Ecuadorian-Style Pescado Encocado
Barramundi with Buttery Rice & Lime
- Fish
- Tree Nuts
- Milk
At HelloFresh, we believe cooking is a way to unite us. Get to know Latin American cuisine during Hispanic Heritage Month, and unite your family and friends around this vibrant Ecuadorian-style dish! You’ll quickly pan-sear mild, flaky barramundi fillets, then simmer in a savory coconut sauce with tomato and jalapeño. The fish is served with buttery rice and sprinkled with scallion greens and a tangy squeeze of lime juice just before serving.
Ingredients
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
2 unit
Scallions
1 unit
Tomato
1 unit
Jalapeño
1 unit
Lime
10 ounce
Barramundi
(Contains: Fish)
1 tablespoon
Fry Seasoning
1 teaspoon
Cumin
1 unit
Coconut Milk
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• In a small pot, combine rice, ¾ cup water (use a medium pot and 1½ cups water for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook, covered, until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• Wash and dry produce. • Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Dice tomato into ½-inch pieces. Halve jalapeño, removing ribs and seeds for less heat; thinly slice into half-moons. Quarter lime.
• Pat barramundi* dry with paper towels and season with half the Fry Seasoning (you’ll use the rest later), half the cumin (all for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. • Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add barramundi, skin sides down, and cook until skin is crispy, 4-5 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to a plate, skin sides up. Wipe out pan. (You’ll finish cooking the fish in Step 5.) • Once fish is cool enough to handle, carefully remove and discard skin.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add scallion whites, tomato, a big pinch of salt, and as much jalapeño as you like. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are browned and tender, 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in coconut milk, remaining Fry Seasoning, and ¼ cup water (½ cup for 4 servings), then add barramundi, seasoned sides down. Bring to a simmer and cook, undisturbed, until sauce has thickened and fish is cooked through, 2-3 minutes. • Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Add juice from half the lime.
• Fluff rice with a fork; stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings). • Divide rice and barramundi in sauce between bowls in separate sections. Sprinkle barramundi with scallion greens. Serve with remaining lime wedges on the side.
Barramundi is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°..
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the creamy coconut sauce with jalapeño heat, though some found it bland and wanted more seasoning 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Customers appreciated how quick and easy this dish was to make, with simple instructions for cooking the fish.
- Suggestions: Consider adding garlic, onion, or herbs like cilantro for more flavor; some preferred leaving the crispy fish skin on.
- Leftovers: The sauce kept well, but several noted the fish quality declined quickly as leftovers.
- Portions: Some wanted more rice or vegetables to balance the dish and make it more filling.
Reviews from our home cooks
Even though this was not a meal I selected (forgot to customize this week), this exceeded all expectations. Easy, flavorful and unexpected, I have never prepared fish this way, but the sweetness of the coconut and heat from jalapeños was a perfect match for the barramundi!
This dish came out really well. I've never had that fish before, but my girlfriend and I really enjoyed the way it was prepared. The recipe wasn't too hard and it turned out to be one of my favorite meals from the company so far. Wherever you source the Barramundi from, keep using them! Impeccable quality on the meat.
I'm amazed at how good this tasted! We're not big fans of coconut milk here, but the sauce came out rich and flavorful. The lime added a nice bite of acid to cut the rich coconut milk. The Baramundi was firm and held together well. We are definitely going to make this again!
This tasted great! I hope it becomes a recurring menu item. Super easy to prepare as well although I made everything but the rice in the same pan without removing items or rinsing. I also kept the fish skin and just cut back a bit on the added oil which kept the total nutritional content similar while offering substantially more omega 3s.
The sauce was so good, we could have used even more to soak every last bit of rice in it. It was a great flavor combination and easy to cook. (We ate the fish skins as a snack before the meal, because we didn't want to waste such a yummy part of the fish - that apparently even has most of the nutrients.)
It was delicious! I decided to zest the lime and added the lime zest to the sauce as it was still simmering. Then I added the lime juice at the end as the recipe called for. I think the zest elevated the flavor of the sauce. Maybe this step should be added to the recipe.
This recipe was so delicious even though I overlooked the rice a bit. Barramundi is one of my new favorite kinds of fish, and the sauce was yummy. The creamy coconut with the heat from the jalapeños...mmmm!
As an Ecuadorian, this dish was incredible. I will be ordering 3 plates next time.
Needs more veggies LOL... I added more tomato (jalapeno does NOT count as a veggie, I didn't use mine anyway) and some snow peas. I am also not sure abt the fry seasoning in this case? Maybe a quick sear after coating with some sweet Thai chili paste would go better with the coconut... anyway the sauce was delish & this method of cooking the barramundi made it very tender. Very filling fish portion and the rice too, just needs more veg to round out the serving. I may or may not order it again, but it was good.
Jalapeños are not found in Ecuadorian food. It is a Central American ingredient typically found in Mexican dishes. If you are trying to honor Hispanic Heritage, keep it true to each country and not as if all Hispanic foods are the same - spicy, with jalapeños and tortillas
