste

Side dishes – rice and fried ripe plantains

Preparation:

  1. Mix the lime juice, orange juice, crushed garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander powder and salt in a small bowl.
  2. Marinate the fish chunks for 1 – 2 hours.
  3. Heat the oil to prepare a refrito or base for the sauce, add the diced onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and salt, cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
  4. 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.
  5. Add the fish fillets, cover partially and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
  6. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice and fried ripe plantains.

Marinade for pescado encocado Marinade for pescado encocado

Preparation of encocado de pescado pescado-encocado

pescado-encocado Pescado encocado or fish in coconut sauce

Pescado encocado or fish in coconut sauce Pescado encocado or fish in coconut sauce

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