Summer Coconut Lime Fish Recipes

SUGAR SEARED SALMON WITH COCONUT LIME SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook the Bok Choy: Remove the stalk end of the bok choy and rinse and dry leaves. Cut large leaves in half from top to bottom, if large. Heat a bit of cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and bok choy leaves and cook, stirring for a minute. Add a tablespoon of water or so to the pan and allow to cook off, stirring once or twice while cooking another couple of minutes. Add a bit more water and allow to cook off, cooking and stirring another minute or so or until bok choy leaves are wilted and tender-crisp. Remove bok choy to a plate. Remove skillet from heat.
• While the Bok Choy is Cooking: Prepare the sugar rub by stirring together the sugar, salt and pepper. Gather your sauce ingredients and if you have time, measure them out and have them handy, so your sauce will come together quickly later.
• Cook the Salmon: Moisten salmon fillets slightly with a bit of water, then generously sprinkle top with sugar rub. Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel then return to the burner over medium heat. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in skillet. Place salmon in skillet, with the side with the sugar rub down. Allow to cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes, then cook a further 2 minutes, moving the fillets around in the pan a bit, until the underside is deep golden and caramelized. Sprinkle the top with some sugar rub, then flip over and cook the other side until golden, about 3-4 minutes more. Remove salmon to a plate.
• Prepare the sauce: Keep the browned butter in the skillet and place skillet over medium heat. Add the lemongrass and ginger to the skillet and stir, scraping up any browned bits and cooking for 30 seconds or so. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, turmeric, lime zest, lime juice and kaffir lime leaves, if using. Bring sauce to a boil. Allow to gently boil and reduce for a couple of minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed and to taste. If you feel the salmon needs a warm up, you can set it in the skillet with the hot sauce for a minute.
• To serve: Place wilted bok choy in a little pile in the centre of a shallow serving bowl. Place salmon fillet on top of bok choy. Spoon some hot sauce on either side of the bok choy/salmon. Serve with a wedge of lime and some chopped fresh cilantro, if you like.

COCONUT-LIME SHRIMP

Steps:

• Heat sesame oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Stir in shallots, jalapeño and a large pinch of salt, and cook until starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
• Stir in coconut milk, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 2 minutes to blend the flavors.
• Stir in shrimp, lime zest, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce. Continue to simmer until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more lime juice, salt or fish sauce, or all three, if needed.
• Serve over rice, with remaining cilantro and lime wedges on the side.

COCONUT & LIME FISH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Zest and juice the limes. In the small bowl of a food processor, whizz together the lime zest and juice with the remaining ingredients, except the fish, until a smooth paste forms. Taste and add a little more fish sauce if you feel it is needed.
• Put the fish on a baking tray and spread over the coconut mixture. Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins until the fish is cooked through. Serve with steamed rice and thin-stemmed broccoli.

COCONUT FISH AND TOMATO BAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, ginger, garlic, turmeric, red-pepper flakes, honey and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Zest and juice 1 lime directly into the coconut milk mixture. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro. Add the fish fillets and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Arrange another rack in the position closest to the broiler heat source. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Place the tomatoes on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and toss to coat. Place the marinated fish between the tomatoes and spoon all the marinade from the bowl over the fish. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the fish. Transfer the pan to the lower-middle rack and roast until the surface of the fish is opaque but the center is not cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish. The fish should not flake easily with a fork. Remove the pan from the oven and heat the broiler to high.
• Move the pan to the broiler and finish cooking, rotating the pan once, until the fish is tender and the tomatoes are just beginning to brown in spots, 5 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish. Slice the remaining lime into wedges.
• Divide the tomatoes and fish among dishes and tip the pan juices over the fish. Garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup cilantro and serve with lime wedges for squeezing.

GRILLED WHOLE FISH WITH LEMONGRASS, CHILES AND COCONUT

Steps:

• Season cavities and outside of fish with salt and pepper. Rub skin all over with coconut oil.
• Thinly slice 1 lime and 1 shallot. Cut another lime into wedges and save for garnish. Fill each fish cavity with lime and shallot slices, a handful of cilantro stems (discard the rest) and the lemongrass.
• Prepare the sauce: Coarsely chop the remaining shallot and juice the remaining lime. In a mini food processor, combine shallot, 1 tablespoon lime juice, the cilantro leaves, the mint, the chile, the garlic, the fish sauce and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pulse until herbs are chopped, then add coconut milk and oil. Continue to pulse until a coarse, chunky sauce forms. (Don't overdo it; you want a relish-like texture, not a purée.) Taste and add more salt, fish sauce and/or lime juice if necessary. (Alternatively, chop everything really finely by hand and stir in the coconut milk and lime juice.) Sauce can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate until needed.
• Light or heat the grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in basket and grill until blistered and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (Poke the fish along the spine; it should be tender but still juicy.) Serve, garnished with lime wedges and mint leaves, with sauce on the side.

COCONUT CURRY FISH

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

SUMMER COCONUT & LIME FISH

Steps:

• In a large saucepan heat the fish stock, coconut cream, and ginger. Sprinkle with salt to taste.
• Bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the fish and lime juice, poach for 5 minutes until just cooked through.
• Garnish with fresh coriander, chopped, and chilli, sliced.
• Serve with your choice of steamed rice.

COCONUT FISH CURRY & RICE

Steps:

• Tip the fish into a large bowl with add ½ tsp each of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, half the lime juice and half the turmeric. Stir gently to combine. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onion until softened, about 8-10 mins. Add the ginger, garlic, ½ tsp salt, the spices and remaining turmeric, and cook for 2 mins more until fragrant. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a minute more, stirring. Tip the butternut squash and sweet potato mix into a heatproof bowl with a splash of water, cover and microwave on high for 3 mins until the veg is fork-tender. Tip the mixture into the pan with the onion and spices, and stir to combine.
• Add the coconut milk, 180ml water, the tamarind paste, if using, and a pinch each of salt and black pepper, and simmer over a medium heat for 10-12 mins until thickened and fragrant.
• Add the marinated fish to the hot coconut sauce in the pan and cook for 4-6 mins until the fish is opaque and cooked through. Break it into chunky flakes with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Remove the curry from the heat, stir in the remaining lime juice and scatter with the fresh coriander, then serve immediately with rice.