Coconut Fish Curry with Cod, Shrimp, Bone Broth and Healing Spices
Wild cod and shrimp gently poached in a fragrant coconut and bone broth curry, built on freshly grated ginger, garlic, turmeric, and warming spices, with tender baby potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini, bok choy, and leafy greens. Serve it on its own, or over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 20 min · Total: 45 min · Year-round (especially cozy from fall into early spring) · Best eaten: early evening
Ingredients
3 tbsp coconut oil or grass-fed ghee
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Madras or Sri Lankan-style curry powder
½ tsp ground chili powder (or 1 fresh red chile, minced)
½ tsp ground turmeric
4 bay leaves
6 medium tomatoes, diced (or 1 cup jarred tomatoes)
1 zucchini, sliced
1 cup cauliflower or broccoli florets
3 cups chicken or fish bone broth
¾ lb baby potatoes, halved
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 lb wild Pacific cod, cut into large chunks
½ lb wild shrimp, peeled and deveined
Optional: 1 red jalapeño, thinly sliced
1 cup baby bok choy, chopped
1 cup leafy greens (spinach, lacinato kale, or chard)
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt, plus more to taste
Juice of 1 lime
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Optional: 2 tbsp slivered almonds or cashews, toasted
To serve (optional): cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles, plus a few drops of toasted sesame oil, a splash of coconut aminos, and slivers of pickled ginger
Method
Cook the aromatics. Heat the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic, and sauté 3–4 minutes, until fragrant.
Bloom the spices. Add the curry powder, chili powder, turmeric, and bay leaves, and stir 1 minute. Blooming the spices in fat releases their fragrant oils.
Add the vegetables. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, and cauliflower, and sauté 4–5 minutes.
Simmer the potatoes. Pour in the bone broth, add the potatoes, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 12–15 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender.
Poach the fish and shrimp. Stir in the coconut milk, then nestle in the cod, shrimp, and jalapeño (if using). Simmer gently, without stirring too much, for 5–7 minutes, until the fish just flakes and the shrimp turn pink.
Add the greens. Add the bok choy and leafy greens for the last 2–3 minutes, until just wilted. Season with salt, and remove the bay leaves.
Serve. Ladle the curry into bowls, and top with cilantro, toasted almonds, and a generous squeeze of lime. Serve on its own or over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles, with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, a splash of coconut aminos, and a few slivers of pickled ginger, if you like.
Ways to Make It Your Own
Try another fish. Halibut, snapper, or mahi-mahi all work beautifully, or any firm, wild white fish.
Grind your own spices. Toast 1 tsp each whole cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds in a dry skillet for 1 minute, then grind them, and use them along with (or instead of) the curry powder, for a deeper flavor.
Finish with a tarka. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a small pan, and sizzle 1 tsp black mustard seeds, a sprig of fresh curry leaves, 1 dried red chile, and 1 tsp cumin seeds for 30 seconds, until they crackle. Pour it over the curry just before serving.
Go Thai. Add 1 smashed stalk of lemongrass and 4 makrut lime leaves with the broth, or use Thai red curry paste in place of the curry powder.
Add tamarind. Stir 1 tbsp tamarind paste into the broth, for a tangy, sour depth.
Sear the fish first. Pat it dry and sear it in ghee for 1 minute per side before adding it to the curry, for a little golden crust.
Top with crispy shallots. Thinly slice 2 large shallots and fry them in ghee until deep golden, then scatter them over the bowls. Save the fragrant ghee for drizzling.
Serve with a cooling raita. Mix plain yogurt (or coconut yogurt) with grated cucumber, mint, and a pinch of salt.
Storage
Refrigerated up to 3 days; the flavor deepens overnight. Reheat gently, without boiling, so the fish and shrimp stay tender. The curry base (without the seafood and greens) can be made up to 3 days ahead, or frozen up to 3 months; add fresh seafood when you reheat it. For 8 guests, double the recipe; for 12 or more, use two pots.
Nourishment Notes
Wild Pacific cod — lean complete protein, selenium, iodine, B12, and phosphorus.
Wild shrimp — protein, selenium, B12, and astaxanthin, the carotenoid behind their pink color.
Bone broth — gelatin, glycine, and minerals, which make the curry deeply nourishing and soothing for digestion.
Coconut milk and coconut oil — lauric acid and medium-chain fats, which also help your body absorb the vegetables' fat-soluble vitamins.
Ginger and turmeric — gingerols and curcumin, both well studied for their anti-inflammatory effects, and used together in Ayurvedic and Sri Lankan cooking for centuries. Cooking turmeric in fat helps your body absorb its curcumin, and the black pepper in curry powder helps too.
Baby potatoes — potassium, vitamin C, B6, and steady energy.
Cauliflower, bok choy, and leafy greens — glucosinolates, folate, vitamin K, magnesium, and calcium.
Tomatoes — lycopene, made more absorbable by cooking with fat.
Lime and cilantro — vitamin C, which helps your body absorb the iron in the greens, plus a bright finish that lifts the rich, spiced broth.
For your cycle: Ginger is well studied for easing menstrual cramps, and the seafood's selenium, iodine, and zinc support thyroid health and a healthy cycle. The bone broth's minerals and gelatin are soothing in every phase, especially the menstrual and luteal phases.
Sourcing
Cod — wild Pacific cod from Alaska, a Seafood Watch Best Choice, from a trusted fishmonger, Vital Choice, or Sea to Table (choose it over Atlantic cod, which is often overfished or farmed)
Shrimp — wild-caught U.S. Gulf or Atlantic shrimp, with no added sodium tripolyphosphate
Bone broth — homemade from pasture-raised chicken or fish bones (see my Broths 101)
Coconut milk — organic and full-fat, made with just coconut and water, with no guar gum (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans)
Coconut oil and ghee — organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil, like Nutiva or Dr. Bronner's; grass-fed ghee, like Pure Indian Foods
Potatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, bok choy, greens, jalapeños, cilantro, and limes — organic, from a farmers' market
Jarred tomatoes (off-season) — organic, in glass, with no added sugar (Bionaturae)
Curry powder, turmeric, chili powder, and bay leaves — organic and non-irradiated
Toasted sesame oil (optional) — organic, in glass, like Eden Foods
Coconut aminos (optional) — organic and soy-free, like Coconut Secret
Pickled ginger (optional) — with no added dyes or refined sugar
Fresh curry leaves, lemongrass, and makrut lime leaves (optional) — from an Indian or Asian grocer
Tamarind paste (optional) — 100% tamarind, with no added sugar, from an Indian or Asian grocer
Almonds or cashews (optional) — organic
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall