Vish's Kitchen

fish curry

Fish Molee Curry

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Delicious with any firm white fish. This is a version of fish curry made in Kerala, a southern state of India. It’s a simple recipe but elegant and tasty recipe that you can enjoy with a side of rice or naan.

Key Tips

  • For this recipe, we will pan fry the fish on it’s own first and then add it to the molee curry. You could directly add the raw fish into the curry and cook the fish in the curry sauce as well. But the fish tends to break apart while cooking. Pan frying the fish first, then adding it to the curry works better if you are using a delicate white fish. Moreover the slightly browned crust adds a nice touch to the finished recipe.
  • I do use Indian curry spices in this recipe, so a quick trip to the Indian store or local grocery story that carries spices may do. But these species are what you’ll use in multiple different Indian, African or maybe in Mexican recipes, so worth stocking up your pantry with these.
  • Be sure to shake the can of coconut milk before you use it. Canned coconut milk always separates into 2 layers at room temp, solid coconut cream at the top and the liquid water at the bottom.

How to prepare the Fish?

Any firm white fish would work well. For this recipe I have used Cod, but you can use pollock, halibut, etc. Tilapia will fall apart, if using, pan fry it and then add it to the sauce at the very end.

Ingredients for the Fish:

  • 1 Lb firm white fish like cod pieces
  • 2 tbs Lemon Juice
  • Salt, Pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  • 2tbsp Olive oil

Method used to cook the Fish

  1. Cut up the fish into the size you’d like, I’d recommend 2 inch pieces. If the fish you are using is smaller size fillets, you may leave them whole as a fillet.
  2. Sprinkle the pieces of fish with the lemon juice, salt, pepper and turmeric.
  3. Let the fish marinate for 15-20mins.
  4. After that, heat up a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Turn the heat to medium, add the fish when hot and cook until the fish is browned on both sides and cooked through.
  5. Take the fish out of the pan and let it sit in a plate when you are cooking the Molee sauce.

How to make the Molee sauce?

The coconut milk here works really well with the fish. The spices are mild, you may completely avoid the Jalapenos if you do not like the heat or use just 1 for the flavor and a tiny bit of heat. It’s important that you cook the sauce at a simmer. If you like the sauce creamy and thick, you can avoid the broth. This might be a good idea if you are serving this with Naan instead of rice. With rice, I like a little lighter sauce so I add some broth. I always use full fat coconut cream and dilute it with broth rather than getting a low fat coconut milk.

Ingredients for the Fish:

  • 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1tbsp mustard seeds (optional)
  • 1-2 Jalapeno chillies thinly sliced, seeds removed
  • 6-7 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp of grated ginger
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1tsp ground coriander
  • 1cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 15 oz can of coconut milk
  • 6-7 curry leaves
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Method to make the Molee sauce:

Here is the method to make the sauce:

  1. In a large deep frying pan, heat the olive oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds and let it sputter. They’ll start to jump when this happens.
  2. Add the onions and turn the heat to medium. Cook until the onion has softened and looks translucent about 5-6 mins.
  3. Add the garlic, ginger and sliced jalapenos and cook for another 2-3 mins.
  4. Add the turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander and the cloves and fry with the onion mixture for 2 minutes.
  5. Stir in the can of coconut milk, broth, the curry leaves and salt and bring it to a simmer. Do not bring it to a boil, always cook the coconut milk at a simmer.
  6. Simmer this sauce for 15-20 mins. Adjust the salt as needed.
  7. Add the fish into the sauce and cook until it’s heated through, should only take couple mins.
  8. Stir in the finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves if using.

Serve with Rice or Roti or Naan. Enjoy!

Seafood Green Curry

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This is a slightly milder form of Thai green curry that works great with seafood. You could use a store bought curry paste but after making a homemade version, you wouldn’t go back to buying a curry paste from the store. It takes some effort to gather all the right ingredients but it is worth the effort. I usually tend to make curry pastes in big batches, you can jar or freeze the paste. Use it for the next few months until it’s time to visit the Asian grocery store again.

Homemade Green curry paste vs Store Bought

The advantage is the customization. With homemade you have the control to modify the quantity of each ingredient and spice level. The heat in green curry is from Thai green chilies and you can decide how many of these you want to add to the paste.  The other advantage is the use of fresh herbs and spices  in green curry makes a huge difference in boosting the flavors in the curry.

What makes Green Curry Green?

Green curry has been my favorite of all types of Thai Curries. The Thai word for it Kaeng khiao wan, Kaeng meaning curry and Khiao wan meaning green. So what makes it green? It’s all the fresh herbs that go in it. The freshness and mild, but beautiful flavors of the fresh herbs pairs perfectly with fish, oysters, clams, shrimp. 

How to make the Green Curry Paste?

It is the simplest curry paste to make from scratch and you will find most of these ingredients in any Asian grocery market or even in stores like Whole Foods. 

