This easy fish curry with coconut milk has a rich and creamy sauce, lots of vegetables and perfectly cooked white fish. Garnish to taste and serve with naan for soaking up all that deliciousness!
Hi friends! Today I’m sharing a super easy curry recipe. I tested this fish curry with coconut milk a bunch of times to get it just right! Oh, the things we have to do, right?
I absolutely love any type of curry. I’ve shared a bunch of recipes with you all before, like chickpea cauliflower curry and zucchini noodle curry soup.
Today though? A super relishing, belly satisfying recipe for fish in coconut milk! This one has a little heat and is oh so hearty.
This recipe is easy enough for busy weekdays or fancy enough for weekend entertaining. Whip this up, place on the table and watch everyone dig!
It can be enjoyed as it, but I love with lots of naan for soaking up every last bit of that delicious sauce.
Best Fish To Use for Curry
A simple white fish works lovely in curry. I tend to prefer those over oilier fish, like salmon, for instance, in this type of dish. I’ve made with cod and haddock. Halibut or tilapia would work great too!
You can use fresh or frozen (just thaw before using).
A note on fish, though: Varieties of fish can vary. Halibut, for example, is more steak-like and denser than, say, cod. Even within a variety, the fillets can range from on the thinner side to the thicker side. And the cut (or section) of the fish can affect the thickness. An end or tail piece would be typically be thinner than what a centre cut would be.
Bottom line: Whatever you use, just heat until the fish is completely cooked through and easily flakes when prodded with a fork. If you think it’s done and decide to check, only to find out it’s not cooked, no worries. Just continue cooking until it is.
How To Make Fish Curry With Coconut Milk
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- In a pan, melt some coconut oil over medium heat.
- Once the oil is melted, add onion and cook until slightly softened.
- Next, add aromatic ginger.
- Then add garlic. Cook the ginger and garlic for a minute.
- Stir in curry paste.
- Crushed red pepper flakes are added next.
- Next, add potatoes, bell peppers, a sprinkle of salt & pepper and lime leaves. Stir everything so that the veggies get a nice coating of that curry paste mixture.
- Pour in stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are almost fork-tender.
- Coconut milk goes next, simmering for a little. Then add cod fillets (submerge them in the sauce).
- Spoon a little sauce over top of the fillets so that they cook through. Tuck them into their nice little curry bath, LOL. Heat until fish is cooked through, is opaque, and flakes easily with a fork.
- Take those lime leaves out (they’ve done their part) and carefully remove fish with a fish spatula.
- Stir in a cornstarch slurry to thicken that coconut-y deliciousness.
- Warm through just a little until the sauce has thickened.
- Spinach goes next. The heat is off at this point and the residual heat in the pan will wilt the spinach. By doing this, the spinach will still retain some of it’s beautiful green colour.
- Add cooked cod fillets back to the curry.
- Garnish as desired!
Delicious Garnish Ideas
- Fresh herbs, like cilantro, basil or mint (any one or a combo of them)
- Thinly sliced chili pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
- Minced green onion
- Squeeze of lime juice
- Sprinkle of lemon zest
Sides To Serve With Fish Curry
Any of these pair lovely with fish curry:
- Naan
- Poppadums
- Rice
- Quinoa
- Couscous
- Raita or yogurt
- Nice big wedge of lime
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Seafood broth or stock was used here to infuse flavour and help speed up the cooking time of those potatoes. Don’t have seafood broth on hand? Use vegetable broth or even water.
- Full-fat coconut milk was used and that’s what I recommend here.
- The fillets used in this recipe were about 4 ounces each. If your fillets are larger, they make take longer to cook, just cook until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
- I used 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes in this curry. If you aren’t a fan of spice, you can omit. Alternatively, if you are, add more.
- I used baby potatoes, but you could totally use a regular ol’ potato (just cut into bite-sized chunks).
More Easy Seafood Recipes
- Tomato Fish Stew
- Traditional Newfoundland Cod au Gratin
- Honey Mustard Salmon
- Dairy Free Seafood Chowder
If you make this fish curry recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!
Fish Curry With Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, or olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 to 2 tablespoons curry paste, or curry powder
- ½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending how spicy you want it (optional)
- ½ pound baby potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks (about a cup)
- 2 bell peppers, medium dice (colour of your choice)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, optional
- 1.25 cups seafood broth or stock
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk, a 400 millilitre can
- 1 pound boneless and skinless cod fillets, 4 pieces, each about 4 ounces (or use haddock fillets)
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1.5 tablespoons cold water
- 2 to 3 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
Garnish and Serving Ideas (optional)
- Cilantro, chopped
- Chili pepper, thinly sliced
- Green onion, thinly sliced
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a 12-inch heavy-bottomed sauté (or deep) pan over medium heat.Note: The pan should have a lid for use later.
- When coconut oil is melted, add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger, stir in, and cook 1 minute more.
- Stir in curry paste and crushed red pepper flakes (if using).
- Add baby potatoes, bell peppers, salt, black pepper and lime leaves, stirring to coat in curry paste mixture.
- Pour in stock or broth. Bring to a simmer, cover with lid slightly ajar and cook for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are almost fork-tender.
- Stir in coconut milk. Reduce the heat just a tad so you have a gentler/slower simmer and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir every minute or so and ensure that any "caked" on bits at the top of the pan gets scraped into the mix. That's delicious!
