Culture Kitchen: Brazilian Shrimp Stew

This past Sunday (May 29), Culture Connection AZ hosted another Culture Kitchen event featuring guest chef Patricia Murphey! Patricia walked us through a traditional Brazilian recipe known as Bobó de Camarão, or in English, Shrimp Stew. Below you can find some information about the dish, as well as the ingredients and recipe instructions. As always, stay tuned for next month's Culture Kitchen!

Notes from the Chef:

Bobó de Camarão is an iconic Brazilian Shrimp Stew recipe that features shrimp, palm oil, tomato, peppers, coconut milk, and yuca root. This colorful dish has a delicate flavor and texture, thanks to the combination of yuca and coconut milk. It’s an easy, yet impressive

one-pot recipe meant for serving over rice. Shrimp bobó is nearly identical to the West African dish Ipetê, and it is one of the many iconic recipes from the Bahia region of Brazil, which is known for its heavy Afro-Brazilian influences.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced

• 2 teaspoons of palm oil (if you can’t find it, you can use coconut oil)

• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

• 1 lb yuca root, peeled

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 4 tbsp of tomato paste

• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced

• 1 hot pepper (serrano)

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

• 1 can of coconut milk

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1/4 cup green onion, sliced

• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

• 2 cups of shrimp, fish, or chicken broth

• Salt and pepper to taste

• White rice to serve with: Jasmine is the chef’s favorite!

Instructions

1. Heat the palm oil over medium heat.

2. Add the onion and sauté.

3. Add the garlic, and sauté.

4. Add the bell peppers, and sauté until soft.

5. Add the tomato paste.

6. Add in the ginger.

7. Peel the yuca and cut it into small cubes. Add to the pot. Cook until soft. Blend the mixture

8. Put it back on the pot

9. Pour in the coconut milk, and 2 cups of stock. About halfway, add the chopped green onions and the chili peppers—if the mixture starts to get too thick, and starts to stick at the bottom of the pan, add another cup of water.

10. Add the lime juice to the peeled and deveined shrimp, and stir to combine.

11. Add the shrimp to the mixture. Cook another 7-10 minutes, until shrimp, is just cooked and pink.

12. Serve over white rice and garnish with a lot of fresh cilantro.

* This recipe can be made with chicken, tofu, or just vegetables, in that case, use vegetable stock.