Recipe for green curry fish with asparagus and peas
Fresh green chili, garlic, wild ginger, shallot, lemon grass, salt, kaffir lime, sugar, galangal, coriander seeds, cumin, cardamon, tumeric: That's the ingredient list on the tub of Thai green curry paste in my refrigerator. No artificial ingredients, no additives, no unpronounceables. So, call store-bought curry paste a convenience food, if you must, but this is one convenience food I always have in my pantry. I'm partial to two brands, Mae Ploy and Maesri, sold in nearly identical little plastic tubs in most Asian markets (and online). Both are made with all-natural ingredients, and either will enhance this green curry fish with asparagus and peas. Use any white fish from the market, and if it's not asparagus season, try green beans or zucchini. Just keep it green.
Green curry fish with asparagus and peas
From the pantry, you'll need: basmati rice, canola oil, onion, fresh ginger root, green curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 cup white or brown basmati rice
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
10 thin asparagus spears, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths
1/4 cup Thai green curry paste, or more to taste
6 oz coconut milk
Juice of 1/2 lime
2-3 Tbsp brown sugar (use 3 Tbsp if you like your curry more sweet than sour)
2 Tbsp fish sauce (I use Three Crabs brand)
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen (defrost, if frozen)
1 lb cod (or other white fish), cut into 2-inch chunks
2 tsp fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Directions
Cook the rice according to package directions, in a rice cooker or on the stovetop. If you're using brown basmati rice (I love Texmati, from the regular grocery store), it can take 45-60 minutes to cook, so don't start cooking the rest of the dish until the rice is done. It needs to steam in the pot, covered, for 15 minutes after cooking. When the rice has just 5 minutes left to steam, start the rest of the dish.
Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and asparagus, all at once, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Then, stir in the curry paste, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Pour in the coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes; the sauce should come to a low boil, and begin to reduce.
Gently add the peas and pieces of fish. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes more, until the fish is cooked, and the sauce is thickened.
Taste, and adjust if necessary with more lime juice.
Serve individual portions over hot rice, garnished with fresh cilantro leaves.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Slow cooker Thai green curry chicken with broccoli and mushrooms
Thai green basil curry with chicken, asparagus and spinach
Green shrimp or fish curry
Thai red curry tofu and broccoli
Salmon choo chee
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Chilled green curry coconut asparagus soup, from Soup Chick
Coconut split pea soup, from Gluten-free Goddess
Eggplant green curry, from Simply Recipes
Slow cooker coconut and green curry pork, from The Kitchn
Crispy green curry chicken wonton bites, from Fifteen Spatulas
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Lovely dish - both the colors and the flavors. Makes me want to grab some fresh asparagus, curry paste and fish and get started!
Beautiful dish, Lydia. Both the ingredients and the presentation sing to me.
TW, curries like this couldn't be easier. I've made this with all kinds of fish, and many combinations of vegetables.
Christine, thank you. I can't imagine a pairing of fish and vegetables that wouldn't be happier after a green curry "bath"!
This looks amazing - I am definitely going to try this recipe! I love the Mae Ploy red curry paste - not only is it delicious in curries, but it adds a great note to butternut squash/sweet potato soup. Now I need to find/order the green curry paste.
Judy, I find that where I can buy the red curry paste, I usually can buy the green, too. If you can't find it in the tub, look for it in small cans.
Thanks, Lydia! I order the red curry paste because I can't find Mae Ploy near me, but I think they may have small cans of Maesri.
I just discovered yellow curry paste in my pantry - it seems to have almost all the ingredients that you list. (it has dried red chili instead of of fresh green chili, and it doesn't have wild ginger). I will probably add minced ginger (do you know what "wild ginger" is - is that a way of saying "fresh ginger"?).
Thank you!
Looks delicious but I have to ask do we even need the fish? I think this would be yummy on it's own - over rice!
Yes, I would love this dish. I need to experiment with curry paste more often.
Judy, wild ginger is a different plant, though with a similar taste to the ginger we're familiar with. I've seen it in Asian markets.
Carol, you could substitute tofu, which cooks just as quickly as the fish.
Kalyn, if you love red curry paste, and you love cilantro (and I know you do), you'll love this dish.
And here I just cracked open the jars of galangal, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil leaves, and lemon grass that a friend's spouse insisted I buy to make a single dish (larb). And I used about a teaspoon out of each. Whoopee. Note the lack of an exclamation point.
Well, perhaps I can combine my open containers to make this, which certainly looks more appetizing that the dish that I made (which will not make it onto my blog without serious re-working).
Thanks, Lydia!
Kirsten, you are so close to making your own green curry! Nothing really beats fresh curry paste, but as I'm usually too lazy to make my own, I'm grateful for good-quality, all-natural products in the Asian market.
I am definitely going to try to make this dish. Hubby and I are big fish eaters and are always on the look out for new recipes.
Kathy, hope you like it!