Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

A girl from the Prairies, I did not grow up eating (or liking to eat) fish. It has taken a lot of travel to places where the fish is fresh and well-prepared to convince me that it is not only good for me but just plain good. Since eating fish regularly is a smart thing to do, I keep my eyes open for recipes that look promising - even here in land-locked Calgary. (Fortunately we can now get fresh fish, imagine!) The other night I tried this one from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger, a cookbook I am currently loving - not one single recipe that I have auditioned from it has been less than fantastic. Another really nice thing about the cookbook is the great nutritional information with each recipe (calories, fat breakdown, protein, fibre - all that, plus a list of "excellent source of..." and "good source of...").

I am not sure about the absolute authenticity of the Thai-ness but having been to Thailand a couple of times (and loving the food there) I can attest to the tribute this recipe gives to the tastes of Thailand. Plus it is super easy and comes together very quickly - on the table in less than half an hour ..... if you don't count the time it takes to cook the brown rice ;)

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

(adapted very slightly from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger)

2 teaspoons coconut oil

2 large shallots

2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

3/4 tsp sea salt

4 (5 oz) halibut fillets*

6 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves

2 cups cooked brown jasmine rice

3/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring a few times, until they begin to brown (3 minutes or so.) Add the curry paste and cook stirring for 30 seconds. Add the broth, coconut milk, 1/2 tsp of the salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups (about 5 minutes).

Season the halibut with the remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Lay in the pan with the sauce and shake pan gently to coat the fish. Cover and cook until fish flakes easily with a fork - about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the spinach in a microwave safe bowl, cover tightly and microwave for 2 minutes.

Place 1/2 cup of the rice and a pile of cooked spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallion and lime juice into the sauce left in the pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle all of the sauce over the fish and serve.

I am definitely not a food stylist and this does not look nearly as good as it tastes - or smells - even so, it looks (pretty) good...better in 'real life'. It is a for sure make-again at our house.

*I made this with halibut but would try it with any white fish - couldn't be bad.


(Small note on serving/eating - in Thailand most dishes are eaten with a large-ish spoon. Definitely what I would use here.)