Thai coconut curry salmon features pan seared salmon simmered in a creamy coconut curry sauce and served over hot rice with plenty of lime and cilantro.
We’ve officially reached the strangest-feeling week of the entire year. And I’m serving up this creamy coconut salmon to combat the weirdness and carry us through til New Years.
It’s semi-healthy, but still tastes super luxurious and hello, it’s salmon and there’s tons of green on the plate so it just balances out perfectly.
Plus it’s fast as HECK to make! Cause I’m sure the last place you want to be this week is in the kitchen.
Just a pan full of pure coziness, y’all. And just know that I definitely wouldn’t judge if you felt the urge to swim in that coconut curry sauce.
There’s a reason there’s a lot of it, trust me. It’s not too much – if anything it’s not enough.
This Thai Coconut Curry Salmon features…
- Tender, flaky pan seared salmon fillets
- A creamy, slightly-spicy Thai coconut curry sauce
- Lots of hot steamed rice and broccoli for serving and soaking up all that sauce
- Only 40 minutes to make and a handful of ingredients needed!
Making the Thai Coconut Curry Salmon
(scroll down to the bottom of post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Salmon
- Vegetable oil
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Thai red curry paste
- Coconut milk
- Agave nectar
- Lime juice
- Cilantro
- Hot rice and broccoli for serving
How to Prepare Salmon
You will need about 1 lb of salmon for this recipe. We recommend buying a side of salmon and cutting into about 4 fillets.
If possible, we recommend using skinless salmon for this recipe, but if you’re nervous about removing the skin from the delicate salmon fillets yourself, feel free to leave it on and remove it after cooking! It should peel right off.
To prepare the salmon for pan searing, pat dry with paper towels and season well on both sides with salt and pepper.
Tips for Perfect Salmon
- Pan sear salmon – heat a 9-in pan, then swirl oil to coat bottom. Sear the salmon several minutes per side until the salmon reaches your desired temp. (we like ours a little on the rarer side!)
- Saute aromatics – once the salmon is seared, remove from the pan and saute yellow onion, garlic, ginger, red curry paste, and agave in drippings several minutes until fragrant and lightly browned.
- Add coconut milk and let simmer – we recommend full-fat coconut milk for getting a thick and rich sauce here.
- Nestle salmon in pan – once the coconut sauce has reduced slightly, nestle the pan seared salmon into the sauce.
- Top skillet with lime + cilantro – this adds one last little punch of flavor!
What to Serve with Salmon
We like to keep things simple and pair this salmon with hot steamed rice for soaking up all that sauce. We particularly love basmati or jasmine rice with this salmon.
If you have a few extra minutes, feel free to throw a green side on the plate such as wilted spinach or steamed broccoli like we do.
Recipe Variations
There are several different directions you can go with this recipe to make it your own!
- Bump up the heat – use a spicier curry paste or add a few shakes of cayenne pepper into the sauce.
- Change the protein – boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts would work great in place of the salmon.
- Use a different curry paste – feel free to use your favorite in place of the red curry paste!
The salmon is impossibly buttery and tender and just soaks up ALL that creamy coconut curry sauce. Pro tip, don’t skip the fresh lime juice and cilantro on top! It just makes all the flavors pop.
Also, don’t forget to eat this salmon straight from the pan cause it’s so freaking good.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More incredible salmon dinners to try out next!
Thai Coconut Curry Salmon
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Ingredients
Coconut Curry Salmon
- 1 lb skinless salmon fillets (4 medium fillets)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1/4 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- 1 (13.5 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
- Hot steamed rice and broccoli for serving
Instructions
Coconut Curry Salmon
- Season salmon well on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 9-inch skillet over medium-high heat until pan is hot. Add salmon to pan and sear 3-4 minutes on each side, flipping once until salmon is golden brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Keep pan over medium-high heat and add onion to drippings. Sauté onion until just translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, ginger, red curry paste, and agave and sauté 2 additional minutes.
- Pour coconut milk into pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer 5-10 minutes until sauce is slightly thickened.
- Arrange salmon in pan and spoon sauce over top. Top salmon with cilantro and lime juice. Serve salmon hot over rice with broccoli. Enjoy!
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