Coconut Fish

When my boyfriend rang me from Nairobi two Decembers ago, he told me that he was having coconut fish at a cafe and it was delicious.  At the time, fish and coconut or rather fish in coconut sounded strange to me.  Fish?  Coconut?  That stirred my curiosity.  So I went around looking and researching into African and Mediterranean style cooking with coconut.  I didn’t get very far but it seems cooking fish in coconut sauce/gravy is very popular and a delicious dish too I have to admit.  Without further ado (and I am wetting my appetitite typing this recipe out too!), here is my version of Coconut Fish stew.

Ingredients:

100 ml coconut cream/milk; chopped coriander; chopped onion; smashed garlic cloves; thinly sliced red bell pepper; fish fillets (or whole pomfret); three sliced pieces of ginger; and thinly sliced chillies (2).

Method:

First, marinate the fish fillets (I used shark fillets) in grated ginger, salt and lemon juice.  To spice things up a little, I added a dash of curry powder for a few hours in the fridge.   Then, coat the fillets in flour and pan fry them until brown.  Set fillets aside.

Next, we prepare the coconut gravy/sauce.   Boil the three pieces of ginger in 450 ml of water.  Boil until half of water evaporates and about 1 cup is left.  Remove ginger and reserve aside.  Then add the coconut milk/cream until dissolved – about a minute.

Whilst water and coconut are boiling, fry the onions and garlic until soft and fragrant.  By this time, gravy should be ready.  Add the ginger pieces.  Then add coconut gravy along with the chopped coriander and bell peppers.  Let boil for a split second, then add the fish fillets.  Cover and simmer until fish is thoroughly cooked.

Season and serve.