A light and fragrant fish stew with bags of flavour!
We're marinating salmon and haddock in beautiful spices, then frying up with onions, peppers and garlic before finishing off with tomatoes and cream.
A fantastic lighter dinner!
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Oh I love it when I manage to get a fish dish on the table that everyone enjoys.
Chris generally complains when I tell him I’m cooking fish, and the kids will take it, but I know in their hearts they’re thinking about spag bol or a nice big lasagne.
This fish dish works a treat though. Light, but also just a little bit creamy - with the addition of a good splash of coconut cream. Cooked up together with peppers, chopped tomatoes and plenty of spice and it makes a delicious (and low carb) meal in itself.
📋 What do we need?
I'm like to use salmon and haddock, but you can add in most firm or flaky fleshed types of fish.
See the recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients.
🔪 How to make this fish stew
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Chop up the onions, peppers and the fish.
- Marinade the fish in salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, lime juice, ginger and garlic. You don't need to marinate any longer than about 20 minutes.
- Fry up the onions and peppers in a little oil, then add in the fish, along with brown sugar, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and coconut cream.
- Simmer for about 7-8 minutes, until the fish is cooked through and tender.
- Serve with fresh coriander and wedges of lime.
👩🍳PRO TIP For even more variety try adding some prawns or even some mussels in there too – yummmmm!!
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Fresh Crusty Bread
- A side of Boiled Rice
- Homemade Flatbreads
- Easy Garlic Bread
Is rice served with stew wrong? I can't help it, I do like my carbs 😉
📺 Watch how to make it
🍲 More fantastic stews, soups and casseroles
Still hungry for more? Why not try one of these stews and soups inspired by different countries around the world:
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Easy Fish Stew
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1lbs or approx 4 fillets) mixed skinless and boneless salmon and haddock - (or cod/pollack), roughly chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground coriander - cilantro
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 thumb-sized piece ginger - peeled and minced
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown onion
- 1 red bell pepper - deseeded and chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper - deseeded and chopped
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 x 400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 120 ml (½ cup) coconut cream
To serve:
- Fresh coriander - cilantro to serve
- Boiled rice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the fish in a bowl with the salt, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, lime juice, ginger and garlic. Mix everything together and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions on a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until soft.
- Add in the bell peppers and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the fish (including the marinade) along with the brown sugar, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and coconut cream.
- Heat until nearly bubbling (don’t let it boil), then leave to simmer very gently for 7-8 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
- Serve topped with fresh coriander.
Video
✎ Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published in January 2016. Updated August 2021 with new photos and houskeeping.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Daniel Carter says
Hi Nicki, I thought i followed the recipe exactly the right but the texture came out far too thick in comparison to how your finished image looked. I’ve messed up somewhere with the coconut cream, how do you prepare it? Do you mix it with water or use coconut milk instead?
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Daniel, did you use regular tinned coconut cream? or was it a block of creamed coconut (creamed coconut is the type you'd usually mix with water first).
Dawn says
How is coconut cream different than coconut milk, is it sweetened? I'm in the USA and don't want to buy the wrong thing. Thanks!
Nick Andrews says
Is it really 1 TBSP coriander and just 1/2 teaspoon cumin? Want to try this today
Sadie says
This is fabulous 😋
I picked up some price reduced hot smoked salmon, which I paired with cod and prawns.
Reduced the sugar by half and added a few chilli flakes, and OMG - served in a bowl with a big hunk of homemade crusty bread.... just Wow!!!
A big bowl of low calorie deliciousness 🥰
Luis says
Hi!
It's looks delicious! Can I also add prawns?
BTW, is this the same as 'moqueca'?
Thanks!
Sue says
Gosh! That was sooooo yummy!! Added some potatoes that I had quickly microwaved because we’d had rice the night before.
It was all delicious!
Steve says
Love the speed and simplicity of this dish. So easy to do after a days work.
Lee says
I added a tsp of chilli flakes -personally I think it was a little sweet so next time i’ll Only put half the brown sugar in
Dana says
I made this last night and liked it then, and am surprised how much better it is the next day. Next time I'll probably make the stew on day one, then next day put it back in a pot, heat through and add the fish. The fish only takes about three minutes to cook anyway.
I couldn't get yellow peppers so I used cubed butternut squash instead.
Alicia says
Just made this. It is very tasty. I like how the coconut milk gives an extra flavor I am not used to in typical fish stews I've made in the past. Only things I changed were: using only 1lb of salmon, its all I had. I also couldn't fine puree so I used tomato sauce instead. I added some broth after throwing it all together and realizing there wasn't going to be enough broth. Very good thank you for the recipe!
Alex says
Fish is one of fav dishes and this look great to try
Nicky Corbishley says
Hope you enjoy it Alex 🙂
Joshua Hampton says
I get a lot of complaints when I make fish stew for dinner too. But I like how creamy this Brazilian fish stew looks, and I can't wait to try it at home.
Nicky Corbishley says
Hope you enjoy it Joshua 🙂
Gerri says
Can I leave out the ginger and coconut cream and substitute just cream
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Gerri, Yes you can, but the stew won't have quite as much of the Brazilian flavour.
I would just use cream if I was making more of an Italian sauce to serve with pasta.
George Crawford says
I was thinking of a fish soup or bisque for the weekend. This sealed the deal.