SUMMARY

This delicious marriage of pan fried sea bass and red curried vegetables is an amazing example of Thai fusion.

Sea bass is popular in Thailand and features in a lot of dishes, but it is typically either cut into chunks and stir fried, or grilled and served whole. I love the western style of pan frying a sea bass fillet until the skin is crispy while still keeping the flesh itself moist and flakey. You also pay a lot more for sea bass, the king of fish, in the UK than you would in Thailand, so it’s worth treating with respect.

Try to get fillets that are large enough for one portion if you can, otherwise serve two small fillets to each diner.

METHOD

Instructions for pan fried seabass and red curried vegetables (please note that some multi-tasking will be required during the cooking as we are cooking the vegetables and the fish in parallel, and with rice too if you are serving with rice):

1. Put of couple of slashes laterally across the skin of the sea bass fillets. This will help to stop them curling up as the skin shrinks during the frying process. Sprinkle with seasoning: a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
   
   
2. Prepare your selection of vegetables: I’ve coarsely chopped a red onion, washed some mange tout, and opened a tin of chick peas and rinsed them in a colander.
   
   
3. To make the curried vegetables: (I use a 400ml can of coconut milk in this recipe and in practice I might not need the entire can for 4 portions, for example, I wouldn’t make the sauce too thin just for the sake of using the last drop. I would therefore advise to give the contents of the can a good stir to ensure that it hasn’t all settled in the bottom.)
   
   Pour about 150-200ml of the coconut milk into a pan and heat to a gentle boil on the hob. Add two heaped tablespoons of Thai red curry paste to the pan, and stir with a wooden spoon until the paste has dissolved. Add the 2 teaspoons of soft dark brown sugar and stir. Finally keep adding extra coconut milk until you have a nice creamy consistency. Have a taste of the curry sauce and add extra seasoning as required (I usually find the sauce is plenty salty enough but it’s a personal choice).
   
   
4. Now add the vegetables, and keeping the sauce nice and hot, stir for about 4-5 minutes.
   
   
5. To cook the fish: (Please note the following timings are based on my experience and large sea bass fillets. Some adjustment may be needed in your environment.)
   
   Put a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and heat. Lay the fillets neatly in the pan, skin side down. The temperature needs to be hot enough to make the skin crispy. The fillets will need turning over after about 3-4 minutes and then turn the heat right down as we don’t want the fish to dry out. The fish should be ready after about another 2-3 minutes.