My Coconut Prawn Curry (another wonderful coconut milk recipe!) is aromatic and mild – great for kids or grownups that are a little chilli adverse.
My coconut prawn curry has a lovely balance of richness from the coconut milk and aromatic from the cumin. But still subtle enough that you can still taste the fish. Otherwise what’s the point of a fish curry if you can’t taste the fish?!
The headline flavours in this recipe is coconut milk and cumin which marry together wonderfully; creamy coconut and warm cumin showcasing the fish…
My Coconut Prawn Curry as featured on BBC Radio Weekend Kitchen Show!
In total contrast to the subtle creaminess of this coconut prawn curry, my other favourite seafood curry is my rich and punchy tomato based prawn curry; it’s seductively dark with a curry paste made with tomatoes.
A prawn curry is the ultimate comfort food; served in a bowl on top of some rice, it’s perfect to curl up around and dive into..
A curry is only as good as the curry paste used – it’s the canvas you paint from.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are hundreds of curries that don’t need a curry paste to start, but for this one it’s where all the flavour is and what also gives it a deliciously thick texture. The other great thing about learning how to make curry paste is once you’ve mastered the art you can add whatever you want to it.
The title of this recipe should be Coconut Curry That Happens To Use Prawns (but I thought Coconut Prawn Curry was a little catchier).
I’ve made this curry in various guises and it really does lend itself to being a great vegetable curry, chicken curry even lamb curry. But I’ve got a soft spot for fish so invariable end up creating a fish curry or prawn curry most of the time.
Actually, today I used the paste as the base to cook a ton of mussels for the kids and it worked a treat! Sort of an Asian moules mariniere.
If making a fish curry; something like cod or coley is very good (coley being very cost effective – about half the price of cod). If you’re looking for something a little more luxurious then monkfish is a delight; it holds it shape really well and doesn’t break up as easy and is a very ‘meaty’ fish.
I guess this curry recipe resembles a Goan fish curry to some degree but I’m no aficionado so I’ll stick with just calling my recipe a Coconut Prawn Curry. But don’t forget to add the garnish at the end – it’s the coriander leaves and lemon that brings the whole thing to life!
Coconut Fish Curry Recipe – serves 4:
Curry paste Ingredients:
1 small onion cut into quarters
1 green jalapeno chilli whole (optional if serving kids)
5 cloves garlic whole
3 inch ginger skinned roughly chopped
1 tbl cumin seeds
1 tbl ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
30ml / 2tbl light olive oil
1/2 cup fresh coriander (inc. stalks)
1 stick lemon grass (stalk removed)
Dash of water to help blend
Curry Paste Method:
- Blend the whole lot together until it is a paste. Done!
Fish Curry Ingredients:
60ml oil
1 tbl butter
300 ml coconut milk
150 ml water
Runner beans
Seafood (prawns or fish)
1/2 tbl demerara sugar
1 tbl garam masala
1 tbl fish sauce (nam pla)
Garnish:
Coriander leaves
Lemon juice
Seasoning
Coconut Curry Recipe Method:
Note: if using fish be gentle with the stirring so you don’t break it up!
- Heat the oil and butter in a pan and add the curry paste, reduce heat to very low and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring periodically.
- Once the paste has separated from the oil (you’ll see the oil re-appear) or after it has cooked through, add the coconut milk and combine.
- Add the seafood and runner beans and turn up the heat until it starts bubbling and then reduce the heat and let it cook gently for 5-10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. NOTE: If cooking with chicken add the chicken and wait five minutes before adding the runner beans.
- Once cooked, turn off the heat and add the garam masala, add a dash of water if too thick.
- Garnish with chopped coriander, a squeeze of lemon juice and more salt if needed.
Serve with simple boiled rice and cold beer! Add extra chopped chills as garnish if you want more heat!
I love a decent ruby murrary; my coconut prawn curry is my creamy mild version that the kids love. But remember to check out my other prawn curry recipe that is much richer for the grown ups!