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This Thai salmon curry is a popular Thai dish that combines tender salmon fillets and a creamy coconut curry sauce. Ready in just 20 minutes, it's the perfect lazy weeknight meal!
For my 25th birthday, a few months ago, I went to Thailand. There, I discovered the delicious Thai cuisine, both rich and packed with flavors.
And I also took a Thai cooking class with a trained Thai chef, who showed me how to make an authentic Pad Thai, this Thai curry and the famous mango sticky rice. So let me now share what I learned!
💙Why you'll love it
- Quick and easy - even my 14-year old cousin could do it, it's such a cinch to prepare...and ready within 20 minutes = absolutely perfect for lazy weeknight meals!
- Restaurant-quality - as good as in Thai restaurants, since the recipe comes from a Thai chef, as I explained above.
- A few simple ingredients required. As easy to find than they are to use!
- Irresistible Thai flavors - this dish is the perfect balance between creamy, flaky and tasty!
😍For curry lovers
🥥Ingredients
You can find a full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below. Here are a few ingredient notes to make this flavorful Thai salmon curry.
- Fish sauce, which you can also find under the name of Nuoc-Mam sauce.
- Thai red curry paste - most of the time, you can find some in your local grocery store in the "world cuisine" section. But if you don't, try Asian supermarkets.
- Coconut milk - I really recommend going for a full-fat coconut milk, as a light one would change the texture of the sauce.
- Garlic cloves - if you want to choose your garlic carefully so you do not encourage the slavery of Chinese prisoners, read my Eco Tips on the subject.
🍚Variations & sides
Feel free to change this recipe to go with your tastes. I suggest several options:
- Proteins - replace salmon with chicken, shrimp, tofu or lamb. All these options go incredibly well with curry!
- More veggies - add Bok Choy, red bell peppers or green beans. And during my trip, I discovered the Thai eggplant, which could also be a perfect side!
- Spice it up with some red chili flakes.
- Replace basic white rice with my coconut, lime and cilantro rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice. And if you love noodles, thin rice noodles or egg noodles are the perfect match!
- Serve this dish with cucumber salad, papaya salad, coconut soup or Thai basil fried rice. And as I love bread, you could also serve it with Pita bread or Naan (a great cultural mix haha).
This recipe has not been tested using any other substitutions. If you do try substituting ingredients, it may not turn out as it's meant to. Please leave a comment below letting me know if it worked out!
✨How to make this Thai coconut salmon curry?
Recipe details and quantities are in the recipe card below.
- Put half the olive oil in a large pan and cook the salmon fillets, skin on, for 3-4 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. Set aside on a plate.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan and sauté the finely chopped shallot and garlic until translucent.
- Then add the curry paste, freshly grated ginger, salt, black pepper, and stir. Leave to infuse for a few seconds.
- Pour in the coconut milk and add the lime zest, lime juice (I advise you to take it a step at a time, taste and adjust if necessary), fish sauce, Cayenne pepper and mix well.
- Leave to infuse for 3-4 minutes (if the sauce seems too thick, add a little more water), then remove the skin from the pan-seared salmon (it'll go off on its own) and add it back to the pan. Cover and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- I love to serve with rice and lots of fresh cilantro.
👩🏻🍳Chef's tips
- Traditionally, Thai use kaffir lime and add a lemongrass stalk, but it's completely optional, so I don't add them.
- Cook salmon fillets with the skin on, as this is much easier to remove after cooking.
💡Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can replace red curry paste with a yellow or green one. The red is the spiciest, the yellow is sweeter because it contains turmeric, and the green is fresher and more herbaceous.
You can cook the salmon 1-2 days before the rest of the recipe. But the sauce is really at its best when freshly made.
❄️ Storage and freezing
- Store - let it completely cool to room temperature then store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheat - place it in a microwave safe bowl and reheat until pipping hot.
- Freezing - place it in a freezer bag labelled with the date and name of the recipe, and freeze.
- Defrosting - place it in a microwave safe bowl and reheat for a few minutes, until completely defrosted and pipping hot.
If you make this dish, it would be so nice to leave me a comment and rate the recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. You can also tag me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or Tik Tok, or even send me a photo, I love seeing my little dishes in your homes!
📖 Recette
Easy coconut Thai salmon curry (20-minute recipe)
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz salmon fillet
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 small shallot
- 1 ⅔ cups full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon thai red curry paste
- ½ teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons ginger freshly grated
- 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- cilantro
Instructions
- Put half the olive oil in a large pan and cook the salmon fillets, skin on, for 3-4 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. Set aside on a plate.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan and sauté the finely chopped shallot and garlic until translucent.
- Then add the curry paste, freshly grated ginger, salt, black pepper, and stir. Leave to infuse for a few seconds.
- Pour in the coconut milk and add the lime zest, lime juice (I advise you to take it a step at a time, taste and adjust if necessary), fish sauce, Cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper and mix well.
- Leave to infuse for 3-4 minutes (if the sauce seems too thick, add a little more water), then remove the skin from the pan-seared salmon (it'll go off on its own) and add it back to the pan. Cover and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- I love to serve with rice and lots of fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Store - let it completely cool to room temperature then store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheat - place it in a microwave safe bowl and reheat until pipping hot.
- Freezing - place it in a freezer bag labelled with the date and name of the recipe, and freeze.
- Defrosting - place it in a microwave safe bowl and reheat for a few minutes, until completely defrosted and pipping hot.
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