This 20-minute Thai fish curry is an easy, quick meal that’s dairy free, gluten free, and an absolute flavour bomb! Picture fragrant aromatics like lemongrass, ginger, mint, coriander and lime, paired with luxurious coconut cream, with delicate hoki and prawns. Served with a steaming bowl of rice, this is the perfect minimal effort dish for dinner on a busy weeknight, or an easy weekend lunch!
As I’ve heard Jamie Oliver say countless times, you’ve gotta earn flavour! And that can mean being elbow-deep stuffing a turkey, waiting hours for perfectly slow-cooked meat, or for a tray of veggies to caramelise. But this easy 20-minute Thai fish curry defies that. The only real work is a quick bash in a mortar and pestle (which, let’s be honest, is cathartic!) You’ll be surprised how much flavour you can create in such a short amount of time. Honestly, it’s almost effortless!
How this 20-Minute Thai Fish Curry Began
When I first made this 20-minute Thai fish curry for my husband, it was one of those days. I had a long day of working on my research project, and teaching some classes. It was also cold, dark, and gloomy, so I was not in the mood to spend all afternoon cooking! All I knew was that fish was on the menu that night, and that I had some chillies at home. While venturing out to grab some other ingredients, I picked up some particularly fresh mint and coriander. Okay, so far some herbs and fish…not quite a dish! (Yes, yes, I am a poet!). I got my hands on some wild-caught hoki fillets and banana prawns and just like that, dinner was sorted! I knew I had the basics for a creamy, coconut Thai fish curry. Proof that sometimes the most delicious dinners don’t need to be pre-planned in advance! Sometimes all it takes is having fresh, beautiful ingredients for some inspiration 😊
Ingredients for this Easy 20-Minute Thai Fish Curry
For the base, you will need shallots, ginger, garlic, dried chilli, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, coriander and mint. When building the curry, you’ll also need some lime juice, coconut cream and a pinch of salt. I like to use hoki fillets and banana prawns in this curry, but you can choose your fish of choice!
With all those aromatics, trust me when I say your kitchen was smelling fragrant within a matter of minutes! In fact, when I first made this, my husband wandered into the kitchen to ask what that delightful fragrance was! The ultimate test, of course, was serving up a bowl to him. I can happily report he put away two bowls quite easily! And so this easy Thai fish curry has become a staple dinner in our household when we want a delicious fish dish (told you I was a poet!)
Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk?
You can substitute coconut milk in this Thai fish curry instead of coconut cream. I just find that coconut cream gives a glossier, thicker sauce than the milk, and has a stronger coconutty taste. (And small secret about me – almost every time a recipe calls for coconut milk, I just use coconut cream!). Coconut cream has more fat content, of course, but it consists of healthy, saturated fats, rich in medium-chain triglycerides, otherwise known as MCT! MCT oil is often used in ‘bulletproof coffee’ as a healthy fat to give you sustained energy throughout the day. If this truly concerns you, or you prefer a more subtle coconut flavour, of course you can use coconut milk!
How to Make this 20-Minute Thai Fish Curry
The only real work in this dish is giving your aromatics a goold old bash in a mortar and pestle. Once you do that to release all the flavours, pop them into a pan with your lemongrass. Pour in the coconut cream, bring to a simmer, and place in your fish to poach. Once the fish is almost cooked, throw in your prawns, if using, and cook. Finish with lime juice, and that’s it! Not only does the whole dish come together in 20 minutes, but it saves you on clean-up too since it’s a one-pan meal!
Serving your Easy Thai Fish Curry
I like to serve this garnished with extra coriander and mint leaves, fresh chilli, and some lime wedges. When I cook with herbs, I like to use some of the same herbs I cooked with as a fresh garnish on top of the dish. This makes it look delicate and vibrant, and the fragrance reinforces the flavours of the dish.
