Aromatic and zesty, this Thai coconut fish curry is light but intensely flavorful and perfect served with rice for dinner.
Ingredients
Full recipe with amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Oil.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Thai red curry paste.
- Coconut milk.
- Fish sauce.Â
- Brown sugar.Â
- Lime juice.
- White fish. Hake, cod, haddock, halibut, bass.
- Fresh herbs: basil, coriander/cilantro and mint.
- Rice, to serve.
- Lime wedges, to serve.
- Fresh sliced chillies, to serve. Fresno, bird’s eye chillies, etc.
How to make Thai red coconut fish curry
- Sear the fish: Pat the fish dry with paper towels then drizzle with a little oil and season with salt. Sear in a hot pan until golden brown on both sides then remove and set aside.
- Make the curry: In the same pan, sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the curry paste and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Pour in the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, until slightly thicker. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the fish to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the fish is fully cooked.
- Serve: Scatter over fresh herbs and finely sliced chillies then serve with lime wedges and steamed rice.
Can I add vegetables to this curry?
Absolutely. Red bell peppers, sugar snap or snow peas, broccoli, bok choy, spinach or green beans would all be delicious in this fish curry. Cook the vegetables with the onion and simmer in the sauce to allow time to cook thoroughly before adding the fish.
Can I make this ahead?
The sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept in the fridge. Reheat in the pan and add the fish to cook through. Leftover curry can be kept in the fridge for a day and reheated over gentle heat.
Easy fish recipes

Thai Curry Coconut Fish Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 500 g (1lb) white fish
- 1 tsp salt
For the Thai red curry
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 400 g (14oz) coconut milk
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp lime juice
- handful fresh herbs Basil, coriander/cilantro, mint
To serve
- steamed rice
- lime wedges
- sliced chillies
Instructions
- Pat the fish dry with paper towels then drizzle with a little oil and season with salt.
- Sear in a hot pan until golden brown on both sides then remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
- Add the curry paste and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Pour in the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice and brown sugar.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, until slightly thicker. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Add the fish to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the fish is fully cooked.Â
- Scatter over fresh herbs and finely sliced chillies then serve with lime wedges and steamed rice.
This turned out AMAZING! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Husband isn’t a big fan of fish, but really enjoyed it. Very flavourful but not overpowering or too intense.
Great recipe Alida! I didn’t fry the fish, and just added it to the sauce, and it was super delicious! It has made it into our family repertoire, and is a great base on which to riff….Thanks!
OMG!! This recipe came out great! I followed the instructions with a little bit extra oil, fish sauce and vegetables and WOW. Full of flavor, bold, spicy and perfect over rice. I’ll be making this again.