Fish With Coconut Ginger Sauce
Here's a colorful fish dish from Brazil that's packed with interesting flavors: sweet peppers, rich coconut and pungent ginger. The recipe can be made with sole or other fish, such as tilapia or turbot. The coconut milk acts as a thickening agent, so don't use coconut water or cream of coconut, which is full of added sugar and emulsifiers.
Leftover fish can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 4 to 5 medium shallots, chopped (about 3/4 cup), divided
- 4 medium cloves garlic, chopped, divided
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger (about a 3- to 4-inch piece)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups fish stock
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 4 skinless sole, tilapia or turbot fillets (about 6 ounces each)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, for coating the fish
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
Step 1
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the bell peppers and 1/2 cup of the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add half of the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Stir in the thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
Step 2
To make the sauce, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the remaining olive oil until shimmering, Add the remaining shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Add the ginger and the remaining garlic and cook stirring, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil; cook until the liquid in the pan has reduced by about three-quarters. Add the fish stock, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Stir in the coconut milk, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the sauce becomes thick, stirring frequently. Strain through a sieve into another saucepan and discard any solids. Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Step 4
While the sauce is cooking, pat the fish dry with a towel and liberally season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the flour on a plate, lightly dredge the fish in it and shake off the excess.
Step 5
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. When the butter foaming subsides, add the fish fillets; they should sizzle lightly. Cook the fillets without moving them, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a metal spatula, gently flip the fillets and cook on the other side until golden brown, another 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 6
Place a fish fillet on each plate and top with the warm pepper mixture. Spoon the sauce around the fish and serve.