Spicy fish and shrimp stew with Tablas Creek Vineyards Vermentino (Paso Robles) 2019

This recipe started out life as a Moqueca—the spicy Brazilian fish and shrimp stew—but it swerved into a Thai lane somewhere along the way. 

• 1 6-ounce filet of mahi-mahi, cut into roughly 1 inch cubes
• 8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (reserve shells)
• 1 cup milk
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes (I prefer Muir), strained (reserve juice)
• canola oil as needed
• ½ poblano Chile, minced
• white parts of 6 green onions, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 14.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk (not low fat)
• ½ tablespoon Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning mix
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (I strongly recommend Red Boat, it’s so good you can drink it straight if you want, but why would you?)
• hot sauce to taste (I had a packet of Nando’s peri-peri sauce in the fridge, which I used)
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped fine, loosely packed
• ⅓ cup green parts of the green onions, sliced thin, loosely packed

Place the shrimp and fish in a small bowl. Add the salt and the milk. Add water, if necessary, to cover. (This gets rid of any off odors.)

I heated a 1-quart sauce pan over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. Next I added the reserved shrimp shells and cooked them, stirring constantly, for a minute or two. I added the wine, raised the heat to high, and brought the liquid to a boil. I let it boil for a minute or two and then added the reserved tomato juice. When the liquid returned to a boil, I reduced the heat to low and let it simmer to reduce slightly.

I heated my All-Clad 3-quart sauté pan for a couple of minutes over medium heat (6 out of 10) and then added enough canola oil to just lightly coat the bottom of the pan. In went the poblano chiles. They cooked for about 5 minutes. Then the onion whites went into the pan and the onions and chiles cooked for a couple of minutes. Then the garlic and ginger joined the party and sautéed for about 45 seconds. Finally, I added the strained tomatoes and cooked the mixture for an outer couple of minutes. 

I strained the wine/tomato juice mixture into the sauté pan. I added the coconut milk, the fish sauce, the hot sauce, and the Thai seasoning to the pan. I raised the heat to high and brought the sauce to a boil. I then added the seafood, covered the pan, and moved it off the heat to poach for about 10 minutes. I checked it every few minutes to make sure the shrimp were not overcooking. On the second check, I added the cilantro and green onions.

As it turned out, 8 minutes poaching time probably would have been enough, but the shrimp were still okay. 

I served it with some saffron rice, which further confused the origins of the dish, but tasted great. 

Put some Sriracha and fish sauce on the table to allow your guests to add as they see fit. (I like more spice and more fish sauce than Helen.)

The Tablas Creek Vermentino made a truly inspired match for the dish. Bright, fresh, tangy. Lots of citrus flavors: grapefruit, lemon, lime. A flinty note on the finish. Grade: B++

I have become a big fan of Tablas Creek wines and recommend them highly. I’ve yet to have a wine from them that wasn’t at least very good and most have been exceptional.