Panang Salmon

November 21, 2015 5 Comments

This is an incredibly quick and easy dish to make, it can be made with other fish too apart from salmon, red snapper would be good. It's often crazily expensive in restaurants so much more economical to prepare at home. The Panang paste is medium heat though you could use less if you prefer a really mild dish.

This is what you need. 1 packet of paste and one can of coconut milk is sufficient for up to 4 salmon fillets. The red pepper and kaffir lime leaves are optional for garnish, go where your imagination or fridge salad drawer takes you! I'm also using some Thai sweet basil leaves, often available at Waitrose or Sainsburys in the UK. I also like to use Kaffir lime leaves, again available in supermarkets. It is always a good idea to have a fresh lime for some lime juice to hand to adjust sweetness, if needed,  to your personal taste at the end of cooking. You also adjust saltiness by adding a little more fish sauce or salt if required.

Make sure you’re using the “right” type of coconut milk as it will make or break this or any other coconut based curry. Quick guide here, Coconut Milk Summary or if you would like to see the difference between different brands of coconut milk the full article is here, Cooking Thai Curry with Coconut Milk.


Marinate the salmon fillets in roughly half the contents of the curry paste for an hour or two. Quantities are not too critical here, half a pouch is enough for up to 4 reasonable sized fillets. If the fish has skin attached I like to leave it on and fry the skin side until it is quite crispy, that's the Thai way so down to personal preference. Dredge the salmon in some plain flour.

Add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to a pan and bring to a medium heat and add fish skin side down. Fry for 2 /3 minutes. Turn and cook the other side. Sear the remaining sides for a minute or so.

Remove fish from pan and keep warm. Wipe pan clean and add the remainder of the curry paste. Heat and stir and then add around 4 tablespoons of coconut milk, preferably from the thicker part at the top of the can. Adjust the quantity of coconut milk depending on how much fish you are cooking and how much sauce you want to serve it with.

Heat and stir until it bubbles, then add the pepper strips and sliced lime leaves or whatever else you wish to add to it..

Place fish back in pan and cook for a further minute or two. At this point taste the sauce and adjust with lime juice if you find it too sweet.

Arrange on a plate spooning the sauce over. I've added some coconut milk to give a little contrast in both appearance and taste, some fried shredded lime leaf and basil leaf to garnish it with, purely decorative so it's up to you! 

Enjoy!. 
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