Thai Curry Salmon With Coconut Milk and Veggies

This has to be one of the Myrick family all time favorite ways to eat salmon. Creamy with a hint of mild red Thai curry, and loaded with veggies! Thanks to Adelia’s mom for the inspiration. It is always a great warming food for cold winter days, but we enjoy this dish just as much on a drizzly summer evening as well. It’s flexible - you can choose your own veggies and level of spice - but always delicious. Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients:

2 T. coconut oil, divided

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow squash or zucchini, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. ginger, minced

2 T. red Thai curry paste

1 can coconut milk (I use full fat)

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 sweet potato, chopped into about 1 inch pieces

1 fillet sockeye salmon, skinned and cut into chunks about 2 inches or so big. (For tips on skinning a fillet, see this post.)

1.5 cups (approx) chopped sugar snap peas

Note:

I used a 12 inch saute pan (deep sided) to prepare this dish, but if you want to use a larger pan, increase your liquid, adding more coconut milk and more chicken broth. That way you’ll have enough depth to poach the salmon. You might also want to add more ginger, garlic, and Thai curry paste.

Method:

Melt 1 T. coconut oil on medium high heat. Saute onions with a dash of salt for a few minutes, then add peppers and zucchini or yellow squash and cook until vegetables are soft but still crisp. Transfer all these veggies to a bowl.

Add 1 more T. coconut oil to the pan and saute the garlic, ginger, and thai curry paste for about a minute or so before adding the coconut milk and chicken broth, stirring to mix. Add the sweet potatoes, cover, and simmer until they are just done.

Carefully place the fish chunks in the liquid, submerging as much as possible. Scatter the snap peas on top, cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. If you aren’t able to get the salmon chunks all the way submerged, turn them over at this point and cook for another minute or so.

When fish is done, put your veggies back in the saute pan and mix everything together. We love to serve it atop rice or quinoa with a scattering of greens (I used baby arugula this time).