Coconut Curry Fish Fry with Coconut Lime Rice

Lately I have been on a fish fix. I have been craving sushi, salmon, tuna, and shrimp all week. Five days a week I work as a server at a crazy little seafood cafe in Pismo Beach, but this isn't exactly the seafood I want to eat on my nights off. My cafe serves basically all fried seafood, from cod to Atlantic clams and calamari, save for some grilled salmon and ahi tuna. Don't get me wrong, its all good food and I am glad to serve it, but what I have been wanting is something much fresher and with some crazy flavor and texture.

First I went to the fresh seafood market a couple of miles from my new house, where I got about a pound and a half of cod, which was the daily special for $6.99/lb. Then I went to the local grocery store like I usually do, with one or two ingredients in mind, and ended up with a super yummy fish dinner perfect for summer, and I even got to get my hands a little messy in the process. With the volume on the boom box cranked up and a frosty cold IPA popped open, I got to cookin' and broke in my new kitchen.

This recipe is a simple breaded fried fish recipe, with some spice and flavor mixed in to make it taste like a pro made it. If you have ever made fried chicken, for example, this will be easy as pie. You will simply marinate your fish while you prep your breading station. 

INGREDIENTS

Fresh fish of your choice

Lemons

Limes

Garlic, fresh or powder

Sweet Chili Sauce

Curry Spice powder

Flour

Eggs

Coconut Milk

Coconut Shavings

Olive Oil

Rice

  *To make a more flavorful rice, replace some water with coconut milk and lime juice.

ALSO

Glass baking dish

Foil

2 Bowls or Dishes

2 Additional Dishes

Tongs or Spatula

Begin by cutting your fish into pieces. I cut mine into large chunks, probably about 1 oz each. Place these in your glass baking dish. Add lemon and lime juice, garlic, sweet chili sauce, and curry spice to taste. Toss the fish well, but gently, to evenly coat. Cover with foil and leave to marinate for about 30 minutes while you begin to boil water for rice and prepare the breading station. As I suggest above, I replaced about one cup of water with coconut milk and added the juice of one lime to the rice while it cooked. I also used a double boiler and used the steam from the rice to cook some roughly chopped bok choy. YUM!

Prepare your breading station with a total of 4 bowls and/or dishes/plates. In the fist dish you will need a cup or two of flour, more garlic seasoning, and curry spice. Mix these well. In the second dish, you will need 2 eggs and about a cup of coconut milk, whisked together. In the third will be coconut shavings only. The last dish is for placing prepared breaded (or coconut-ed) fish pieces before frying them. The order you will dip and coat your fish pieces will be flour mix-egg mix-coconut shavings (dry-wet-dry). Be sure to fully coat each piece in each mix. (Helpful hint: only load the coconut plate with about a 1/4 of the bag at first because the egg drippings make the shavings stick together and not want to stick to the fish, so only use a bit of the coconut at a time so you don't gunk it up too bad from the beginning).

Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook each piece of fish for about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on how big you cut them. Turn them over as they begin to brown and smell like toasted coconut. Serve the fried fish with prepared coconut lime rice and some veggies for a delicious dinner! Enjoy!

-H.BOMB