Imbued with richness from coconut milk and robust flavor from lemongrass and ginger, this Thai-style salmon curry recipe from Emma Teal Laukitis and Claire Neaton’s book The Salmon Sisters: Harvest & Heritage is ideal for showcasing wild salmon, such as Sockeye or Coho. But there is one major rule you just can’t break: using full-fat coconut milk. Leaner than its farmed counterparts, wild salmon requires the lush texture of regular coconut milk to ensure it doesn’t dry out. (The lower-fat stuff is also thickened with stabilizers that can break down and lead to off flavors in the final dish.) Plus, poaching wild salmon fillets over low heat in the fragrant coconut curry sauce keeps the fish tender and butter-soft.
When shopping for fish, choose a skinless fillet. If you can’t find one, ask the fish butcher at your grocery store to remove the skin for you. Or just go ahead and poach the salmon pieces with the skin on; it’ll be easier to remove after the fish has been cooked. (It’s also totally fine to eat.)
The surprise ingredient here might be the honey. Rather than making the broth noticeably sweet, it simply rounds out the savory spice and heat brought on by red curry paste and fresh chiles. Fragrant jasmine rice is a natural complement to this weeknight-dinner-ready coconut curry salmon, but any long-grain white rice will do. Similarly, you can swap the basil for whatever soft herbs you’ve got in your garden or refrigerator drawer: fresh cilantro, mint, chives, or a combination would all add the required fresh finish.
For more salmon curry recipes, try salmon paka, an East African fish curry that starts with crispy-skinned seared salmon fillets, or this rice bowl with salmon and Thai-curry-spiced creamed spinach.