Thai-Style Green Fish Curry

I am a huge fan of curry dishes.  The one thing that I love most about curries is the seemingly endless combinations of varying spices and herbs, together with a protein and/or with vegetables.   Even the same curry dish may be prepared in a slightly different way from region to region, country to country. 

My personal cookbook reflects much of that love.  I  have made many curries with a variety of ingredients, including two different types of duck curry (Kerala and Mauritius), pig's feet curry (Kangchu Maroo), and even a curry from the early Colonial period in the United States (Mary Randolph's Curry).  I have also made curries from around the world, from Africa (Mtuzi wa Samaki) to central Asia (Makher Taukari) to southeastern Asia (Kaeng Kiao wan Kung).  I have even tried to create my own curries, such as my Soft Shell Curry, Goan Style.

And, I am always on the lookout for new curry recipes.  Recently, I was going through my cookbooks when I found this recipe for Thai-Style Green Fish Curry.  The recipe comes from Joshua Wesson's Wine and Food and, because of Joshua's expertise in wine, it also comes with recommendations for pairing.  The recipe calls for the use of a firm white fish, such as halibut or sea bass.  I used monkfish, just because I wanted to try something different and the monkfish that was available and it was not on my do-not-buy list.  Monkfish was also cheaper than halibut and I like it a lot more than cod. 

In the end, this Thai-Style Green Fish Curry was a delicious dish that is very easy to make.  If I could make any other changes (other than using monkfish rather than halibut or cod), I think it would have added a little heat from a green pepper, such as a jalapeno or serrano chile.  Just another opportunity to add to the nearly infinite number of curries out there!

THAI-STYLE GREEN FISH CURRY

Recipe from Joshua Wesson, Wine & Food, page 73

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound of firm white fish (such as halibut, cod or sea bass), 

     about 1 1/2 inches thick

1 stalk of lemongrass

1 can of coconut milk (13.5 fluid ounces)

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (or seafood broth)

3 tablespoons of fish sauce

Finley grated zest of 1 lime

3 tablespoons of lime juice

1 tablespoon high quality green curry paste

1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

2 cups hot cooked jasmine rice

Directions:

1.  Prepare the fish.  Skin the fish fillets, if necessary, and discard the skin.  Cut the fillets into 1 1/2 inch chunks and set aside.

2.  Prepare the curry base.  Cut off about two inches of the lemongrass stem and pull of and discard the tough outside layers.  Finley mince the tender inside stalks, measure out 1 teaspoon and add it to a saucepan.  Add the coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, lime zest and juice, curry paste, ginger and garlic.

3.  Cook the curry base and the fish.  Bring the coconut milk mixture to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about ten minutes to blend the flavors.  Add the fish and simmer gently until the fish is opaque throughout when tested with a knife tip, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the cilantro, basil and mint.  Taste the curry and adjust the seasonings with fish sauce.

4.  Plate the dish.  Place a scoop of rice in each of 4 warmed shall soup bowls and ladle the curry over the rice.  

By the way, Joshua Wesson recommends a German Riesling Kabinett as a pairing for the Thai-Style Green Fish Curry, which worked very well with this dish. 

ENJOY!

Kaeng Kiao Wan Kung (Thai Shrimp in Green Curry Sauce)

This particular recipe -- Kaeng Kiao Wan Kung (Thai Shrimp in Green Curry Sauce) -- has a little backstory to it.  I found this recipe on one of the websites that I regularly visit (Whats4Eats) several months back.  This recipe was high on the priority list of things to make for my beautiful Angel, because I thought she would really like it.  I tried to make it several times; however, each time failed.  It was not because I screwed up the recipe.  Each meal turned out well and we enjoyed the food.  

The meal failed because every time I made the dish, I made with red curry paste.  What was supposed to be Thai Shrimp in Gren Curry Sauce ended up being Thai Shrimp in Red Curry Sauce.  (Don't ask me how that translates in Thai.)  The reason was simple: every time I went to a particular grocery store after work, I would go to the Asian foods section.  As I stood before the shelves, basket in hand, my eyes always fixated on the one gap -- the one open space -- on the shelves. Sure enough, the little tag read "Green Curry Paste."  There were lots of jars of red curry paste, but no jars of green curry paste.  I would reach to the back of the shelf, hoping that there was a stray jar of green curry paste.  Each time, I left ... with a jar of red curry paste.

However, on one occasion, I checked that shelf and there it was ... green curry paste.  A bottle of water, green chilies, onions, lemon grass, galangal, garlic, sugar, salt and tamarind.  All of those ingredients pureed into the one paste I needed to make Kaeng Kiao Wan Kung.  I purchased a jar and a pound of the larges shrimp I could find.  I headed home to make the dish for Clare.

Overall, the dish turned out well, although the green curry sauce did not end up as green as I thought it would.  The lack of a greenish hue is most likely due to the color of the green curry paste that I used.  Still, we both really enjoyed this dish.  It is simple to make and has those Thai flavors that appeal to both of us.

KAENG KIAO WAN KUNG 

(THAI SHRIMP IN GREEN CURRY SAUCE)

Recipe from Whats4Eats

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup of coconut cream
2-3 tablespoons of green curry paste
3 cups of coconut milk
1/4 cup of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
Shrimp, peeled and deveined -- 1 pound
1/2 cup of basil
3 makrut lime leaves
2-3 serrano chiles, sliced into thin rounds

Directions:

1.  Simmer the cream and paste.  In a large saucepan or wok, simmer the coconut cream over low heat until most of the moisture boils away and the oil separates out. Stir in the curry paste and simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes. Do not allow to burn.

2.  Add the coconut milk. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

3.  Add the shrimp. Stir in the shrimp and simmer another 5 or 6 minutes, or until the shrimp is just cooked through. Adjust seasoning adding more fish sauce or sugar if you like and stir in the basil and lime leaves.

4.  Plate the dish.  Serve in individual bowls with steamed rice or rice noodles and garnish with the sliced chile pepper.

 ENJOY!