I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU TO.....

MAKE A FISH CURRY!

I double dog dare you to make a fish curry. For some, the idea of trying to make an Indian or Thai dish at home is intimidating enough on its own. Add in some seafood and it starts to feel a little too exotic, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are many very convenient products available today. With prepared spice blends, curry pastes, and packaged ginger and lemongrass pastes, preparing a curry can be a “paint by numbers” project.

In general, curries are pretty flexible. With aggressive flavors and a healthy mix of vegetables, the type of protein almost becomes irrelevant. So, if you know how to make a chicken curry, you are just a simple timing adjustment away from being able to make a fish curry. For this week’s double dog dare, I challenge you to pick any curry recipe that you like and add fish. You could choose a recipe from the internet or your favorite cookbook, or you can make one from the back of a package of prepared curry paste. It can be a red, yellow, or green curry. You can add fish or shrimp in place of any chicken, beef, or pork that it calls for. You could also choose one written specifically for fish, but you don’t have to. Or you could make this simple curry:

Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a large, deep pan over medium heat.  Add 2-4 ounces of red curry paste and cook until fragrant.  Add a 15 oz can of coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Add some veggies.  For this one, I used diced acorn squash, chopped peppers, and some trimmed snow peas.  You could use onions, Thai chilies, eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, baby corn, or even pineapple.

Cook for 20 minutes until the vegetables are mostly tender and then add 2 Tablespoons of lemongrass paste, 2 Tablespoons of ginger paste, 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce, and 1 Tablespoon of fish sauce.  Stir to mix thoroughly then add about 1 lb of cubed trout.  From this point forward, stir gently and infrequently.  Cook about 8 minutes until the fish are done.  Taste and adjust the flavors by adding more soy sauce or some brown sugar as needed.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with jasmine rice.

When making a fish curry, remember that all the other ingredients are very forgiving. They can cook for an extra hour without suffering too much. That is not the case with your seafood. To make sure your fish is cooked perfectly, get everything else exactly right before you add the fish. After you add the fish, avoid stirring it as much as possible and when you do, stir it carefully. You want to avoid breaking up the fish as much as possible. It should only take a few minutes to cook. Don’t forget to cook your rice ahead of time.