- One at a time, make 4 little wells in the curry mixture and place cod fillets into them so that they are mostly submerged in the sauce. Spoon sauce over top of each fillet.
- Cook, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork (insert the tines of a fork into the thickest part of the fish at an angle and twist gently; it should flake easily). Note: Time can vary, depending on the thickness of the fish.
- Remove and discard lime leaves. Then carefully transfer fish to a plate, being careful not to break up the fish.
- In a cup, combine cornstarch and cold water. Whisk until smooth and blended. Pour into pan and stir. Cook 1 to 2 minutes until sauce has thickened slightly.
- Stir in spinach and cook until just wilted (you can turn the heat off now if you like; the spinach will wilt with the residual heat in the pan).
- Return the cooked fish to the pan. Garnish to taste, if desired, with cilantro, chili pepper and green onion. Serve. Enjoy as is or with rice, quinoa or couscous. Great with lime juice squeeze over top.
Notes
- The fillets used in this recipe were about 4 ounces each. If your fillets are larger, they make take longer to cook, just cook until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
- I used baby potatoes, but you could use a regular ol’ potato (just cut into bite-sized chunks).
Nutrition (ESTIMATE ONLY)
Nutrition estimate (if provided) is based on 1 Serving.
Nutrition information (if provided) is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Colleen
One pot, spicy, creamy, yes please! I love coconut curries, but always do veggie or chicken ones, so I can’t wait to try this with fish. Looks SO delish!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Yay! Thanks Colleen! Enjoy 🙂
Lisa
This looks deliciously easy! We love curries and fish in our house, so this seems like a totally winning combination! Can’t wait to try it out!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Totally! Hope you love it! Thanks Lisa 🙂
David @ Spiced
Yum! What a fun recipe, Dawn. I love a good white fish, and the thought of using white fish in a curry is making my mouth water right now. All of those seasonings! We’re hunting for some healthy recipes as we’re doing the post-vacation diet thing right now, and this fish curry is seriously tempting. Thanks so much for sharing this one!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much, David! Hope you love it 🙂
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes
How delicious does this look? What gorgeous colours and flavours in this dish! xo
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Thank you kindly, Alexandra 🙂
Nancy
Just finishing off our dinner. Very good reviews from the family, even the teen boys!! I found this recipe while looking for a curry with fish. I made substitutions with what was on hand, but all the seasonings were exactly the same. I used tilapia for my fish, sweet potato for potato, asparagus instead of peppers, shallots instead of an onion, baby kale instead of spinach. I wish I had a red pepper on hand. I served it over jasmine rice and topped with a little basil. We will make this one again!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Hi Nancy, that’s great that you could make substitutions to use what you had on hand! So happy that you and your family enjoyed it! Thanks very much!!!
Kelly | Foodtasia
Dawn, such a wonderful curry! The sauce looks so flavorful. I love the spicy sweet combo with the coconut milk. Fish and curry go so perfectly together!
Valentina
Dawn, you’ve totally outdone yourself! I’m full, and thinking about all of the flavors in this is still making my mouth water. And it’s beautiful, to boot! ~Valentina
Marissa
Now I’m SO craving curry, Dawn! This looks wonderfully flavorful and I love that it’s made in one pot!
Happy Weekend, lovely!
Kevin
This is one dish to swoon over, curry and fish compliment each other so well!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
They really do! Thank you Kevin 🙂
[email protected]
This is just straight up delectable! I adore curry and this is no exception! All the cozy feels for this one!! Happy weekend, my friend! XOXO
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Thank you Annie!! Hope you have a wonderful week 🙂 XOXO
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
This looks like a winner! One pot full of deliciousness. I’ve never used lime leaves before but I’ll bet they add great flavor!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Totally! Thank you Kathy 🙂
Katherine | Love In My Oven
One bowl, fish, curry, coconut milk!? This is music to my ears! I think you know how much I love my curry. We’re even going out for curry for our anniversary tomorrow! I will definitely be trying this one my friend. It look so succulent and delicious!! Have a great weekend Dawn!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I do!! Yay! Hope you love it! Thanks Katherine 🙂 Have a great week!
Milena
Serve me a bowl of fish curry any time! Looks sooo good. I love to pile it high with fresh herbs too:) And definitely lots of lime wedges! Yes!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Me too Milena!! Thanks, my friend 🙂
Haylie / Our Balanced Bowl
This recipe is right up my alley in so many ways! One pot, spicy, creamy, and lots of naan to dip in the sauce! YES PLEASE! I could see me enjoying this with a nice glass of cold white wine! So much yum!!! 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Yay! I love the way you think 😉 Thank you Haylie!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
I am a huge curry fan, so I’m loving this wonderful combination of flavours and textures. Fish is perfect for a curry and love the addition of potatoes! Lovely!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
Words can’t express how much I love curries! They’re so warming and they just make me happy :). This sounds DELICIOUS, Dawn! I can’t wait to try it! Happy weekend!
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking
This one looks so hearty and flavourful Dawn! I haven’t made a curry dish before, but have enjoyed a few at different restaurants. Aside from salmon, cod is my favourite fish, so I know I would love this recipe. Plus, it’s made in one pot, and that’s a must for busy weeknights! Thanks for the shout out on my chowder recipe. Appreciate it!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
I love curry dishes too Dawn. Always so packed with flavor. We enjoy lots of fish during the summer here at the beach, so I’ll be adding this one to my list! Pinned. Happy weekend my friend!