Louisa Simmonds

If, like me, you binge on all the wrong foods over the weekend and then justify your gluttony by pretending to go healthy for the rest of the week, as penance, you might like this easy little fish dish I discovered in NC’s Women’s Weekly book, Fast Seafood (that I might have put in her stocking with an ulterior motive).

Healthy yumminess!

Just about the only thing I have going for my health these days is that I love fish, but unfortunately the boys in the family see it as ‘girl food’. So even though I could devour grilled Barramundi or poached salmon by the bucket-load every night of the week (and probably have a very dangerous mercury poisoning level to prove it), I have to dress fish up for the boys.

Thai food seems to be the only genre of food we can all agree on as a family, as long as it’s not over-spicy, because then Kurt (who has an intolerance to anything with chilli in it) starts hyperventilating and dousing himself with tap water. 

Obviously, this recipe had to be super-easy-peasy to make for me to even contemplate and open the book, but it’s quick to put together too, so it makes a perfect mid-week meal when you’re knackered and want to get your head down in front of the tv for the evening’s dose of salivating over Tyson’s chest.

As you are aware, it’s extremely rare for me to try any recipe with more than four ingredients but since we’ve been living in the city and there are at least five Thai restaurants in our immediate locale (as well as obviously being Asian in a previous life), I feel much more relaxed about attempting to cook Thai food. It also helps having an Asian supermarket on nearly every street corner.

In terms of those sworn enemies of the middle-aged physique –UNNECESSARY CALORIES– you could probably replace the coconut cream with coconut milk and for the middle-aged fatties of the family, (like me and the old man), I replaced the rice with a simple Asian salad of tomato, cucumber, onion and coriander so I could save those extra calories for my bottle of wine.

Quick Fish Curry (For 4)

750g white fish fillets, chopped coarsely

1 fresh long red chilli, chopped finely

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oil (not Olive oil like I used because I only discovered today that it is carcinogenic when heated)

1 medium brown onion, sliced thinly

4cm piece of fresh ginger, grated (I used the powdered version because I am a culinary heathen and can’t be assed to source and cut up fresh)

2 cloves garlic, crushed (from the jar, bee-atches)

140ml can coconut cream

½ cup fresh coriander leaves

1 lime cut into wedges

What To Do:

1. Toss fish in combined chilli, juice and salt. (I added extra juice)
2. Heat oil in a medium frying pan; cook onion, stirring until soft. Add ginger, garlic and curry paste; cook stirring, until fragrant.
3. Add coconut cream bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered until sauce thickens slightly. Add fish, cook, covered for about five minutes or until fish is just cooked through.
4. Sprinkle fish curry with coriander leaves. Serve with lime wedges, rice and green veg if desired.

Cheat Tips:

Dried ginger and jar garlic save on chopping time and increase drinking time.

Saving Money:

This dish would be absolutely orgasmic if you can afford fresh Barramundi, but in spite of being surrounded by ocean in Australia, unfortunately you require Gina Rinehart’s squillions to afford it these days so I used Aldi’s frozen Hoki (love you, Aldi), which worked out at about $1 per person – again, leaving more money for expensive wine.

Nb. I only put in half a chilli and extra coconut cream due to Kurt’s intolerance to ‘heat’, because as comical as it is to watch my son writhe around on the floor in agony, I didn’t want him off school the next day. 

Nb. Surprisingly, no family members were poisoned in the making of this recipe, although the old man did have a tantrum when he realised there was no red meat and that I’d replaced my usual sweet and yummy Asian salad dressing with lime juice because… well frankly… I couldn’t be arsed to make it.

Yummy Asian Dressing for those Skinny Bee-atches out there!

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp peanut oil

1/2 tsp brown sugar to taste

Bon Appetit!

#recipe #curry #Health #healthyeating #Food #middleage #Humour #fish #Eating #Cooking