Coconut Fish Stew With Basil and Lemongrass

By Melissa Clark

Coconut Fish Stew With Basil and Lemongrass
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(661)
Comments
Read comments

This stew is profoundly flavored and nuanced, with pungent notes of herbs, lime and saline fish sauce softened by the coconut milk, supple seafood and rice.

Featured in: Doggie-Bag Leftovers, Made This Time From Scratch

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:2 servings
  • 1tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1small garlic clove, minced
  • 2½cups chicken stock
  • 113.5-ounce can coconut milk
  • 1lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
  • 1jalapeño pepper, seeded, if desired, and thinly sliced
  • 2tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1tablespoon light brown sugar
  • ¾teaspoon salt
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lime
  • ¾pound snapper or other firm fish (cut into 1½-inch chunks), peeled shrimp, scallops or a combination
  • 2tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 2tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • Fresh lime juice, to taste
  • Cooked rice, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

884 calories; 53 grams fat; 38 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 71 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 37 grams protein; 2119 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until shallots are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in stock, coconut milk, lemongrass, jalapeño, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, salt and lime zest. Simmer for 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Stir in seafood and herbs. Cook 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice and serve, with rice if desired. (Note: Without rice it’s more soup than stew.)

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
661 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Deb

If you make this with shrimp, clean the shrimp, boil the shells in 3 cups water for 20 minutes, strain and use that as your stock. It's amazing what flavor you get from shrimp shells....just learned this after throwing out the shells all these years. This will make a fantastic soup!!

HBN

A little tip with the lemon grass -- first remove the outer leaves then pound it (I use a pestle), it softens and releases the oils making it more flavorful before use. Also makes it easier to cut up.

This is definitely going into the rotation - easy, quick and delicious.

ellen

Great recipe. I chop the lemongrass finely and put in a large tea infuser, and add to the soup. it gives up all its flavor, but you dont have to worry about trying to chew it.

loder

for the amount of fine prep work, the next time I'm just sign to open a can of curry paste and use that instead. Results would be the same.

Les

Excellent and easy. I doubled the vinegar and fish sauce and it suited my taste nicely. Enjoy!

Shoba

For my Indian palate, this dish was rather underwhelming. But...I can see why so many loved it.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.