Trout Choo Chee Curry – Thai Fish Curry

In my attempt to eat more fish, I am trying out a lot of different fish recipes. I decided to work through some of my cook books which range from Italian to Thai to Modern British. Trying to come up something that is easy to cook and delicious is quite tricky sometimes.

When I read through recipes written by a French trained Michelin starred chefs, it sometimes leaves me baffled. They assume knowledge of cooking methods and the ability to make basic sauces, stocks, reductions, etc. My knowledge of these techniques are gleaned from watching cooking programmes and it’s really not the best way to learn. This means that a lot of potentially delicious recipes are just for ogling and not for cooking, especially not for a home cook like me.

Today, I resorted to a short cut Thai Fish Curry recipe instead. I found that my local Thai supermarket sold home made curry sauces so I bought a packet of Choo Chee Curry paste which is not dissimilar to Thai Red Curry. This is one of my favourite dishes although I don’t see it on many menus at Thai restaurants.

This is a shortcut as I used the ready made curry paste as I didn’t fancy making a vat of the stuff to keep in the fridge.

I bought some lovely Scottish Loch Trout Fillets to cook with my curry sauce. This recipe is one of my shortcuts to making a quick meal as you can cook the fish, curry sauce and rice all at the same time. A meal in 15 mins.

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Trout Choo Chee Curry – Thai Fish Curry

A very quick and easy Thai Fish Curry dish using shop bought Choo Chee curry paste.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 packet Choo Chee Curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk or make up equivalent with Coconut Milk Powder to
• 500 g Trout or Salmon cut in large pieces
• 1 tbsp Thai palm sugar
• Thai fish sauce to taste as some curry paste are quite salty
• 2-3 Kaffir Lime leaves finely sliced (optional)
• Some red chillies for garnish

Instructions

• Firstly, start by cooking some Thai Jasmine Rice. Follow the instructions on the pack.
• Cook the Choo Chee Curry Paste with the cocount milk, bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. You should cook it until the oil separates ( the red chilli oil will surface)
• Meanwhile, pan fry or grill the fish in an oiled pan. Don't be tempted to move the fish around, just let it fry untouched or the skin will come off and stick to the pan. (The Thai's like to deep fry the fish which gives it extra texture.) I like to keep the skin on the fish and fry it skin side down for about 5-6 minutes. This will crisp up the skin.
• Turn the fish after the 5-6 minutes and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, depending on thickness.
• When the fish is done, place onto the serving bowl and generously pour over the curry sauce.
• Garnish with some sliced chillies or coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with the boiled Jasmine rice.

Notes

Instead of Trout or Salmon, you can use any other fish that is in season although delicate white fish will be wasted on this dish as the flavour will be overwhelmed by the curry sauce.
Some recipes tell you to put the fish in to cook with the sauce instead of pan frying. You can try this but I find the pan frying adds more flavour and texture.

To make this a more balanced meal, you can add a dish of stir fried greens or even a plate of blanched lettuce dressed with a drizzle of sesame oil and oyster sauce. This takes another 5 minutes. A 2 course meal in under 20 minutes! You can’t beat that.