thai fish curry

Thai fish curry is a 20 minute dinner recipe that tastes like a special treat. The fish is gently poached in a flavorful, coconut curry sauce that's bursting with delicious Thai flavors. You'll love it!
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star review in the comments!

Thai Fish Curry

½ lb. white fish

red Thai curry paste (divided)

coconut oil

½ medium onion, finely minced

ginger

garlic cloves, finely minced

coconut milk

water

fish sauce

coconut or brown sugar

veggies

cilantro and lime juice,

Cut the fish into pieces about 2-inches wide. Dry the fish with a paper towel then rub 1 tablespoon of the curry paste over the pieces.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. (See notes.) Add the onion, ginger, and garlic and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining curry paste, coconut milk, water, fish sauce, and sugar. Add the veggies and bring the pot to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the fish. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes, or until the fish is no longer opaque. If your fish is quite thick, you may need to flip the pieces over and cook for 1-2 minutes more.

Serve with a little minced cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Recipe was delicious. I think next time I'll eliminate the water.

Hi! Love the concept of this dish and would love to perfect it. I used the exact measurements, except adding water to the sauce, and the dish came out very watery and not thick/creamy. Do you have any recommendations here? What type of coconut milk did you use? I used a regular organic can from whole foods - it had no guar gum. 

Thank you!

Tasty.  Very easy and quick. Next time I would follow the directions and cut the fish smaller.  We used halibut.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/i3FlKwti.mp4

Thai fish curry is a 20 minute dinner recipe that tastes like a special treat. The fish is gently poached in a flavorful, coconut curry sauce that's bursting with delicious Thai flavors. You'll love it!

Thai Fish Curry 

This recipe for Thai Fish Curry with Coconut Milk is brimming with seasonal veggies and bursting with delicious Thai flavors. A quick and easy dinner, perfect for both weeknights and special occasions.

salt

lime- zest and juice

coconut or olive oil

shallots

garlic

lemongrass, very finely chopped

turmeric root, grated (or sub 1 teaspoon ground)

ginger,

Thai Curry Paste (optional) red, green, or yellow

stock

kaffir lime leaves

carrots, diced (or sub potatoes)

red bell pepper, diced

can coconut milk

lime

green beans, peas

basil, (Thai basil is great!) cilantro, scallions

Cut the fish into large 2-inch chunks, pat dry and place in a bowl. Season with salt, lime zest from one lime and 1 tablespoon lime juice, and massage lightly to coat. Set aside.

In an extra-large saute pan, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots and saute until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, lemongrass and fresh chilies. Saute 3-4 more minutes, until fragrant. Turn heat to low. Grate the ginger and turmeric and add the Thai Curry paste if using, saute 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, kaffir lime leaves , salt, carrots and bell pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer and simmer gently for 5 minutes until the carrots are tender.

Once tender, stir in the coconut milk and fish sauce, and a generous squeeze of lime juice- start with half a lime, add more to taste.

Taste it- coconut broth should be salty, lime-y and a little spicy- and adjust to your taste. Add more fish sauce, Thai Curry paste, garlic chili paste, be bold here -keeping in mind all the flavors will mellow out with the addition of the fish, veggies and with it being served over rice.

Nestle in the fish, and quick cooking veggies. Simmer gently over medium low heat, spooning the coconut broth over the top, or turning the fish over after the bottom half is cooked and becomes opaque, about 3 -4 minutes. You can also place this in a warm 350F oven to fish cooking.

Garnish with basil or Thai basil, or cilantro and lime wedges.

Absolutely delicious! I used a turmeric / lemongrass paste instead of fresh lemongrass (couldn't find any locally), and it turned out great. The whole family enjoyed this recipe...even better the next day when the flavors had more time to meld together. Thanks for the inspiration!

Very good! Like another reviewer, I also used turmeric/lemongrass paste because my store was out of fresh lemongrass. I will make this again.

Excellent recipe. The broth is perfect. Love that I'll be able to make it again and again with different seasonal vegetables.

My new fave! I made the curry the day before our little dinner party to let all the flavors commingle....and they loved each other! Just before dinner I added red pepper, asparagus and scallops then right at the end some fresh spinach. It was a feast for the eyes, stomach and soul! Thanks, Sylvia.

