This easy Thai Red Fish Curry recipe is bursting with delicious Thai flavours with fragrant spices and a rich creamy sauce.
This Thai red curry fish is a staple recipe in my house and one of my favourite ways to cook fish.
The combination of the rich sweetness of coconut, fragrant Thai spices and zesty citrus flavours is to die for.
Best of all it is ready in just 30 minutes, making it a perfect quick weeknight dinner.
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Ingredients
This recipe for Thai fish curry uses the following ingredients.
- Onions
- Garlic and ginger - the quantities may seem a lot but don't skimp on these, they add a wonderful flavour to the dish!
- Thai red curry paste - this is where the majority of flavour from your dish is going to come from so make sure you get a good quality paste. Or make your own (my recipe coming soon!). Red curry paste is less spicy than green curry paste but if you are cooking for kids or like a milder curry you might want to add less.
- Palm sugar - I often substitute this with brown sugar, you could also use white sugar if that is all you have.
- Fish sauce - true, it doesn't smell very good, but fish sauce is one of the basic ingredients of Thai cooking and helps give an authentic flavour. It is very salty and so additional salt is not usually required.
- Fresh lime juice - from a freshly squeezed lime.
- Kaffir lime leaves - another staple in Thai cuisine, these help to add subtle layers of citrus to the dish. These can be stored in a ziploc bag in the freezer for up to a year so you don't need to buy them every time. You can substitute with a little lime zest.
- Coconut milk - for a rich and creamy curry, go for a regular coconut milk (not light/reduced fat). You can also use coconut cream for a thicker sauce but I find this a little too rich and prefer to use coconut milk.
- Vegetables - the vegetables I regularly use in this recipe are bell peppers, green beans and baby corn. You can add any vegetables you like or that need using up. Snow peas or sugar snap peas, broccoli or bok choy / pak choi all work well too
- Fish - see below for recommendations on the type of fish to use.
The Best Fish for Fish Curry
Any firm-fleshed white fish will work well in a curry. Some options include cod, halibut, ling, snapper, barramundi, mahi mahi.
Try to buy fish fillets that are all the same thickness so that you can cut it into even-sized pieces to ensure even cooking.
How to make Red Thai Fish Curry
You can whip up this Thai curry fish recipe quickly and easily. I like to make mine in a flat bottomed wok, but you can use a large saucepan or large skillet too.
Start by cooking the onion, followed by the garlic and ginger (your kitchen will already start to smell amazing at this stage!)
Next add the red Thai curry paste and allow the spices to cook for a few minutes before stirring in the coconut milk.
Add the sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and lime leaves to build layers of sweet, sour, salty and citrus and leave it to bubble away to allow all the flavours to develop.
When the curry sauce has thickened, add in the vegetables in order of cooking time required (I use green beans, followed by red bell pepper and baby corn) and then finally add in the fish.
The fish should only take around 3-5 minutes to cook.
Sprinkle with some fresh coriander if you like and serve with some steamed jasmine rice and lime wedges.
FAQs and Top Tips
Store any leftover fish curry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The best way to reheat leftover curry is in a saucepan or wok over a medium heat until piping hot. Avoid reheating in the microwave which can lead to uneven heating and/or rubbery fish.
You can freeze a fish curry but it won't be as good when defrosted and reheated. A better option is to freeze any leftover sauce and then add fresh fish after defrosting and reheating the sauce.
If you want to get ahead with this fish Thai curry then I recommend making the sauce ahead of time and adding the vegetables and fish when you reheat it. Both vegetables and fish can be prepared ahead of time and kept in airtight containers in the fridge until ready to cook.
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Easy Thai Red Fish Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or finely chopped
- ½ inch piece fresh ginger grated or finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 400 ml can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 Kaffir lime leaves
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 100 g 4oz green beans
- 100 g 4oz baby corn
- 750 g 1.5lbs white fish, cut into 2-inch cubes
Instructions
- Heat the oil over a medium-high heat in a wok or skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft.
- Add the garlic and ginger and stir for another 2 minutes.
- Add the curry paste. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk then add the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and kaffir lime leaves. Allow to simmer for around 10 minutes for the flavours to infuse and the sauce to thicken.
- Add the beans and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the red bell pepper and baby corn and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the fish and cook for 3-5 minutes until just cooked through.
- Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with jasmine rice and lime wedges on the side.
Good flavor in the curry but cooking the fish in the sauce leaves it pretty bland. I recommend pan sautéing or frying bc the fish separately and then adding it. Bright flavors!
Simple and very tasty Loved it
I recently got some Thai red curry paste and didn't know what to do with it. Your recipe looked pretty easy so my daughter and I decided to give it a try today. It turned out a great success! It was very delicious and tasty! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Add snap peas and super thin carrot slices!