Salmon and Broccoli Coconut Milk Spice Curry, made with SN2

A salmon fish curry in which coconut milk lifts everything good about the fish.

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK [Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.2 / SN2] makes this Salmon and Broccoli Coconut Milk Spice Curry.

Autumn, when salmon comes into season on the market. Coconut milk suits a spice curry made with salmon, and broccoli is another ingredient said to go well with it. Beyond the flavour match, broccoli is a vegetable high in vitamin C, and pairing salmon with foods rich in vitamin C is often spoken of as a happy combination.

Here we marinate the salmon in lemon juice as part of the preparation. Lemon, of course, is known for its vitamin C. A plate with plenty in it, eaten with thanks to the earth.

When your spice curry turns out watery Thinking about the chicken skin in a chicken curry Are the whole spices in the starter bag meant to be eaten? Which spice do you add when you want more heat?

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN2 / starter spices (the bag of whole spices): 1 bag
• SN2 / powder spices (the bag of ground spices): 1 bag
• Onion: 1
• Broccoli: 1/2 head
• Garlic: 10g grated (roughly 1–2 cloves)
• Ginger: 10g grated
• Salmon: about 200–300g (coho salmon)
• Lemon: 1/2
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Nam pla (Thai fish sauce): 1 tbsp (soy sauce also works)
• Coconut milk: 200ml
• Water: 100ml
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you prefer; for this recipe we suggest olive oil)

Preparation

• Grate the garlic, then the ginger, in that order
• Cut the onion (halve it, halve those again, then slice)
• Cut the broccoli into easy-to-eat pieces.
• Remove the bones from the salmon, cut it into easy-to-eat chunks and marinate it in the juice squeezed from the lemon: 1/2.

Method

1. Put the oil: 3 tbsp in a pan over low heat, and once the oil has warmed, add the starter spices (the bag of whole spices).
   
   
2. When you hear the mustard seeds (the small black ones) start to pop, add the grated garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring them through the spices.
   
   
3. Add the onion, stir it through, then turn the heat to high and cook for about 12 minutes until amber.
   
   
   
   

   How far you cook the onion changes the finished dish more than anything else. “It came out watery”, “the tomato tastes too sharp”, “it lacks depth” — the single biggest cause of all three is moving on to the next step before the onion has gone amber. For this recipe, cook it for a full 12 to 15 minutes and keep going until it is properly amber. The points are: keep the heat at medium to high spread the onion evenly across the pan and leave it, then stir; spread it evenly and leave it again, then stir — and repeat whenever you stir and feel something catching on the base of the pan, splash in a little water (in our experience, about 2 tbsp of water each time, roughly five times in all) Splashing in water carries the savour the onion releases through the whole pan and keeps it from catching while it turns amber. Letting it colour just enough to need a splash of water is, if anything, exactly what draws the flavour out. It takes a little time and attention, but it is the step that decides the result, so give it the care it needs.

   
   
   
4. Once the onion is amber, lower the heat, add all of the powder spices and cook them in, thinking of it as cooking the powder itself through.
   
   
5. Add the coconut milk: 200ml, water: 100ml, salt: 1 tsp, sugar: 2 tsp and nam pla: 1 tbsp, stir them in, then turn the heat to medium and bring it to a boil once.
   
   
   
   
6. Into the simmering pan, add the marinated salmon along with its lemon juice. Then add the broccoli.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Lower the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
   
   
8. When a skewer slides easily into the broccoli, take the pan off the heat, adjust the salt and it is done.
   
   

Finish with coriander or black pepper as you like.

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the chilli, cayenne or red pepper that usually carries the heat, so add as much as you like to suit your taste.