Vegan Arroz De Marisco, our vegan version of the classic Portuguese seafood rice dish. Inspired by the flavours of coastal Portugal, this dish stars shiitake mushrooms, hearts of palm, butter beans, and savoury rice, all cooked to perfection in a rich tomato-based sauce.
Arroz de Marisco is a popular rice dish from Portugal made with a selection of seafood. It is typically much saucier than Spanish paella or Italian risotto. We keep it vegan by using mushrooms, hearts of palm, and butter beans, it ends up tasting just as good, with the same rich umami flavours. Hearts of palm are great at capturing the delicate texture and subtle flavour of seafood and the mushrooms offer a different texture and help give the dish its rich taste.
Cheats Massa de Pimentão
Arroz de Marisco is typically made with Massa de Pimentão, a Portuguese red pepper paste. It gives the dish its red colour and contributes to its rich flavour.
Massa de Pimentão can be hard to find outside of Portugal and is rather time-consuming to make yourself, this is why we have come up with a simple cheat version that’s delicious and more importantly quick and easy to make. By blending roasted red peppers from a jar with some other ingredients you get something that’s close to Massa de Pimentão. It is also a wonderful ingredient to have on hand, we usually make more than needed for the recipe so we have leftovers to use in other dishes. Pump up the flavours of tomato-based sauces or marinate tofu. We even love adding some to a pizza sauce.
Serving Vegan Portuguese Seafood Rice
The dish can simply be served with a garnish of fresh coriander(cilantro) and lemon wedges or it can be taken to the next level and served with a seafood-inspired vegan topping. We like serving it with king oyster mushroom scallops.
To add more protein to the dish you could serve it with some tofu from our other vegan Portuguese recipe, Tofu à Lagareiro. Marinate the tofu as directed in the recipe then pan fry or bake in the oven.
Recipe Hints and Tips
What Rice Is Used To Make Arroz de Marisco?
Carolino rice is used in many Portuguese dishes. It’s a short-grain starchy rice that gives dishes a wonderfully creamy texture. It can be hard to find outside of Portugal but it can usually be found online.
If you want to substitute Carolino rice the best alternative is risotto rice such as Carnaroli or Arborio, or paella rice such as Bomba. Sushi rice would also work in a pinch but will produce a different, more chewy texture. We wouldn’t suggest using long-grain rice or basmati as they are not as starchy and will not give the sauce a creamy texture when cooked.
How Do You Store Leftover Arroz de Marisco?
If you have any leftovers you will want to make sure to cool them down as quickly as possible. If you leave it hot it will continue to cook and the rice will go stodgy. Cool it down as quickly as possible over a bowl in an ice bath and store it in a fridge for up to 3 days.
We would not suggest freezing Arroz de Marisco. It can be done but the texture of the rice will be much softer.
More Vegan Portugues and Seafood-Inspired Recipes
Vegan Moqueca (Brazilian Hearts of Palm Stew)
Vegan Arroz de Marisco – Portuguese ‘Seafood’ Rice
Ingredients
Cheats Massa de Pimentão
- 2 jarred roasted red peppers
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
Vegan Arroz de Marisco
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 200 g fresh shiitake mushrooms stalks removed
- 1 large brown onion finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 birds eye chilli minced, add more or less to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 200 ml white wine* optional
- 500 g tomato passata
- 260 g carolino rice*
- 1300 ml hot vegan chicken stock or vegetable
- 1 tin butter beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tin hearts of palm diagonal slice
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander cilantro
- Lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
Cheats Massa de Pimentão
- Blend the roasted red peppers, garlic, smoked paprika, and salt in a blender or using a handheld blender. You want a nice smooth texture without any large lumps. Reserve until later.
Vegan Arroz de Marisco
- Heat up the vegan chicken stock so it's hot, ready to use later in the recipe.
- Heat a large pot over medium-high. Once hot add the olive oil and sauté the shiitake mushrooms until they start turning golden around the edges, around 5 minutes.
- Add the diced onion, bay leaf, minced garlic and chilli with a pinch of salt. Continue to sauté until the onion is soft and translucent, around 3 minutes.
- Now add the Massa de Pimentão and cook out until it’s a deep red colour, around 4 minutes.
- If you are using the optional wine, add it now and cook it off for a few minutes.
- Next, add the tomato passata and rice and mix to incorporate everything. Bring to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes.
- Now add the hot stock, green and red bell peppers, hearts of palm and butter beans, gently stir everything together, bring to a simmer and cook until the rice is just cooked. This will take around 10 to 15 minutes.
- When the rice is cooked, check for seasoning then serve with a garnish of freshly chopped coriander(cilantro) and a wedge of lemon.
Notes
- Substitute for arborio rice if you don’t have carolino.
- If you are not using the wine, add more stock.
