Inspired by a Vietnamese dish, this unfamiliar combination of ingredients delivers a glorious meal to enjoy with rice
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
See more
Published
I was intrigued by the combination of coconut, dill and turmeric, used together in a classic Vietnamese dish – it just sounded dissonant to me. I took these ingredients and ran with them, then I went to Vietnam and tasted the original. It is nothing like the version I make – texture and loads of other herbs too are used in the Vietnamese dish – but it’s interesting what you come up with if you use an unfamiliar combination of ingredients.
Overview
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
35 mins
Serves
4
Ingredients
- 150g onions (2 small ones), finely chopped
- 40g fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 red chillies, halved, deseeded and chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 3 tbsp rapeseed or groundnut oil
- small bunch of dill, chopped
- 3 x 160ml tins of coconut cream
- 4 x 200g fillets of white fish, skin removed
- 1 tsp soft light-brown sugar (optional)
- juice of ½-1 lime, to taste
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp chopped peanuts
- boiled rice or noodles, to serve
Method
Step
Put 75g finely chopped onion (1 small one) into a food processor with 40g fresh root ginger (peeled and chopped), 2 chopped garlic cloves, 2 chopped red chillies (halved and deseeded) and 1 tbsp fish sauce.
Step
Whizz to a purée. Scrape into a bowl and add ½ tsp ground turmeric and 100ml water.
Step
Heat 1 tbsp of the rapeseed or groundnut oil in a sauté pan and cook the remaining 75g chopped onion (1 small one) over a medium heat until golden.
Step
Add half a small bunch of chopped dill and cook for a further minute.
Step
Stir in the spice paste and cook over a low heat for about 7 minutes, until the onions lose their ‘raw’ smell and taste.
Step
Stir in 3 x 160ml tins of coconut cream and allow to simmer until it is thicker, but don’t let it boil.
Step
Meanwhile, carefully dry the fish fillets.
Step
Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of rapeseed or groundnut oil in a frying pan and cook 4 x 200g fillets of white fish (skin removed) until golden on each side. It will take about four minutes in all.
Step
Carefully slide the fried fish into the sauce and poach gently until cooked through. They should be firm and the flesh white, not glassy.
Step
Add 1 tsp soft light-brown sugar, if using, and the juice of ½-1 lime, and season to taste. (This can be savoury, instead of savoury-sweet, so you don’t have to put sugar in it at all.)
Step
Stir in the remaining chopped half bunch of dill and 3 finely sliced spring onions, and scatter 2 tbsp chopped peanuts on top.
Step
Serve with boiled rice or noodles.