Weeknight Dinners Seafood

Coconut Red-Curry Fish

Name: Coconut Red-Curry Fish
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 600 g firm white fish, such as cod or haddock, cut into chunks; 400 ml full-fat coconut milk; 3 tbsp red Thai curry paste; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp palm or soft brown sugar; 3 kaffir lime leaves; 200 g green beans, trimmed; 1 red chilli, sliced; 2 tbsp fresh coriander; 1 lime, juiced; Jasmine rice, to serve

Fish is delicate and needs very little cooking time.

By Dana Reyes

Tested at least twice · Updated September 2026

Coconut Red-Curry Fish — Aromatics, coconut and lime — a weeknight curry that tastes like it simmered for hours.

10 min

Prep time

12 min

Cook time

Serves

4.7

1,128 RATINGS

Why the fish goes in last

Fish is delicate and needs very little cooking time. If it simmers too long it falls apart and the broth goes cloudy. The right moment is the final 3-4 minutes, just until opaque.

The curry base is built from red curry paste fried in coconut cream until the oil separates. That step — called splitting the coconut — is what gives the sauce depth instead of sweetness.

Instructions

About 22 min from start to finish

Spoon the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk into a wide pan. Add the curry paste and fry over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the oil begins to separate.

Pour in the remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar and lime leaves. Simmer gently for 5 minutes to meld the flavours.

Add the green beans and simmer for 3 minutes. Then lay the fish on top and spoon some sauce over it. Cook for 4-5 minutes until just opaque.

Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce or lime.

Serve over jasmine rice, scattered with fresh chilli and coriander.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

Curry paste heat

Pastes vary enormously. Start with two tablespoons, taste after frying, and add more if you want more fire.

No kaffir lime leaves?

Use a wide strip of lime zest instead. Remove it before serving so no one bites into the pith.

Fish substitutes

Prawns, firm tofu or even chicken thighs cut small all work, though timings will change.

Questions we get a lot

Can I use light coconut milk?

You can, but the sauce will be thinner and less rich. The curry paste also splits better in full-fat milk.

How do I stop the fish breaking up?

Cut it into large chunks and do not stir once it is in the pan. Spoon sauce over instead.

What rice is best?

Jasmine rice is traditional, but basmati is fine. Rinse it until the water runs clear for the fluffiest result.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.