Once you have all of these ingredients, getting them ready to go into the processor and turning it into a paste takes only a few minutes and the benefits of the fresh paste are worth it. 

Ingredients for the Green Curry Paste

  • 6 Spring Onions
  • 6-7 Fresh Cilantro Stems coarsely chopped (Optional)
  • 8 Kaffir Lime leaves shredded
  • 1-3 Thai green Chilies (if you like the heat), if not Serrano works too
  • 4 lemongrass stalks (bottom tender portion only), coarsely chopped
  • 1 inch piece of Galanga, skin peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 inch piece of ginger, skin peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 10-12 of fresh Thai Basil leaves
  • 4-tbsp of vegetable oil 
  • 1tbsp salt

Put all of these into a food processor and blend until you get a smooth paste. You may need to add 1-2 tbsp of water or additional oil if you prefer to get to the smooth texture.

You can use the paste right away to make the curry or you can put it in a jar, refrigerate or freeze the paste until you are ready to use it. With the amount here I can make this seafood curry recipe at least 2 -3 times, depending on the concentration of flavors you like in your curry. 

How do you make Seafood Green Curry?

You can use just fish, if you prefer. A light fish like Cod or Barramundi works well. My favorite curry is a seafood mix including fish, shrimp, scallops, mussels, squid rings. The creaminess of the coconut milk and the flavors of the fresh herbs pairs really well with any seafood. 

For the curry you will need,

Ingredients:

  • 2.5lbs bag of mixed seafood (shrimp, mussels, scallops and calamari). I get this from Costco. If not, just any such combination will do. 
  • 2 small fillets of Cod, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 4-5 kaffir lime leaves, shredded, or cut into thin strips.
  • 2-3 fresh Thai or Serrano chilies, seeded and cut into strips (optional for additional heat)
  • 2 cans of coconut milk
  • Handful of torn Thai Basil leaves
  • 2-3tbsp of Thai fish sauce
  • 3-4 green parts of the Spring Onions for garnish, minced
  • Squeeze of lime juice

Key Tips – 

  • If you not into Thai Fish Sauce (yes, it is super stinky, but adds a delicious flavor), you can use soy sauce.
  • For coconut milk, I prefer the full fat coconut milk with seafood. For chicken, a little less creamy works better. You can use one can of full fat coconut with 1 can of reduced fat coconut milk.
  • You do not want to overcook the curry sauce, coconut milk can get slimy as it overcooks. I split up the additions of coconut milk to avoid this.  Avoid bringing coconut milk to a boil, should always stay in a state of mild simmer.
  • While cutting up Kaffir Lime leaves, take out the central vein, it is tough and will not taste good in the curry. To cut up Kaffir lime, roll up a few after taking the central vein out and cut it into very fine strips.
  • While using Lemongrass, only use the bottom 1-2 inches that are tender. Take out the most of the tough layers until you get to the tender part of the stalk. Remove the tough base as well. 
  • It’s important not to overcook the squid, it will turn chewy. As soon as shrimp gets slightly pink, you can stop.  It shouldn’t take more than a few mins if there is no liquid. If the seafood is frozen, completely thaw it out and strain all liquid before stir frying. Also if the wok isn’t large enough, cook the seafood in installments. If you overcrowd the wok, the seafood will steam, release water and overcook. 

Method to make the curry

  1. In a large wok, heat up some oil. When hot add the seafood mix and cook until the shrimp turns just pink. If using mussels either use cooked mussels or cook it separately until mussels open up and are cooked.
  2. Transfer the cooked seafood onto a plate while you are making the curry sauce.
  3. Add 1 can of coconut milk to the same wok and add 1/4 to 1/3rd cup of the paste, the fish sauce and shredded kaffir lime leaves to the hot coconut milk and stir well to mix. You can use close to half of the paste that you made. 
  4. Bring this mix to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain simmering gently for 10 mins
  5. Add the 2nd can of coconut milk to the wok and stir and continue to cook until it is heated through and comes up to simmer. This should take a couple mins. 
  6. Add the chunks of fish to the sauce 1st, and after a couple minutes or so add the cooked seafood. 
  7. Adjust seasoning. Cook until the seafood is heated through, a few more mins, not more. You do not want to overcook the seafood.
  8. When heated through, add in the green chilies (if using), scallions and torn basil leaves.
  9. Serve with freshly cooked hot Thai Jasmine rice and couple lime wedges on the side. Squeeze of lime into the curry just before you eat. 

You may substitute seafood for chicken or tofu if you prefer. When I use seafood, I do not use any other vegetables. But if you are using chicken, you could add other vegetables like eggplant or peas. You can use thinly sliced chicken or precooked chicken breasts to the curry sauce. The other option with chicken is to marinate the chicken in some curry paste and soy sauce, stir fry the chicken prior to adding it to the curry sauce. Enjoy!