the other day we talked about the challenge of naming some recipes. well, clearly this time i just decided to go with the first thing that popped into my head: indi-thai fish curry. it felt right, given that that was basically how i developed the recipe too.
dinnertime was rapidly approaching and i was getting hungry. we had an assortment of vegetables waiting their turn in the crisper drawer, some salmon in the freezer that i probably intended for some other recipe i hadn’t gotten around to making, and a bunch of sauces and spices in the fridge/cabinet. game. on.
i started pulling stuff out of the fridge and spice cabinet, with a vague idea that we were going in sort of an india-meets-thailand direction. ‘cause that’s a thing, right? indi-thai? it’s kind of like indian-chinese*, except that maybe we’re the only ones who are doing it.
it’s ok, though, because it’s delicious! we’re happy to trail blaze here. which is good, because i was definitely making things up as i went along. in fact, when we sat down to eat and i discovered that the fish curry i had hastily thrown together was actually quite good, i had to grab a pen and paper after we finished eating to jot down what i *thought* i had put in the dish, so that we could recreate it.
luckily i had actually employed some measuring devices, mostly to avoid under or over seasoning things, so i had a pretty good idea of what i had put into the newly minted indi-thai fish curry.
subsequent testing revealed that it hadn’t been a fluke: the recipe (we can call it that now, right?) was actually good. phew! that first batch of indi-thai fish curry was so good, i would have been sad if i hadn’t been able to reproduce it. fortunately, we now have a reliable guide to creating india-thai fusion curries. now, if we can just convince others that this is totally a thing…
*my husband and i were excited to discover an indian-chinese restaurant near us last weekend. alas, it is on par with much of the other ethnic food in maine… i’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about that (hint: maine has the highest percentage of non-hispanic whites of any state in the country…thanks wikipedia!).
did you make this recipe? i’d love to know what you think of it! leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #tastyseasons.
indi-thai fish curry
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, divided
- 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 zucchini, thinly sliced
- 1 large head of broccoli, cut into bite sized florets
- 1 pound (454 g.) salmon, cut into 1” (2.5 cm) cubes (i love filets that are skinned on both sides for this)
- 1 can (~13.5 fl. oz. / 400 ml) full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (chili paste)
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce/tamari or 2 teaspoons coconut aminos
- zest of half a lime
- 3 kaffir lime leaves, see notes
- juice of half a lime
Instructions
- heat a large, high sided nonstick skillet over medium heat and melt 2 teaspoons of the coconut oil. as you get the carrots, zucchini, and broccoli sliced/chopped, add them to the pan, in that order. the carrots will take the longest to soften, so give them a few (3-ish) minutes head start. the zucchini and broccoli can go in roughly together a few minutes after the carrots. keep a lid on the vegetables so they can steam/sauté for a few minutes (5-ish), then once they are mostly softened, remove the lid and sauté the vegetables until they are tender and have some nice golden brown spots (about 2 more minutes). transfer them to a bowl.
- heat the remaining teaspoon coconut oil in the now empty pan. add the salmon cubes and sauté until fully cooked through and flaking easily (3 – 5 minutes). if you want to maintain cubes, flip the pieces very gently with a thin spatula. i was going for speed and thoroughly cooked, so my pieces ended up much more flaked.
- once cooked, push the salmon to the side of the pan and add a little bit of the fat from the coconut milk can (about 1 tablespoon) and the turmeric, coriander, cumin, and garam masala. bloom the spices in the fat for 30 – 60 seconds, until they are fragrant. add the rest of the coconut milk and add the vegetables back to the pan.
- add the sambal oelek, fish sauce, soy/tamari/coconut aminos, lime zest, and kaffir lime leaves. turn the heat up to high to bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer for 3 minutes, to allow the flavors to blend. remove from heat, stir in lime juice, and serve immediately. leftovers keep well (for as long as your trust fish leftovers) in an airtight container in the fridge. they will thicken significantly because of the coconut milk but go right back to normal once you reheat them (no need to add water).
Notes
if you make curries more than once ever, i strongly recommend tracking down some kaffir lime leaves. they keep really well in an airtight sandwich bag in the freezer and add such important, authentic (can i even use that word?) flavor. they are one of those key ingredients that makes your food at home taste (more) like the food from your favorite thai restaurant. the whole foods in portland, MAINE sells them, so i bet you can find them.
Nutrition Facts
indi-thai fish curry
Serves: 6
| Amount Per Serving: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 281 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 19 g. | 29.2% | |
| Saturated Fat 15 g. | 75% | |
| Trans Fat 0 g. | ||
| Cholesterol 39 mg. | 13% | |
| Sodium 336 mg. | 14% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 9 g. | 3% | |
| Dietary Fiber 3 g. | 12% | |
| Sugars 4 g. | ||
| Protein 20 g. | ||
| Vitamin A | Vitamin C | |
| Calcium | Iron | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
tasty seasons