I definitely recommend not skipping the extra squeeze of lime on top. Because this is made with coconut cream, not coconut milk, it can become quite rich. I find the final drizzle of lime just lifts the dish entirely! I usually like to serve this Thai fish curry with a steaming hot bowl of coconut rice, perfectly comforting on a cold day!
What to do with Extra Herbs
As you’re bashing up your aromatics in your mortar and pestle, you may be reminded of the wonderful flavours of a Thai larb (a warm salad typically made with minced pork or chicken). And you’d be right – a lot of the flavours in this 20-minute Thai fish curry are in an authentic Thai larb. Check out my version with chicken that also comes together in 20 minutes!
Larb is a popular warm Thai salad of minced meat, often chicken or pork. The lime, chilli, lemongrass, mint and coriander, all feature in larb, and you may have ingredients leftover (especially herbs!). So why not use them in a recipe with similar ingredients to be cost-conscious and reduce food waste? Of course, the most affordable option is to grow your own herbs. But my tip is to buy value packs of limes or large bunches of herbs when shopping for this recipe. It’s more economical, and you’ve got everything you need to try out the larb as well as this Thai fish curry!
I hope next time you’re in a fishy mood but don’t have much time, this recipe delivers a bowl full of joy. If you tried it and loved it, I would be so grateful if you left a 5-star review and a comment to let me know how it went! xxx
Easy 20-Minute Thai Fish Curry
Description
A super easy 20-minute Thai fish curry with coconut and fragrant herbs. A delicious fish dish for when you are short on time, without compromising on flavour!
Ingredients
Method
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In a large mortar and pestle, throw in your garlic, shallots, dried chilli, coriander, mint, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and salt. Give everything a good bash until you have something that resembles a chunky paste. (See Note 5)
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Heat a pan on medium, and throw in your paste, along with all the coconut cream.
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When everything reaches a gentle simmer, place your hoki fillets in the pan, and pop the lid on.
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After about 5 minutes, when the hoki is still slightly undercooked, throw the prawns into the pan, close the lid, and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the hoki and prawns are just cooked. (See Note 6)
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Take off the heat immediately so the hoki and prawns don't overcook. Stir through the lime juice. Garnish with fresh chilli, coriander, mint, and extra lime wedges, and serve alongside a steaming hot bowl of coconut rice!
Note
- You could use any fish for this, really. I like hoki because there is a bag of frozen hoki fillets I buy from Coles that are sustainably sourced (they are wild-caught from New Zealand, which means they have fewer contaminants, and higher levels of Omega-3s). They also sell a frozen bag of wild-caught banana prawns that are already cleaned and de-veined! But you could use snapper, any type of cod, barramundi, ling, halibut, or mahi-mahi - the only fish I wouldn't use is salmon as it may be too fatty/rich for the coconut base.
- You could also substitute this with small red onions if that's what you have on hand.
- You could use fresh chillies if they are more convenient. Truth be told, I had some fresh chillies that I had left on my sunny kitchen windowsill and they had dried up, and I just used those. But dried chillies tend to have a more robust flavour that adds a bit more depth to the dish, which is why I always use them in this recipe now.
- Coconut cream tends to have a more coconutty flavour than coconut milk, and it has a much higher fat content of course, but these are healthy, saturated fats rich in medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) which have a ton of benefits. You could use coconut milk if you like, but the sauce might be a lot runnier, and perhaps not as glossy. Trust me, once you squeeze on the lime at the end, it really does cut through the coconut cream!
- Any time I use a mortar and pestle, I always fold a tea towel underneath it before I start bashing away to protect my timber benchtop - if you want to protect your benchtops, do the same!
- The hoki will take anywhere from 8-10 minutes to cook, it will just depend on the thickness of the fillets. They are cooked once they flake apart when gently pried with a fork. The prawns will take around 5 minutes to cook, depending on how large they are, but you'll know they are done with they have curled and are no longer opaque (they'll be more of a white-pink colour).