Oh my goodness.   I am a big fan of Feasting at Home and cook 1-3 recipes a week from here.  This is incredibly delicious and complex without being difficult.  Had friends over for post vaccination gathering and this was so perfect!   

Made as written except used vegetable broth rather than chicken.

Sauce was delicious. I used eggplants, string beans, low fat coconut milk .
But am not sure if I pick the right fish Red Snapper ? 
Would say my husband loves it.
Thank you Sylvia.

Sylvia, I can't tell you how excited I am about this recipe. Growing up on the Pacific coast, I was spoiled by a wide variety of authentic Asian restaurants. Where I live now I can't get decent Thai food. I miss it terribly and have always found it particularly challenging to capture at home, but this recipe is it! It's the first time I've found the right technique to create the coconut curry broth I so crave. THANK YOU!

Excellent dish.  Went great with the Alaskan sablefish we had.  I would make it spicier next time.  I subbed lime/lemon zest for the Kaffir leaves and that seemed to work ok.

The only criticism I have is that prep took much longer, almost an hour, for me.

I'm on your email list and have really enjoyed the recipes.

Im making this tonight and have prepared the curry. Is it ok to rub the lime zest, juice and salt on the fish several hours before?

This was the best thai curry I've had - my husband and I loved it!

Absolutely perfect! I didn't add the fresh chiles because I forgot to buy them but with ~2 tablespoons curry paste it had a nice balanced heat. I also added a swirl of tamarind and it was delicious, but totally unnecessary! Just wanted to use it cuz I had it :)

This is SO delicious!!!  We've tried making Thai curry dishes for years at home but they never quite hit the mark.  This truly does.  It's amazing!  Thank you!!!

Five stars from me.  I used red snapper, left out the Thai curry paste and threw in some frozen peas but did everything else as called for.  A keeper recipe and company-worthy!

This stew is outstanding. I've made it twice in the past few months. The flavors are incredible, but you have to taste test the broth (as the recipe instructs) to get it where you like it. I haven't yet used the lemongrass, chilies, or the lime leaves. I sub 1 tablespoon of curry powder for the curry paste because I don't like things too spicy. It's a warm, comforting, flavorful, healthy dish. It's been my favorite way to use cod yet! I'll make it regularly. 
*One note: I chopped up a head of cauliflower to use in place of the green veggies, and I had a hard time differentiating it from the cod when I was dishing it out, since they're both white. The only reason this was a problem is because I was trying to make sure I got enough protein in my dish! I won't add as much cauliflower next time.

Silvia, this is divine!  The combination of Thai Red curry paste and coconut and lime is simply complimentary for a mouthful of vegetable and fish deliciousness.

This is a simply delicious recipe! I love the way you explain the need to divide the slow and quick cooking vegetables at different stages of the cooking process. Works a treat! Thanks so much! :)

Sorry it took so long to circle back and thank you for this guidance. I did as you suggested, and it worked perfectly! Everyone was SO IMPRESSED (not that it matters, but it sure does feel nice)! And what a treat to have an incredible Thai meal at an Air B&amp;B in the middle of a national forest after a cold,  rainy day of kayaking. I make a lot of your recipes, and I am always delighted with them. But this was truly extra special. Thanks for helping me figure out how to make it happen! 🥂

Delicious recipe, flavourful 
fresh and nicely balanced. I didn't use paste but added a half teaspoon if sugar for some sweetness.

Wow, did I look genius tonight! Made the broth ahead just as described, heated it when ready for mains, dropped in fish and prawns pre-prepared, dished minutes later and basked in the glory. Well done Sylvia!   And thank you for introducing me to how easy Thai can be 🥰

Just divine! I could eat that sauce over anything! But the fish balances the otherwise hearty sauce very well. I used sweet potatoes instead of carrots, so it took a little longer to soften. An absolute make-again dish!

That is the absolute Best curry recipe EVER!! I used salmon instead of cod because that was what was available at my local market and it was perfect. Thank you for yet another outstanding recipe!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/pMbWeuF2.mp4

Watch how to make Thai Fish Curry with Coconut Milk -brimming with seasonal veggies and bursting with delicious Thai flavors. Video.

Aromatic and zesty, this Thai coconut fish curry is light but intensely flavorful and perfect served with rice for dinner.

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Top 3 thai fish curry recipes from across the web

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Thai Fish Curry

Thai Fish Curry

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