It's Monday! We all know what that means, 30 minutes or less! Today, we are going to take a look at how to cook Thai Curry Salmon with sticky rice in under 30 minutes. This is one of those weeknight meals that feels far more impressive than the effort it takes, combining rich red curry flavour with perfectly cooked salmon. Let's get to it.
Jump to:
- 3:50 pm - Getting Started
- 3:52 pm - Vegetables
- 3:54 pm - Searing the Salmon
- 3:55 pm - Rice
- 3:56 pm - Flip the Salmon
- 3:57 pm - Salmon out of the Pan
- 3:59 pm - Snow Peas
- 4:00 pm - Ginger
- 4:01 pm - Curry Paste
- 4:02 pm - Coconut Milk
- 4:04 pm - Cilantro and Green Onions
- 4:05 pm - Flip the Salmon
- 4:08 pm - Rice
- 4:09 pm - Finish the Salmon
- 4:13 pm - Thai Curry Salmon
- Wrapping Up
- Recipe
3:50 pm - Getting Started
The first step is to get the rice going. For the rice I used, it is a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water. I used 1 cup of sticky rice or sushi rice and 1 ½ cups of water. This goes in a pot, gets brought to a boil, then simmered for 12 minutes. To finish, the rice has to sit for 5 minutes. That's it.
So, I got the rice going and I put a 10-inch non-stick pan on the stove over medium heat. If you're not sure why that matters, check out my post on why you should always preheat your pan.
3:52 pm - Vegetables
With the rice going and the pan heating up I got to work prepping the vegetables. I cut three green onions separating the greens and the whites. The whites I chopped into thumb width pieces. The greens I sliced thinly to be used for garnish later.
I thinly sliced half an orange pepper, (use whatever colour of pepper you would like) and 1 clove of garlic.
3:54 pm - Searing the Salmon
By the time I was done cutting the vegetables my pan was hot. I added in 1 teaspoon of oil then the salmon. Getting a good sear on the salmon before it goes into the curry is key -- it adds colour and a layer of flavour that you just don't get from poaching alone.
3:55 pm - Rice
When I put the salmon in the pan, the rice started to boil. I turned the heat down to simmer and put a lid on the pot. I set a 12-minute timer and moved on to the next task.
3:56 pm - Flip the Salmon
The salmon had been cooking for about two minutes and had a nice sear so I flipped to get a little colour on the other side.
3:57 pm - Salmon out of the Pan
I cooked the salmon for one more minute then removed it from the pan. Then, I added in the green onions, bell pepper, and garlic. This is essentially a quick stir fry to get some colour and flavour into the vegetables before the sauce goes in.
3:59 pm - Snow Peas
While the peppers and things were cooking I got to work prepping some snow peas. There is a thread that runs the length of the snow pea and it isn't very good to eat. To get rid of it, I grabbed the top of the snow pea, broke off the very end and pulled down. After I did this to all the snow peas I cut them into thirds.
4:00 pm - Ginger
I added the snow peas into the pan along with 1 teaspoon of grated ginger.
4:01 pm - Curry Paste
Next up, I added in 2 big tablespoons of Thai Red Curry paste. I cooked the curry paste for about 1 minute. Cooking the paste before adding liquid is important because it blooms the spices and brings out a deeper, more aromatic flavour. If you want to learn more about the basics of curry, I have a whole post on that.
4:02 pm - Coconut Milk
Next up, I added 1 cup of coconut milk into the pan. I brought this to a boil then added the salmon back into the pan and turned the heat down to a simmer. The coconut milk mellows out the heat from the curry paste and creates that signature creamy sauce. If you enjoy this kind of flavour profile, you might also like my Thai Coconut Curry Soup.
4:04 pm - Cilantro and Green Onions
While the salmon is simmering I cut up about 2 tablespoon of cilantro and the tops of the green onions.
4:05 pm - Flip the Salmon
After the salmon cooked for about 3 minutes, I flipped it over to cook it evenly.
4:08 pm - Rice
At 4:08 pm the rice had been cooking for 12 minutes and was ready to be taken off the heat and left to sit for 5 minutes. I flipped the salmon one last time and removed it from the heat.
4:09 pm - Finish the Salmon
To finish the salmon I added the juice of ½ a lime along with the cilantro and green onions.
4:13 pm - Thai Curry Salmon
At 4:13 pm the rice was ready and the salmon was done. That means dinner was ready.
Wrapping Up
This is one of my favourite quick dinners -- 23 minutes from start to finish for restaurant-quality Thai curry salmon. I love how the creamy coconut sauce, the heat from the curry paste, and the brightness of the lime all come together in one pan.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sticky Rice Sushi Rice
- 2 Salmon Fillets
- 1 Sliced Garlic Clove
- ½ Bell Pepper, sliced
- 3 Green Onions, Whites and Green Separate
- 1 tsp Canola Oil
- 1 teaspoon Grated Ginger
- ¼ cup Chopped Snow Peas
- 2 tablespoon Thai Red Curry Paste
- 1 cup Coconut Milk
- 2 tablespoon Chopped Cilantro
- ½ Lime, juiced
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to the directions on the package.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Add the oil into the pan and sear the salmon on both sides.
- Remove the salmon from the pan and add in the garlic and all the vegetables except the snow peas.
- Cook the vegetables for 2-3 minutes then add in the ginger, cook for a few seconds then add in the curry paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the snow peas and coconut milk, bring to a boil and add the salmon back in.
- Simmer the sauce, flipping the salmon once or twice, until the salmon is cooked.
- Finish the salmon with cilantro, green onions, and lime juice.
- Serve the salmon over the rice.
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