Coconut Curry Fish

By Millie Peartree

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(1,999)
Notes: Read community notes

Jamaican curry powder plays a major role in this deeply savory weeknight dish, giving the sauce its unique flavor and golden hue. The traditional spice blend is heavy on the turmeric, and benefits from being toasted, which brings out its notes. This recipe calls for frozen whiting, which doesn’t hold up to frying but shines here, simmered in a sauce studded with red and green bell peppers. If whiting is unavailable, cod is also a good choice.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

2tablespoons olive oil
2medium red bell peppers, deseeded and sliced into ¼-inch-thick strips
2medium green bell peppers, deseeded and sliced into ¼-inch-thick strips
1medium onion, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1½tablespoons Jamaican curry powder (hot or mild)
2garlic cloves, minced
1tablespoon grated ginger
4(6-ounce) fillets frozen fish, such as whiting or cod
1(14-ounce) can coconut milk
1lime
2scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, for garnish
Fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, for garnish
White rice or couscous, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat a medium (10-inch) saucepan with deep sides over medium-high. Drizzle in olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add red and green bell peppers and onion, and sauté until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Add the curry powder to the pan, and toast for about 1 minute, stirring often to keep the curry from scorching. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the grated ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Step 3
Place fish on top of cooked vegetables, or nestle them into the vegetables, if your pan is becoming too full. Pour coconut milk over fish and vegetables.
Step 4
Cover and simmer over medium-low until fish is cooked and starts to flake, about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Squeeze lime to taste over the top and garnish with scallions and cilantro. Serve with white rice or couscous.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,999 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Susan Nakagaw3 years ago

It's just a question, JP and not pretentious in the least. Usually recipes call for fresh, so is there a reason for frozen fish?

jkatich3 years ago

Delicious but after trying this a couple times, by the time the frozen fish (1" thick frozen Cod fillets) is fully cooked, the peppers are overcooked. Next time I will saute peppers and onion for a couple minutes and set aside. Then cook garlic/ginger/curry before adding the Cod in with the coconut milk (plus saute juice) and simmer for at least 10 mins before adding pepper mix back in to finish.

Jennifer Foster2 years ago

Where do you find Jamaican curry powder? Is it generally available?

Prakash Nadkarni2 years ago

Jamaican Curry Powder recipe: africanbites.com/jamaican-curry-powder/ chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/jamaican-curry-powder/ (this recipe has fewer ingredients) The distinguishing feature, vs. Indian-type curry powder, is that it's heavy on allspice (native to the Caribbean), turmeric, mustard seed, and cumin+coriander. Other than that, you can improvise with what you like and what's lying around. Buy whole spices and grind what you need.

Greg3 years ago

I think the point of suggesting frozen fish is that this is a curry, and doesn’t need expensive fresh fish. Frozen is fine.

Susan3 years ago

This is fast and tasty. I recommend adding a little bit of fish sauce to round it out.

Dewey3 years ago

fish you buy is often frozen and then thawed. Some of the best fish I buy is flash frozen from a known reputable source. Some frozen fish can be of better quality than fresh fish.

M3 years ago

As a person who has family from the Caribbean, this dish really lacked flavor and I had to add extra seasonings to give it flavor. Please don’t listen the recipe and season your fish.

Diane3 years ago

I really liked this dish. It doesn't matter if you use fresh or frozen fish just time the cooking accordingly. I did double up on the garlic and ginger. Such a perfect cold weather meal. Would be just as good with tofu.

Jonathan3 years ago

Sounds yummy. If making it with fresh fish, you would probably want to wait until the coconut milk is bubbling before adding the fish, so it doesn’t overcook. Could maybe add a bit of palm sugar too.

dawn3 years ago

Why frozen fish?

Molly3 years ago

This is another nice quick and flexible dish, meaning...fish can be various types or a mix. I used Basa. I used bell peppers but not a red one, so I added one medium Roma tomato diced fir color. Vegetable quantity could have been a bit more...use all four bell peppers. Cauliflower or zucchini would work instead. Use lots of curry! But it’s really that little after taste of the 1 tbsp of fresh, minced ginger that makes it. Don’t skimp there!

yhr080c3 years ago

Olive oil? Why not coconut oil to stay with the overall flavour?

