CEiMB: Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

I was travelling from Guatemala to Canada last week and wasn’t able to cook this recipe for publication on Thursday, but the recipe looked so interesting and received so many great comments (plus I love fish and am now in the land of fresh fish)that I decided to make it for Mom and I after I arrived. I picked up a couple of haddock filets and just before I began to cook, one of my brothers called and said he had bought some fish (also haddock) and fiddleheads to welcome me home, and was on his way with some of his family, to spend the day with us, so I decided to give this recipe the ultimate test and serve it to them all.

The recipe calls for both shallots and scallions, but in the local superstore all I could find were “green onions” which I think could also be called chives (I’m not really sure), so I cut them up and sauteed them for the sauce… and didn’t add anything to the sauce at the end where Ellie calls for scallions.

I also decided to use red swiss chard instead of the spinach … I like it better than most spinach and it was also cheaper!

Also, as I mentioned above, I substituted haddock for the halibut … haddock has always been my favorite fish since I was a child and spent my summers fishing with Dad so Mom would have lots of haddock to freeze for our large family for the winter months.

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

2006, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved
4 Servings

Ingredients :

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 shallots, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste*, or 2 teaspoons curry powder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning
4 (6-ounce) pieces halibut fillet, skin removed
Steamed spinach**
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice, for serving
Directions
*Available in the Asian section of most supermarkets

**Steam or microwave 5 cups of washed baby spinach for 2 minutes

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes.

Season the halibut with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange the fish in the pan and gently shake the pan so the fish is coated with the sauce. Cover and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 7 minutes.

Arrange a pile of steamed spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallions, and lime juice into the sauce and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce over the fish and serve with rice.

Verdict:

This dish was superb! Everybody cleaned their plates. The curry flavor wasn’t strong at all, and the flavor perfectly suited the swiss chard.
Even Landon loved it when my niece, Chavah, mashed some up with his fiddleheads!