Lemongrass and Coconut Swai
by Ashley of Honed Kitchens ·
Mild white fish poached in a fragrant lemongrass-coconut broth, the proof recipe for Ashley's tabular (Michael Chu) format.
This one leans on the pan doing the work: the aromatics bloom in hot oil, then everything simmers down into a coconut broth gentle enough to poach the fish without toughening it. The grid is the whole recipe at a glance, read each ingredient across to the step where it joins the pot.
| Heat a wide, high-walled pan on medium-high. | ||||||
| 2 Tbsp sesame oil | heat | saute | cook low-heat for 3 minutes | simmer 20 minutes | poach 20 minutes | garnish |
| 3 stalks lemongrass, finely minced | ||||||
| 1 tsp freshly grated ginger | ||||||
| 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced | ||||||
| 1.5 tsp brown sugar | ||||||
| 3 Tbsp fish sauce | ||||||
| 2 (13.66 oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk | ||||||
| 2 thai chilis, thinly sliced | ||||||
| 6 lime leaves | ||||||
| 4 swai fillets (or other mild white fish) | ||||||
| 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice | ||||||
| lime wedges | ||||||
| Season with salt or more fish sauce to taste. | ||||||
| Best served with rice. | ||||||
Read across: each ingredient joins the pot at the step to its right.
✎ Fine-tune the recipe
👁 Only you see this sectionBuild the recipe right in the grid above (＋ ingredient / ＋ step). Use this panel to remove parts, or to edit the pan-prep and finishing lines.
Pan prep - lines above the grid
Steps
Step 1 - action
heat
Ingredients that join at this step
Step 2 - action
saute
Ingredients that join at this step
Step 3 - action
cook low-heat for 3 minutes
Ingredients that join at this step
Step 4 - action
simmer 20 minutes
Ingredients that join at this step
Step 5 - action
poach 20 minutes
Ingredients that join at this step
Step 6 - action
garnish
Ingredients that join at this step
Finish - lines below the grid
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 3 stalks lemongrass, finely minced
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1.5 tsp brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 (13.66 oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 thai chilis, thinly sliced
- 6 lime leaves
- 4 swai fillets (or other mild white fish)
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- lime wedges
Method
- 1
Heat a wide, high-walled pan on medium-high.
- 2
Heat: 2 Tbsp sesame oil.
- 3
Saute: 3 stalks lemongrass, finely minced, 1 tsp freshly grated ginger, 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced.
- 4
Cook low-heat for 3 minutes: 1.5 tsp brown sugar, 3 Tbsp fish sauce.
- 5
Simmer 20 minutes: 2 (13.66 oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk, 2 thai chilis, thinly sliced, 6 lime leaves.
- 6
Poach 20 minutes: 4 swai fillets (or other mild white fish), 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice.
- 7
Garnish: lime wedges.
- 8
Season with salt or more fish sauce to taste.
- 9
Best served with rice.
Notes about this recipe
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Tips
- No swai? Any mild white fish (cod, tilapia, basa) poaches the same way.
- Lime leaves are worth hunting down, but a wide strip of lime zest stands in.