Easy Thai Red Curry Fish Recipe with Cod
This easy Thai red curry fish recipe with cod is a light and flavorful dish with aromatic spices and a creamy coconut base. Whether you're a seafood enthusiast, a Thai food lover, or want an easy and quick weeknight dinner, this recipe is it! Ready in 15 minutes!
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- 1 lb cod fish fillets. I bought mine frozen from Trader Joe's.
- 2-2 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste. Adjust as needed for your level of spiciness homemade red curry paste, or use store-bought for convenience
- 1 can coconut milk, 14 ounces.
- 1+1/4 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 3 oz water chestnuts, sliced into bite-size pieces.
- 3 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar
- 1-2 tsp fish sauce. I used the squid brand, and it's saltier than most. Start small, then add more to adjust as needed.
- 3 kaffir lime leaves, julienned
- Thai basil. Optional. Italian basil works fine too.
- Assorted vegetables.Optional. Use red bell pepper, green beans, snow peas, baby corn, bok choy, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts to add color and texture.
Instructions
- 1
Add the top thick part of your coconut milk in a large saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat. This is the coconut cream that's hardened slightly and has floated to the top of the can. This is the thickest and richest part of the coconut milk. We will reduce it to a thick coconut layer with slight bubbles in the cream. It's called coconut milk separation, where the oils are separated from the water during cooking. This breaking of oils and water process intensifies the flavors of the coconut cream used in curries.
- 2
Add the red curry paste to the pan with the coconut milk and stir in to make a beautiful red/orange curry sauce.
- 3
Next, quickly add the sugar, fish sauce, kaffir leaves, and peppers to season the sauce. Stir well and lower Lower the temperature to medium heat.
- 4
Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
- 5
Add the Cod fillets, vegetable stock, and water chestnuts and stir. Bring the mixture to a simmer until the fish becomes tender and flaky but not overcooked. The cooking time for this fish recipe seafood is around 3-4 minutes only. Taste and season with more sugar, fish sauce, and kaffir lime leaves or sliced red peppers for extra heat. Feel free to add some vegetables during this step as well. See vegetable suggestions below.
- 6
Turn the heat off, serve Thai Red Curry Fish with cod over jasmine or cauliflower rice, and garnish with additional Thai basil leaves and lime wedges.