This super easy Thai red curry with tender fish is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. You essentially only need five ingredients to get this delicious fish curry on the table, the rest is optional. And, this Thai fish curry recipe requires no chopping! It's the ultimate convenience dinner – without compromising on authentic Thai flavours.
Servings4
Ingredients
- 20 ounces skinless white fish fillets
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste* , divided
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil , divided
- 2 cups coconut milk*
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar) , more to taste
To garnish
- 2 fresh kaffir lime leaves or Thai basil leaves , stem removed and finely sliced
- 1 red chilli , thinly sliced
- fresh lime wedges
To serve (optional)
- snow peas , or sugar snap peas
- steamed jasmine rice , brown rice, or cauliflower rice
Instructions
- Cut the white fish into large even-sized chunks. Dry it with a paper towel and gently rub the fish with a thin layer of red curry paste to season – you'll use about 2 teaspoons of the curry paste.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the remaining red curry paste and stir-fry until it is fragrant and mixed into the oil – about 2 minutes.
- Increase to medium-high heat, and add half of the coconut milk, all of the fish sauce, and palm sugar. Bring the sauce to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, for about 8 minutes until the sauce is smooth and thick.
- Add the remaining coconut milk and mix well. Taste the curry sauce. It should be spicy, salty and slightly sweet. Remember that you'll serve it over rice, so it needs to be punchy. Add more palm sugar and some salt if your sauce needs balancing. Depending on the brand of curry paste, I sometimes add another ½ tablespoon of palm sugar. Let the sauce come back to a light simmer.
- Nestle your fish into the sauce and simmer gently. Use a lid, if you have one, to speed things up. Check your fish after 5 minutes and gently flip them over if they're not firm and opaque yet – cook for another 2 to 5 minutes. The exact cooking time depends on how thick the chunks of fish are. The key is to keep an eye on the simmering sauce and remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as the fish is firm and opaque all the way through.
- Serve the Thai red fish curry over steamed jasmine rice (or cauliflower rice) in individual bowls. Top each bowl with warmed snow peas*, shredded herbs (lime leaves or Thai basil), and sliced chilli. Then drizzle with freshly squeezed lime juice.
Notes
- You can use any skinless white fish fillets. Cod (and its subspecies like hake), bass, grouper, tilapia, haddock and snapper all work well. Thicker cuts work best if you have a choice.
- This super simple recipe relies on the flavours of quality ingredients and fresh fish. Use homemade red curry paste or good quality store-bought Thai red curry paste, like Mae Ploy red curry paste.
- For a milder curry, reduce the curry paste. You can always add more curry paste toward the end. But don't add more than the recipe calls for, or it will be too salty. Rather garnish your dish with more sliced chillies.
- I buy full-fat coconut milk in small cartons from Thailand. If you have a 14-ounce can of coconut milk (400 grams), you don't need to open a second can if you don't have another use for the leftover coconut milk. Instead, add water or unsalted vegetable stock to make up the rest. And, if you have leftover coconut milk, drizzle a tablespoon of coconut milk over each finished Thai curry bowl as a garnish, or add it to the rice cooking liquid!
- You can add snow peas (or other quick-cooking vegetables like bok choy) directly to the simmering sauce for the last minute. But, I prefer to heat them separately to retain their sweet flavour, crispy texture, and vibrant colour. Simply place them in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside until your curry is ready.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.