Jennifer3 years ago

I think (?) the whole point of specifying frozen fish is that you can put the frozen filets right in the pot. That’s what I did and it worked out great. The curry was nice and thick. Definitely makes for an easy weeknight meal and if you find a brand you like you can always have fish on hand.

L Powers3 years ago

Used hot curry, more onion, and substituted cubed sweet potato for the bell pepper. Quick, easy, and very good.

H.A.3 weeks ago

Needs some doctoring. Would season the fish before cooking next time. Added brown sugar and some fish sauce and salt and pepper. Used potatoes, green beans, and zucchini because that’s what we had. Added piripiri sauce and that made it especially good.

Noelia1 month ago

Made with frozen tilapia. 15 minutes is sufficient especially if filets are thin. Maybe add okra?

Divya1 month ago

I couldn’t find Jamaican curry powder and based on comments this was bland even with homemade curry powder, so I decided to use red curry paste instead. Very good!

Deborah1 month ago

Outstanding. I used fresh cod. I couldn't find Jamaican Curry Powder so I used Pensey's curry. I added some cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit. I served it with brown rice and broccoli spears which I lightly steamed then seasoned with minced garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and Hoisin sauce. Prep to table took 45 minutes. I may try to it shrimp next time.

sznajds1 month ago

I made this as is but with fresh fish. It lacked flavor. If I make it again I will double up on all the spices.

Annie2 months ago

Added about another tablespoon of Jamaican curry to enhance the flavor. We used rockfish - it was delicious!!

Cray2 months ago

A great recipe that’s in our weeknight rotation very often, but this is not in any way a 30 minute recipe. After preparing all the ingredients, you’re looking at closer to 45-60 mins.

Drew2 months ago

So I’ve made the base recipe and realized it’s slightly mellow for me. So I basically made a red Thai version last time and it was amazing, basically sub the Curry powder for May Ploy curry paste and some brown sugar. Reduce coconut milk with paste, add peppers and fish, simmer till cooked (8min was perfect) garnished with cilantro and Thai basil. Also works well with green curry paste!

KP2 months ago

Doubled the ginger and garlic as others suggested. Used frozen cod and it was really not good–rubbery and bland. Might be better with a different type of fish, or different curry powder. This was a rare NYT miss for me.

Luna3 months ago

I think the success of this depends on your curry powder. I made as directed, except for replacing the peppers with bok choy because we don’t care for peppers. I had a great curry powder bought in Jamaica. I will make again-so yummy!

G4 months ago

I've cooked this 3 times. Each time I double the garlic, ginger, and curry powder to give it more flavor. It's always very "soupy" and not a curry when I'm done, so I let it simmer uncovered for another 15ish minutes. The veggies are too soft at that point, but still taste great. FYI. This recipe as followed is not a curry, it's a curry-flavored broth with veggies and fish. Use fresh fish and simmer uncovered for the best results.

Penni5 months ago

Amazing and delicious Instead of white fish, I cut up salmon and shrimp instead As others recommended I used extra garlic and ginger. Don’t like the flavor of cooked green pepper so I just used 2 red bell peppers which was enough. Don’t need 4.

Ikebana526 months ago

I made this the first time exactly as written. It was very good and the work to taste ratio was also very good. This time I doubled the garlic, doubled the ginger, and added two tbs of Jamaican curry. It’s on the road to phenomenal.

Mer in Seattle6 months ago

Easy to make vegan! I subbed butternut squash cubes for the fish and it was easy and delicious.

Deborah6 months ago

I found this to be a bit bland and too much coconut milk. I agree with the person below, peppers get overcooked, so sauté and remove and add them in at the end. I used fresh Halibut. No reason to use frozen fish where I live. Fish sauce would be a good addition.

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