This Thai Salmon Curry is so aromatic that you should make it if only to drink in its perfume – a whiff of the broth will be enough to whet your appetite. It smells soooo good. I don’t make this often enough. It’s incredibly easy and quick – on the table in less than an hour. Of course I use our frozen yellow squash this time of the year, but in the summertime fresh is even better.

If you use skin-on salmon as I do – be sure to clean your cutting board promptly after cutting the salmon, or your cutting board will be crusted with fish scales, impossible to get off for days. Ask me how I know.

Print Recipe

Thai Salmon Curry

Servings: 4

Author: melinmac

Ingredients

• 1/2 large red onion
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 knob fresh ginger
• 1 pound yellow squash
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 3 cups water
• 2 T Green Thai Curry Paste
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet (skin on)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• lime wedges
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Prep the veg – Slice the onion into 1-inch pieces. Grate the garlic and ginger using a microplane. Dice the yellow squash.
• Sauté the mushrooms and the aromatics – Add the onions to a large pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and sauté in the oil until softened. Then add the garlic and ginger and sauté for minute or so.
• Add the water and the squash – Add the water and squash to the pan and cook on medium-high heat until the squash is softened (if fresh) or thawed (if frozen).
• Make the broth – Add the coconut milk and the green curry paste to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until just beginning to thicken.
• Poach the salmon – Cut the salmon into 2-inch pieces (using a flexible cutting mat if you have one – it makes clean-up so much easier). Add the salmon pieces to the pot and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes or so.
• Garnish and serve – Off the heat, add the lime juice and fish sauce. Ladle the curry into bowls and top with the chopped basil and cilantro. Serve with rice and lime wedges.

Notes

NOTE:  The fish sauce is not optional! 

I admire and appreciate aspects of Ina Garten’s and Sandra Lee’s cooking, but I don’t care for their shared penchant for using pre-packaged ingredients. I know it’s a time-saver, but I’m retired, and I don’t mind putting a little extra time into a dish to make it tastier or more satisfying in some way. However, there are a few things that are just so perfect that I couldn’t hope to recreate them, no matter how much time I have. Heinz 57 Ketchup and Sriracha Sauce come to mind. And Thai Kitchen green curry sauce is the not-so-secret sauce in this Thai Salmon Curry.