Poached Cod in Thai Curry Sauce
52 weeks of cooking – Poaching
As a sailor you’d think the crew would be eating fish all the time, nope, we hardly ever eat fish.
It comes down to two factors, it’s expensive and we don’t catch it often. We go into lots of ports that are known for their seafood and I would love to pick up a bunch of it to prepare for the masses but it’s way out of my budget. The fish that we do end up having we catch ourselves. On long Atlantic crossing it’s easy enough to throw a line out and just wait for something to take a bite, most of the time we end up catching fish when we are going fast or in the middle of rough weather. There is nothing like changing dinner plans and serving a big fillet of fish for dinner, its do able when you are feeding 25, but for 75 people it’s more like everyone gets to lick the fish and that’s it.
When I want a fish dish to be packed with strong flavors I look to a Thai curry. Complex flavors from the curry paste could overpower a delicate white fish, but with a light hand and delicate base of coconut milk you can achieve the right balance to meld the two together. Poaching the fish in the sauce also adds more flavor to the curry as the fish releases its juices.
Poached Cod in Thai Curry Sauce
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 2 large shallots, sliced
- 6 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 2 inch piece of ginger, cut into thin strips
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 tbsp. Thai red curry paste
- 1 15 oz. can coconut milk
- 1 tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 4 cod fillets
To serve
- sautéed garlic spinach
- steamed rice
- cilantro for garnish
Directions
- Into a large pan add a splash of olive oil and sauté the shallots, garlic and ginger until they get a little color and soften.
- Add the red bell pepper and curry paste, cook for three minutes then add the remaining sauce ingredients, coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar and vinegar.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the fish fillets, nestle them in-between the vegetables and spoon sauce over the top.
- Cook the fish till done, 10-15 minutes depending on the size. When a fork is inserted into the center and turned the fish should flake and not resist.
- Serve with sautéed spinach, rice and garnish with cilantro.
