RECIPE - Whole Fish Braised in Coconut Milk

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This dish packs a punch but also delivers lots of savory, homey flavors.

I haven’t had a decent fish meal in a while. Last time I had fish for dinner, it was canned tuna. But mind you, it was a great dish! I thought about this recipe when deciding what to make for dinner last night. This recipe comes from a cookbook published in the Philippines called From Our Table To Yours: A Collection of Filipino Heirloom Recipes & Family Memories (see picture below of the cover). I first made this dish with a good friend a couple months back, and the flavors just blew me away! I didn’t realize that fish and coconut milk paired well beautifully. What even makes the dish rounder is the addition of tomatoes, red onions and chili. It gives the dish so many textures of flavor - umami, a touch of sweetness and heat. It came as no surprise that I wanted to make this dish again.

Continue to scroll below to see the step by step procedure.

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INGREDIENTS (modified for my dish)

• 1 whole fish (red snapper was on the recipe), but I used Tai Snapper aka Pink Sea Bream

• salt to season

• 6 ripe medium-sized tomatoes, diced

• 1 large red onion, diced

• 1.5 inch knob of ginger, finely minced

• 2 bird’s eye chili, finely minced

• 1 can of coconut milk (400 mL)

PROCEDURES IN PHOTOS (text on photo - for smartphone, press and hold photo to see caption, for desktop, move arrow to the right)

Season outside and inside of fish liberally

Prepare all ingredients per above

Put tomatoes, red onions, ginger and chili in one bowl, and mash everything by hand

Place fish on a wide pan and place mashed ingredients on top, covering entire fish

Pour coconut milk over fish and mashed ingredients & simmer on low heat, continuously basting fish, approximately 30-40 minutes, turning fish once over

Sauce should thicken and color should become more orangey/reddish. Remove fish after 30-40 minutes

Continue to simmer sauce after removing fish. Simmer until sauce becomes even more thicker and color turns deeper. Once done, pour sauce on top of fish and serve with rice.

I hope you enjoy making this dish and enjoy the complex flavor it has to offer. Let me know what you think by interacting with me on Instagram or sending me an email at yvrhomecook@gmail.com! :)