Tim’s Thai Fish Stew

I can’t stress how incredibly good this is. We try to make sure that we always have the basic ingredients in the house so that we can make it at a moment’s notice. You can use any firm white fish, and we often use frozen Tilapia filets. We take them out of the freezer when we start to make the meal and they are defrosted enough to cut them into chunks by the time we’re ready to add them to the stew. When we made this in Totnes we got “fish pie mix”  from a great fish store. It was wonderful because there was some smoked haddock in amongst the cod and salmon.

This makes enough for 4 people.

You’ll Need:

1 aubergine, Thai, if you can get it, otherwise just a fairly small one.

2 – 3 Tbs. olive oil

a bunch of mushrooms, oyster, if possible, sliced into bite-sized pieces

½ kg. firm white fish, Tilapia or other, cut into 1 inch chunks.

1 can of Coconut Milk. Try to get Light Coconut Milk.

1 Tbs. Thai Red Curry Paste

4 Tbs. Thai Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)

1 Tbs. Sugar

a bunch of fresh basil, Thai basil if you can get it

1. Cut the aubergine into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat  about 1 Tbs of oil in a wok. Fry the aubergine in batches, removing each batch when soft, and adding more oil as needed.
3. Pour can of coconut milk into wok. Heat on low.
4. Stir red curry paste to coconut milk.
5. Bring coconut milk to a low boil and add fish. Stir gently for about 2 – 3 minutes. Do not over stir or over cook.
6. Add mushrooms and aubergine. Gently stir all together.
7. Add Fish Sauce and sugar. Stir gently.
8. Top with basil leaves. Serve on rice.