Thai Fish Curry
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Thai fish curry is a 20-minute dinner recipe that tastes like a special treat. The fish is gently poached in a flavorful, coconut curry sauce that’s bursting with delicious Thai flavors. You’ll love it!
This Thai fish curry is so flavorful and cozy that it’s hard to believe how simple it is to make. The coconut milk curry sauce, infused with garlic, ginger, and curry paste, is rich and creamy, and gently simmering the fish right in the sauce keeps it perfectly tender and delicate.
In the photos, I used green beans, carrots, and red bell peppers, but this is one of those recipes that happily adapts to whatever vegetables you have on hand. Broccoli, snap peas, zucchini, or spinach all work beautifully, so you can make it your own every time you cook it.
Can I use a different curry paste?
Yes! Any Thai curry paste will work in this recipe. While the flavor will vary slightly depending on whether you choose green, yellow, or red curry paste, the fish will be delicious no matter which you choose.
But if you’re after a Thai-flavored meal, avoid using curry powder, which is a blend of Indian spices and would dramatically change the flavor of this recipe.
What kind of fish is best for fish curry?
You can use any white fish in this recipe. I like lingcod, which is in the pictures, but many different kinds work well. Here are a few others to choose from:
- Cod
- Tilapia
- Haddock
- Grouper
- Rockfish
- Sole
Store and reheat
Fish curry will keep for 2 days in your fridge. Be very careful when reheating it and don’t let it come to a boil. You only want to warm the fish, not cook it more.
Thai Fish Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb white fish
- 3 tablespoons red Thai curry paste (divided)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ medium onion (finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 15 ounce can coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar ( or brown sugar)
- 4 cups chopped veggies (pictured are green beans, carrots, and red bell peppers)
- Minced cilantro and lime juice (to serve)
Instructions
- Cut the fish into pieces about 2-inches wide. Dry the fish with a paper towel then rub 1 tablespoon of the curry paste over the pieces.1 ½ lb white fish
- Heat the oil in a large pot (I like to use my braiser) over medium-high heat. (See notes.) Add the onion, ginger, and garlic and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of curry paste, coconut milk, water, fish sauce, and sugar. Add the veggies and bring the pot to a boil.2 tablespoons coconut oil, ½ medium onion, 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 15 ounce can coconut milk, ½ cup water, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, 4 cups chopped veggies
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the fish. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes, or until the fish is no longer opaque. If your fish is quite thick, you may need to flip the pieces over and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
- Serve with a little minced cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.Minced cilantro and lime juice
Last step:
- After you make this recipe, take a picture with your phone and share it in the comments section below. I love seeing it when you make my recipes!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Soooo easy, mmmm easier than other recipes I looked at. And v v delicious. Great tip poaching the chicken thighs in the sauce. Thank you, hubbie said to,ask you , the expert, if you think prawns cld work too …lightly cooked in the sauce … cos he had once, he tells me, a M and S prawn mango curry …but not available any more! Thank you. Ps … I know chicken thighs are tastier and cheaper but I struggle preparing them … I seem to waste a lot … do yiu just cut off the stringy fatty bits?? Thank yiu. Ahhh, this comment seems to have shifted to the fish curry … odd …. I am referring to the mango chicken curry …. Sorry! Please cld you relate answer to that curry. Xx
So happy to hear you love the mango curry! As far as chicken thighs go, I usually trim the stringy fatty bits – it totally ok to leave some of them – then cube the meat.
Hands down one of the better Thai Fish Curry recipes out there! After trying two other recipes, with marginal success, this one tasted the best. Full disclosure: I used regular sugar as I didn’t have coconut or brown sugar at home and I used Thai Home Red Curry Paste which has lime, lemon grass and other herbs in it so having a good quality red curry paste will make a difference! We also like it a little spicy so like others, I added an extra thai chili and some thai basil. Lots of flexibility with veggies. We used carrots, red pepper, yellow squash, and fresh green beans. So delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Kristen! This looks delicious. Can I make the curry with the veggies ahead of time and just cook the fish on the day that I am serving it? Would steaming sea bass filet separately and serving it with the sauce also work, you think? Thank you!
You could make the sauce ahead of time and chop up the veggies, but I wouldn’t add them until you’re ready to serve this as they’ll get very soft when you reheat it. It’s tasty as leftovers, but I wouldn’t serve it that way to guests.
This was fantastic! Easy to make. We like spice/heat, so I added Thai Red Chili’s. Absolutely one of my faves!
Hi Kristen. Your recipe looks delicious, will be using it as a starting point for tonight’s dinner. BUT wanted to let you know that your “Print Recipe” link doesn’t work – perhaps because of all the videos embedded in the Instructions? No matter, I have enough committed to memory to pull this together without the crutch of a printed copy.
Hi Ken! It may be that you have popups blocked on your computer. The recipe opens in a new tab and if you have them blocked, it may be preventing it from opening.
I had issue’s a well saving the recipe on Pinterest, but was determined and finally I was able to save it. Excellent recipe and I’ve used several different types of fish. Whatever is on sale and I’ve only had rave reviews…
Very tasty. I added a red thai chili and would cut the water down. Otherwise, quick and delicious. I used carrots, asparagus and baby bok choy.
Love, love, love this recipe!
We don’t like coconut, so I was a little leery of the recipe, but we wanted to make an easy fish recipe. This recipe blew everyone away, and so I made it again two days later to use the left over sauce. I used asparagus as the green vegetable….it worked well!!
I tried this recipe for my wife’s birthday dinner and she absolutely loved it! It is delicious, flavorful and light leaving ample room for dessert! I sautéed shrimp in Thai seasoning and stirred it into the finished pot. Lovely meal and I have so much confidence with it, I will be repeating when we have people over! THANK YOU
I made this but slightly different and it was really yummy.
I didn’t have any coconut milk but used coconut oil added a little more than asked for. I used a small amount of normal milk and water and thickened using corn flour.
Veg was mangetout, peppers (red and green) and carrot. I did cook these a little longer to soften slightly but still had a crunch
The fish was frozen so baked in oven with the paste and added at the end with the juices and coriander
Was amazing!
Very tasty!!
My Singaporean husband really enjoyed this recipe. We added green beans to the dish. It was fast and delicious!
This is a great recipe! Super quick and so tasty!
This was my very first time cooking Thai food and boy was it delicious!
this recipe was so sleigh!!
Delicious, thank you!!!