Coconut Curry Fish
Updated January 21, 2026
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium red bell peppers, deseeded and sliced into ¼-inch-thick strips
2 medium green bell peppers, deseeded and sliced into ¼-inch-thick strips
1 medium onion, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons Jamaican curry powder (hot or mild)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 (6-ounce) fillets frozen fish, such as whiting or cod
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 lime
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, for garnish
Fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, for garnish
White rice or couscous, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
36 grams carbs; 62 milligrams cholesterol; 486 calories; 6 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 30 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 932 milligrams sodium; 23 grams protein; 6 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a medium (10-inch) saucepan with deep sides over medium-high. Drizzle in olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add red and green bell peppers and onion, and sauté until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 2
Add the curry powder to the pan, and toast for about 1 minute, stirring often to keep the curry from scorching. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the grated ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Step 3
Place fish on top of cooked vegetables, or nestle them into the vegetables, if your pan is becoming too full. Pour coconut milk over fish and vegetables.
- Step 4
Cover and simmer over medium-low until fish is cooked and starts to flake, about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Squeeze lime to taste over the top and garnish with scallions and cilantro. Serve with white rice or couscous.
Private Notes
Comments
Delicious but after trying this a couple times, by the time the frozen fish (1" thick frozen Cod fillets) is fully cooked, the peppers are overcooked. Next time I will saute peppers and onion for a couple minutes and set aside. Then cook garlic/ginger/curry before adding the Cod in with the coconut milk (plus saute juice) and simmer for at least 10 mins before adding pepper mix back in to finish.
It's just a question, JP and not pretentious in the least. Usually recipes call for fresh, so is there a reason for frozen fish?
Where do you find Jamaican curry powder? Is it generally available?
Made my own Jamaican curry, using user comments recipe, but reduced by 1/4 ish because I wasn't sure how I would like it (I did) . Did onions and diced carrots initially, then the garlic-ginger-spice mix. Roasted spices, threw in nearly-frozen cod fillets and the coconut milk (2/3 the amount for less caloric). Simmered a few minutes. Then threw in tomatoes, broccoli, peas, home-roasted red peppers. Veggies made enough liquid to be fine with less coconut milk. With salt and lime/scallion, great!
Just made it. I agree with jkatich, the peppers were soggy and maybe because the fish was frozen and it took time for everything to cook. However, overall, it was a great recipe, my family loves the dish. I paired it with couscous because I didn't have white rice.
Tasty.. I used a mild curried paste bottled sauce. Put in carrots, asparagus and something that looked like spinach but wasn’t. First made May 8th, 2026 in Paris.