Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Coconut Fish Curry

A fish curry, loaded with deliciously crisp vegetables, flavored with a coconut green curry broth
Sweet, aromatic and delicate: three words I never associated with fish. Then I made fish curry.
Are you ready for green curry in a hurry? 

About 90% of the time when I am rushing to get dinner on the table, I make some sort of  stir fry. It's delicious, healthy, filling and has endless variations.  I used to think of stir fry as a soy sauce only deal until I read Well Fed, A Paleo Cookbook for People who Love to Eat (link to the author's blog here).  In this book, Melissa Joulwan pretty much blows the lid off of traditional stir fries and quick dinners and creates delicious recipes that made me look at the pictures and say "Get in my Mouf."

Melissa is a hard core paleo eater (no grains, legumes or dairy), and I'm not; however, I still love learning from her.  One of her favorite flavor tricks are coconut milk and fish sauce. This coconut fish curry sauce is a delicious paleo approved version of Thai Green Curry.

Before I started working on this recipe, I was a little worried that fish would not work with coconut milk, but I was so wrong.  The brininess of the fish actually enhances the sweet decadence of the coconut milk and the two primary components have a truly addictive flavor that you can whip up in just 15 minutes.  Nothing will make you feel more virtuous about your healthy eating than consuming a bowl of veggies swimming in omega three fatty acids (double win on the fish and coconut milk).  You might even get inspired to start that cross-fit workout you've been meaning to try (or not).

Like the Thai Red Curry, this curry sauce uses curry paste (Green this time), coconut milk and fish sauce, but you can change up the vegetables to suit what you have on hand.  I've actually done a similar curry using acorn squash so even if you have your doubts about a certain veggie, give it a try. The big technique when it comes to curry or stir fry is to start with the hearty vegetables (Squash, root veggies, cruciferous vegetables) and leave delicate vegetables (leafy greens, snap peas, etc.) to the end.

I promise that you will love this recipe.  At least this guy did!


Littlest playing with a paint rolling stick.  It's one of his top activities these days.



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Coconut Fish Curry
This green coconut curry is the perfect meal to make when you are in a hurry. Its especially quick if you can prep the veggies ahead of time.
Ingredients
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons Green Curry Paste
  • 3 Cloves Garlic Pressed or Minced
  • 1/2 White Onion diced
  • 3 Whole Carrots Carrots thinly sliced
  • 1-2 Crowns Broccoli diced
  • 2-3 Vegetables Zucchini thinly sliced
  • 4 Tilapia Filets cut into chunks
  • 1 Can Coconut milk
  • Small Handful Cilantro
Instructions
1. In a large skillet heat olive oil then add garlic, onion, green curry paste and fish sauce. Heat for 1-2 minutes2. Add all vegetables (unless you are using delicate vegetables then reserve those for the end) and heat for 5-7 minutes.3. Add Tilapia and heat for 3-4 minutes (until mostly cooked)4. Add coconut milk and delicate vegetables and keep on heat until coconut milk is quite warm and addictive.5. Serve with cilantro and lime.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 Servings

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