Ok, I’ll admit – this recipe looks daunting if only for the number of ingredients to make your own curry paste. But if there was ever a reason to explore your local Asian market (and there are many), this is it! The jarred curry pastes are just… blah – especially after you’ve made the fresh version. You can make the paste ahead of time and after that, this dish comes together quickly.
This dish is fresh beyond belief. It’s earthy, spicy and complex. Totally worth the effort and will have you headed down the rabbit hole of amazing Thai cuisine.
You can also substitute any thicker, white fleshed fish such as Halibut, Grouper or Mahi.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- Food processor/blender
- Rice pot
- Nonstick sautee pan
Ingredients
- 2 Sea Bass filets
- 1 TBSP Butter
- 1 TBSP Coconut oil
- 1 cup Jasmine rice
Curry Paste
- 3-4 Thai green chilis - chopped
- 1 Jalapeno - deseeded, chopped
- 10 leaves Thai Basil - chopped
- 1 small Shallot - chopped
- 1 Lemongrass stem - trimmed, chopped
- 1 TBSP Galangal, microplaned - or Ginger
- 1/2 Lime, whole - zest
- 2 TBSP Cilantro - chopped w/ stems
- 1 tsp Fish sauce
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1-2 TBSP water
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Coriander - seeds
- 1/2 tsp Cumin - seeds
- 1/2 tsp white pepper - whole
Curry
- 3 TBSP Curry paste - from above
- 1 can Coconut milk, 14oz - full fat
- 1/2 cup Chicken stock
- 1 TBSP Brown sugar
- 1 tsp Fish sauce
Garnish
- Red Thai chilis - thinly sliced
- Thai Basil or cilantro - chiffonade
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
Make curry paste
- Add everything above except the whole spices (Coriander, cumin, pepper) to a food processor or blender. Use just enough water to make a thick paste. Process until you have a very smooth, fine paste. If your machine can't get it super fine, use a large mortar/pestle to grind.
- With mortar/pestle, grind whole spices until fine. Set aside.
Make Jasmine rice
- In pot over HIGH heat, bring 1.25 Cups water and 1 C rice to quick simmer. Cover and put heat to low, 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from heat, let sit 10 min with cover on. Fluff and serve
Finish curry
- In medium high walled pan, on MED heat, toast ground spices 1-2 minutes. Add curry paste to pan, mix with spices and sautee, 2 min.
- Add coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, sugar. Bring to simmer, on LOW, 10 min.
Cook Fish (when curry starts to simmer)
- In a medium, non-stick pan over MED heat, sautee filets in butter and coconut oil. 2 minutes each side or until golden. Place in oven to finish cooking to desired doneness.
Notes
Shortcut: you can certainly use store bought green chili paste but… make the fresh version, it’s worth it!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
