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.
Made this for dinner with salmon and shrimps – far from white fish but that’s what i had. It was so good, i will definitely make it again!
My son said he liked it *mic drop*
Just finished the sauce which is amazing. One ? Can I freeze the sauce only without the vegetables and fish. Again the sauce is amazing and can’t wait to complete the recipe.
Hi Bev! I haven’t tried freezing the sauce myself, but I think it should work well. If you decide to give it a go, let us know how it works!
Absolutely fantabulous! Followed the recipe to the letter and everything turned out great, the very first time. Restaurant quality food in 20 minutes
So easy and tasty. We added a few extras: Thai basil, mint minced lemon grass. For veggies oyster mushrooms, baby bok choy and zucchini
Super watery. Cut the water altogether or use coconut cream and keep the water. Add more curry paste than recipe states and add lime juice and chili for more punch
Excellent Thai Fish Curry. I can’t eat really spicy hot food so I substituted Thai Green Curry Paste for the red and reduced it to 1 TBSP. It was perfect for me. It tasted like a restaurant meal. So good.
Absolutely delicious. I added beans, broccoli, potato, carrot and red pepper. Served it over rice noodles. I used New Zealand Hoki fillets which broke up a little. Will use a thicker fish like Basa next time. Would also be yummy with a combination of fish, prawns and mussels. I used less water, about a 1/4 of a cup. I guess it depends on the viscosity of the coconut milk. My husband and I cant wait to eat it again. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Outstanding recipe! We made it as specified, except we cut fish pieces larger (4″ instead of 2″), increased the fish sauce and curry paste, and added 1 tablespoon of Thai Kitchen chili paste for a touch of heat. This is THE most flavorful and satisfying fish dish we have ever had. I used red bell pepper cubes and bite-sized green beans for the vegetables per the photo, and they were the perfect. Be sure to add lots of the chopped cilantro and lime juice before serving. We’ve served this over white rice and also over cauliflower rice. The sauce is so flavorful, that both are equally good. The sauce is also plentiful, and probably enough for up to 2 lbs of fish.
Made this as written, though only used 1/4 cup of water. I was very surprised that this had almost no flavor at all. Couldn’t taste either the curry or the coconut. Disappointing.
All day long a great recipe…..i used the bare bones and used a shop bought sauce….lovely….just followed the timings….hake and prawns !!!
This was easy and good but you don’t need the water. Instead of creamy from the coconut milk this was waterey.
Melting in the mouth, loved it
This was SO delicious! I had to improvise lots but still amazing. Local grocer in tiny town in the middle of nowhere had no lemongrass anything and fish sauce was too pricey at $10 a bottle so tried a bit of anchovy and a little Lemon zest. Definitely making this again
Does this have lemongrass, I can’t see it in the recipe?
Rapide et succulent! Parfait !
I have made this recipe many times and it is a real winner! I wondered if you think it could be made with Salmon instead of a white fish? If so would you modify anything? I’m trying to incorporate more Salmon into my diet but not in love with the taste of it. I thought this sauce would be a great way to disguise it!
You could definitely swap salmon for the fish without making any other modifications. We also have a salmon curry recipe that has a different flavor. Is steelhead salmon available where you live? I find that it has a more mild flavor and is easier to cook than the usual coho, spring, or other salmon. Might be worth giving it a try!