Arroz de Marisco is a typical Portuguese dish made with an assortment of fresh shellfish and short grain rice, cooked with lots of homemade shellfish stock. It can be found at most marisqueiras and seafood restaurants in Portugal. It’s a delicious and decadent dish that’s at the top of several lists of must-try Portuguese dishes. Continue to read to learn how to make authentic Portuguese Seafood Rice!
Authentic Portuguese Arroz de Marisco
An authentic Arroz de Marisco typically consists of short grain rice which is sautéed with diced tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, and bay leaves. The rice is then cooked in a homemade seafood stock (made with the heads and peel of shrimp and the shellfish shells) and mixed with the pre-cooked shellfish. A genuine arroz de marisco should not be dry, it should be served with plenty of piping hot broth, and with some of the shellfish proudly displayed on top. And let’s not forget, loads of fresh cilantro too!
What Shellfish Should You Use
There isn’t a single recipe of Arroz de Marisco, and everyone seems to have a different take on what shellfish should be included. As the name implies, it’s simply a shellfish rice, so it can be adapted to suit your taste and availability of ingredients. Fresh shellfish can be quite costly and demanding to prepare. To me, more important than using lots of different shellfish, is getting your technique right.
That said, I believe it should at least include mussels (mexilhão), clams (amêijoa) or cockles (berbigão), and shrimp (gambas). The shrimp should be whole, as the head and shells are packed with flavour and can be used in the shellfish stock. If you want to put more money and time into your seafood rice, you can add lobster, crab, and squid for example. It all adds flavour and debt to the final dish!
Why You Should Avoid Supermarket Kits
In Portugal it’s quite common to find kits with mixed frozen shellfish marketed for seafood rice or pasta. They may look convenient, but usually they contain very little shellfish and are packed with surimi (processed fake crab sticks). They might be budget friendly, but your dish won’t taste half as good as when using fresh shellfish. If you opt for using frozen shellfish, it’s better to buy each one of them individually.
Choosing the Correct Rice
The secret to cooking a flavourful arroz de marisco is choosing the right type of rice. The best rice you can use is Carolino rice, which is a Portuguese short grain rice. This rice variety is not only great at absorbing flavour, but it’s also rich in starch which will make your seafood rice creamier. For those outside of Portugal, Arborio rice is a great alternative!
Prepping the Shellfish
For my seafood rice recipe, you will need whole shrimp, fresh cockles and mussels. They all need to be prepped in advance. I actually prefer buying frozen shrimp since most ‘fresh’ shrimp you find in supermarkets are pre-cooked. If you have access to a fish market, that’s even better as they always have it fresh. To prep the shrimp, you need to remove the head and shell, then make a superficial cut on the back where the vein is located and pull it out. Don’t discard the head and shells as they will be used in the stock.
For both the clams and cockles, I like to soak them in a solution of 1 litre of cold water mixed with 30g of salt for about 1 hour. This process is called ‘purging’ and helps remove sand and grit that might be trapped inside the shells. Mussels also have a ‘beard’ that needs to be removed, the easiest way to do it is to use a dull knife to grip it pulling towards the wider side of the shell until it comes off. Make sure to give the shells a good scrub and discard any shellfish that’s broken or open.
With all the shellfish prepped, it’s time to start cooking!
How to Make Portuguese Seafood Rice
Portuguese Seafood Rice – Arroz de Marisco
6
servings1
hour15
minutes1
hour520
kcalArroz de Marisco is a typical Portuguese dish made with an assortment of fresh shellfish and short grain rice, cooked with lots of homemade shellfish stock.
Ingredients
- Seafood Stock Ingredients
Shrimp Heads and Shells
2 Medium Carrots – chopped
1 Large Onion – chopped
2 Whole Garlic Cloves
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Thyme
Black Peppercorns
1 Bay Leaf
Salt
- Seafood Rice Ingredients
15 Whole Shrimp 20/30
400 g Fresh Cockles
1 kg Fresh Mussels
400 g Short Grain Rice
5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Onion – diced
1 Small Red Pepper – diced
3 Plum Tomatoes – de-seeded and diced
5 Garlic Cloves
1 tbsp Tomato Concentrate
Dry White Wine
1 Bay Leaves
Salt
Black Pepper
Fresh Cilantro
Directions
- Start by prepping the shellfish. Rinse the cockles and mussels, give them a good scrub with a clean brush, discard any broken or open shells. Pull out the beard of the mussel by pinching it between the blade of a dull knife and your thumb and pulling it towards the wider side of the shell.
- Place cockles and mussels in two separate bowls, then cover them with a saline solution made with 1 litre cold water and 30g salt. Let it purge for about 1 hour.
- In the meantime, remove the head and shells of the shrimp. Make a superficial cut on the back where the vein is located. Pull it out with a toothpick. Place the clean shrimp in a container and pop it back in the fridge.
- To make the stock, add to a stock pan the heads and shells of the shrimp alongside the chopped carrots and onions, the garlic, the bay leaf, a couple of sprigs of fresh cilantro and thyme, and some black peppercorns. Cover with room temperature water, bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low to medium heat. Let it simmer for about 40 minutes. Season with salt, then strain it over a colander.
- Drain and rinse the shells, add a large frying pan over low to medium heat. Once hot, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and a whole garlic clove. Let it cook for a minute, then add in the clean cockles. Let it cook for another minute, then add a splash of white wine. Once the alcohol evaporates, cover with the lid and let it steam for 2 minutes or until the shells open. Transfer the shells to a bowl, pour the liquid they released into the shrimp stock. Repeat this step with the mussels.
- Remove most of the clams and mussels from the shells but keep some in for decoration. Place it in the fridge while you prepare the rice.
- Place a large, tall pan over low to medium heat. Once hot add 3 tbsp of olive oil, and add your diced onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Sauté stirring often until it softens (about 8 minutes). Add in 3 garlic cloves minced. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the rice and the tomato concentrate, let it cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with ½ cup of white wine. Once the alcohol evaporates, add about 1,2 litres of the hot shellfish stock. Season with more salt and black pepper to taste. Give it a good stir. Let it cook undisturbed for about 40 minutes.
- In the meantime, place the same frying pan you used to steam the shellfish over low to medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil, then grill the shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Chop them into smaller chunks but keep some whole for garnishing.
- Combine the cooked mussels and cockles (without the shell), and the chopped shrimp with the rice, add a little more stock if needed. Let it cook for another 5 minutes with the lid on.
- Decorate with the shellfish that you left in the shell and the whole shrimp, and lots of chopped fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Have you tried this recipe? Make sure to leave a review, I will love to hear your thoughts!