Thai Inspired Tilapia
I know this recipe is a bit of a departure for me. But fear not I’ll have two more Italian recipes coming up later this week! And you’ll just have to come back to find out which two *wink wink*
Until then, I’m really over the moon happy how this Thai inspired Tilapia turned out! This recipe came to be, because I had the crazy craving for coconut & lime and have been curious about the Thai flavors. I thought why not? So I gave it a go.
I can’t believe how rich & simply spectacular this sauce is! I know it’s a lot of ingredients, way more than I’m used to. Luckily, I had most of them (with the exception of the coconut milk & red curry paste) already in my pantry. (Once again, I really need to write that post about the importance of a well stocked pantry & should add to that spice cabinet.) It really came in handy for this recipe.
Although there are a lot of ingredients, it’s not at all complicated. Lots of flavor building. I really enjoy Tilapia, it’s a light flaky white fish that’s not fishy at all. Very versatile. I love how the polenta made it slightly crispy and then the sauce, oh the glorious sauce! It has a bit of a kick to it, so if you don’t like too much kick just cut back a little on the red curry paste. I served this with jasmine rice which in itself is aromatic & oh so delicious and naturally helped to finish sopping up that glorious sauce! I hope you’ll give this a go!
If you like Tilapia, you might also enjoy my Tilapia with tomato/onion salsa.
How do you like your Tilapia?
What you’ll need:
Tilapia Fillets 4-6 - enough for your family
Polenta - enough to bread fillets
1 tbsp Red Curry Paste
1 Red Bell Pepper - chopped
1 shallot - chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1 can Coconut Milk
1/2 Lime - juiced
1 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
s/p
What to do:
In a large skillet, put a few turns of your oil into the skillet & heat over medium - high heat. Add your shallots & saute until translucent. Add your minced garlic & cook roughly a minute. Add in your red bell pepper & cook through another minute. Add curry paste & cook through another minute. Reduce heat to low & add in your coconut milk & stir through. Add in your curry, cumin & ground ginger, brown sugar lime juice & soy sauce. Season with salt & pepper. Allow sauce to reduce and thicken. While your sauce is cooking bread your tilapia filets with polenta. In another skillet, add a few good heaping turns of the olive oil & cook your tilapia filets. Roughly 3-5 minutes per side depending on size of filets. Transfer your cooked filets to your serving plate & pour sauce on top of filets.
Buon Appetito!
Goes great with:
Jasmine Rice
If you liked this post, I’d really appreciate a Stumble *wink wink*
This looks great ~ can’t wait to give it a try. Hubby’s been dying for some tilapia.
Ciao bella! I hope he loves it as much as we do! You might also try my Tilapia with Tomato/Onion Salsa. Here is the link http://www.bellalimento.com/2009/02/28/tilapia-with-tomatoonion-salsa
That looks incredible! I love how simple it is, too.
Thanks Elle! It really was easy peasy despite the long list of ingriedients. We loved this one!
Sounds definitely worth trying! Loving the chemistry of flavours!
Thanks Ruth! It’s chock full of flavor!
Thanks for the tilapia recipe! As a cheat, I am using frozen jasmine rice from TJs, I destroy rice!
Ciao Julie! You’re quite welcome! Hope y’all love it! & it’s not cheating, it’s just a time saver
LOVE LOVE LOVE Paula. Looks DElish! Just a food stylists note…try not to have the “rabbit ears” of parsley in a photo. One simple leaf on a loose mound of rice would be lovely. Love the lime wedge. Want to talk to you soon about doing some writing for PD.com. Can you send me a note so I have your email address. All the best, Libbie
Wonderful preparation of tilapia - love the Thai flavors here!
This sounds like a really tasty way to dress up some tilapia!
I am like you, ‘over the moon’ about ANYTHING Thai., and both my husband and I enjoy Talapia! I always look for new recipes from my favorite (and followed) foodie bloggers, so I’m thrilled that you demonstrate your skills in preparing a variety of ethnic foods. Thank you for sharing!
We just had blackened Tilapia this past weekend, and will try your recipe with the remaining fillets. Now, by polenta, do you mean to say (plain) corn meal? I can’t imagine breading fish with corn meal mush (polenta, right??). Thanks for all of the inspiration!
Hi Vanessa, yes it’s the Italian cornmeal Polenta! Really breads things nicely. Hope you love it!
everytime i make this super awesome delicious dish..my sauce turns out whitish creamy and not real brown like yours.
what am i doing wrong?
either way, white or brown..it’s always delicious!
Hi Sara- Well I’m glad it’s delicious ; ) Have you tried letting the sauce reduce down a little more? Maybe that might help with the color.