Slow Cooker Fish Curry
Speed - 96%
Simplicity - 96%
Tastiness - 100%
97%
Delicious!
The fish is perfectly firm and succulent. The rich curry sauce packs lots of very interesting flavors.
Ingredients
- 500 Grams Bigeye Jack
- 2 Cups Coconut Milk
- 2 Pieces Tomatoes diced
- 4 Pieces Jalapeno Peppers thinly sliced
- 1 Piece Shallot thinly sliced
- 1 Bulb garlic crushed
- 1 2-inch Piece Ginger thinly sliced
- 100 Grams Okra cut into chunks
- 1 Piece Carrot cut into chunks
- 1 Teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 Stick Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 3-5 Pieces Star Anise
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 2 Pieces Bay Leaf
- 3 Tablespoons Curry Powder
- Fish Sauce
Instructions
- Gut and scale your fish.
- Heat oil in a wok. Toast the fenugreek, cinnamon, corinder seeds, star anise, cumin seeds, mustard seeds for 1-2 minutes.
- Add shallots, garlic, ginger, jalapenos, and tomatoes. Sautee for a minute.
- Add curry powder and continue roasting for another minute.
- Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.
- Transfer to the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on low.
- Switch heat to high, add fish, and cook for another hour.
- Season with fish sauce.
I really enjoy cooking up curry dishes. Contrary to how complicated some may see it, it actually is a freestyle dish. All you'll need is a key component, a flavor base, and of course, a lovely blend of aromatic spices.
This is a fish curry, so we'll start with a choice of fish. You'll want one with firm flesh so it'll hold up in the ‘stewing' process. Tuna, swordfish, mahi mahi would all work well. Think of the grill. Any fish that could stand up grilling would most probably be a good option.
Choose a relatively strong-flavored fish. Stay away from delicate-tasting ones like dory, sole, or monkfish. The aromatics and spices in your curry mix could easily be overpowering.
Have the gills, scales, and gut removed at the market. And should I still say to go for only the freshest fish?
Main component, done. This recipe, much like any other curry should work for any meat or poultry of your choice too. Even with vegetables. That's how easy preparing a curry is.
Next, build a medley of spices. Star anise, fennel seeds, cinnamon, mustard seeds, fenugreek, cardamom. . . there are a lot. Have a trip to a specialty Indian store and you'll know what I mean. It's literally a library of spices in there.
Next, get some fresh aromatics in. Ginger, shallots, turmeric, chilis. . . no rules either. Just don't get something you won't eat on its own into the mix.
You've got the main ingredient, the spice blend, and the aromatics. One last thing you'll need is a medium for their flavors to come all together. In this recipe, that was served with coconut cream. Not to your taste, use yogurt, tomato sauce, or even plain water.
Your curry recipe is basically complete. Add some accompanying ingredients if you wish to make the dish a bit heartier. See those tomatoes, okra, and carrots?
Okay. Let's start cooking. Step 1 – roast your dry spices in some fat, always. They become so much more aromatic if you do. Plain vegetable oil, butter, ghee, any fat will do.
Those mustard seeds will start popping to tell you if you've roasted them enough. Time to get all the other aromatics in. Those onions, garlic, and ginger will turn out sweeter and more flavorful if sauteed briefly.
I added my curry powder to roast briefly too. There are a lot of types of curry powders available. Be playful. Try a new one each time.
When the curry powder has blended evenly into the oil in the pan, pour in your liquid, coconut milk in this case. Bring it to a rapid boil and transfer everything into your slow cooker. Leave it there for about an hour on high to marry all those flavors.
Just before you get the fish in, season it with some salt, rubbing some into the abdominal cavity. Get the fish into your sauce and allow it to cook on high for about an hour, depending on the size of your fish. Well, you can't fit a far bigger fish into your slow cooker vessel so an hour would be a somewhat standard ballpark figure.
Now, how to check if your fish is done? Try pulling out the top fins. They should come out easily.
Ingredients
- 500 Grams Bigeye Jack
- 2 Cups Coconut Milk
- 2 Pieces Tomatoes diced
- 4 Pieces Jalapeno Peppers thinly sliced
- 1 Piece Shallot thinly sliced
- 1 Bulb garlic crushed
- 1 2-inch Piece Ginger thinly sliced
- 100 Grams Okra cut into chunks
- 1 Piece Carrot cut into chunks
- 1 Teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 Stick Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 3-5 Pieces Star Anise
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 2 Pieces Bay Leaf
- 3 Tablespoons Curry Powder
- Fish Sauce
Instructions
- Gut and scale your fish.
- Heat oil in a wok. Toast the fenugreek, cinnamon, corinder seeds, star anise, cumin seeds, mustard seeds for 1-2 minutes.
- Add shallots, garlic, ginger, jalapenos, and tomatoes. Sautee for a minute.
- Add curry powder and continue roasting for another minute.
- Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.
- Transfer to the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on low.
- Switch heat to high, add fish, and cook for another hour.
- Season with fish sauce.
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