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.
Ingredients
- Coconut oil
- Garlic and ginger
- Curry paste
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Vegetables: onion, baby potatoes, bell peppers and baby spinach
- Salt and black pepper
- Kaffir lime leaves
- Seafood broth
- Coconut milk
- Cod fillets
- Cornstarch and water (to thicken the curry sauce)
Best Fish To Use
For this recipe, a simple white fish works lovely. 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:
- Heat coconut oil in a pan. Once the coconut oil is melted, add onion and cook until softened. Then add garlic and ginger and cook until they’re nice and fragrant.
- Stir in curry paste and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Add baby potatoes, bell peppers, salt, black pepper and lime leaves, stirring to coat everything nicely in the flavourful curry paste mixture.
- Pour in the seafood broth, then bring that to a simmer, cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until the 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, stirring every so often.
- Make 4 little wells in the curry mixture and tuck the fish fillets into their nice little curry bath, LOL. Submerge them in the sauce and spoon some sauce over each. Heat until the fish is cooked through.
- Remove and discard lime leaves (they’ve done their part). Then carefully transfer the fish to a plate, being careful not to break up the pieces.
- Stir in a cornstarch slurry and cook for a bit to thicken that coconut-y deliciousness.
- 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). By doing this, the spinach will still retain some of it’s beautiful green colour.
- Return the cooked fish to the pan and garnish to taste.
Delicious Garnish Ideas
Garnish adds more flavour, colour and texture. Here are some delicious options:
- Fresh herbs, like cilantro, basil or mint (any one or a combo of them)
- Thinly sliced chili pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
- Sliced green onion
- Squeeze of lime juice
- Sprinkle of lemon zest
Sides To Serve With It
Any of these pair lovely with this fish curry recipe:
- 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
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 red curry paste, depending on how much curry flavour you want
- 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, and cook for 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 seafood broth or stock. Bring to a simmer, cover with lid slightly ajar and cook for 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, for 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. Stir into the sauce. Cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
- 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 some cooked rice, quinoa or couscous. Great with lime juice squeezed 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).
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
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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!
Debb
I had to come up with a gluten free/dairy free meal for a guest. This fit the bill perfectly!! I subbed in fish sauce and water since I didn’t have fish stock. I also omitted the potatoes, added more coconut milk, and served over rice (with naan bread for the non-gluten free guests.) Just an excellent dish!! Thank you!!
Dawn | Girl Heart Food
Thank you very much, Debb!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I love it served with rice too.