Coconut Fish and Tomato Bake

Coconut Fish and Tomato Bake
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Judy Kim.
Total Time
20 minutes, plus 15 minutes’ marinating
Rating
5(7,514)
Notes
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A coconut-milk dressing infused with garlic, ginger, turmeric and lime coats fish fillets in this sheet-pan dinner. Accompanying the fish are bright bursts of tomatoes which turn jammy under the broiler and relinquish some of their juices to the pan sauce. This sauce is silky enough to coat a spoon and packed with flavor. It pairs well with anything from snapper to flounder and even salmon, so choose the fillets that look best at the market. You’ll want to sop up the sauce with thick slices of grilled or toasted baguette, or spoon it over steamed rice.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ¾cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and finely grated
  • 1garlic clove, finely grated
  • ½teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • 1tablespoon honey
  • Kosher salt
  • 2limes
  • ½cup chopped cilantro
  • 4(6-ounce) fish fillets, such as snapper, haddock, striped bass, fluke, sablefish or salmon, skin on or off
  • 2pints cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 3tablespoons olive oil
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

407 calories; 22 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 38 grams protein; 1031 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, ginger, garlic, turmeric, red-pepper flakes, honey and 1 teaspoon salt.

  2. Step 2

    Zest and juice 1 lime directly into the coconut milk mixture. Stir in ¼ cup chopped cilantro. Add the fish fillets and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Arrange another rack in the position closest to the broiler heat source. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

  4. Step 4

    Place the tomatoes on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and toss to coat. Place the marinated fish between the tomatoes and spoon all the marinade from the bowl over the fish. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the fish. Transfer the pan to the lower-middle rack and roast until the surface of the fish is opaque but the center is not cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish. The fish should not flake easily with a fork. Remove the pan from the oven and heat the broiler to high.

  5. Step 5

    Move the pan to the broiler and finish cooking, rotating the pan once, until the fish is tender and the tomatoes are just beginning to brown in spots, 5 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish. Slice the remaining lime into wedges.

  6. Step 6

    Divide the tomatoes and fish among dishes and tip the pan juices over the fish. Garnish with the remaining ¼ cup cilantro and serve with lime wedges for squeezing.

Ratings

5 out of 5
7,514 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Excellent. Only thing I would do differently next time is to cut the tomatoes in half. Roasting them whole, the little buggers exploded all over the inside of my oven.

My grandmother had been cooking this kind of fish with coconut milk/turmeric 40-50 years ago since I was born. This is also a very common way to cook fish in southern Thailand. If the fish is a fresh catch, or whole, you can simply use this coconut/turmeric mixture to marinate or brush on fish for grilling. Less sauce but flavor will be absorbed. Serve golden grilled fish with spicy sea food dipping sauce made of fresh chilly/garlic/lime juice/sugar/a little fish sauce, and you'll be in heaven.

For a leafy green side-dish without any extra clean up, add some spinach at the broiling phase. The leaves soak up all the wonderful marinade and tomato juices. Pairs well with crusty bread. Delicious!!!

This was delicious as written! The only thing I’d do differently next time is to cook it in a smaller baking dish instead of a sheet pan. For me, the sauce burned a bit in the areas where it was spread thin. It was also difficult to spoon the sauce up from the sheet pan.

Question re sheet pans and roasting tomatoes...is the author of the recipe using aluminum pans which is not recommended? I see this so often in recipes lately with the sheet pan craze. Stainless steel pans are very expensive. Just wondering if there is some trick that can be done to mitigate any damage roasting acidic things on aluminum pans might do?

I was happy to see this instruction: "1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and finely grated". In the past, I've watched my sister in England use ginger and she never peeled it, whereas most recipes in the US call for peeling the ginger. No more peeling for me from now on!

WOW!!! I have made several of the NYT'S fish preparations, and I have to say, this one is AMAZING! I used halibut, and let the cherry tomatoes get a head start with 10-12 mins in the oven before adding the fish. I did not cut them in half, and there wasn't any splatter. I also did not broil at the end, as my Le Crueset and casserole pans say not to broil or use high heat above 450. I don't like to use a sheet pan for things with sauce as it spreads, and hard to get all the luscious sauce after.

Thoughts I got from others: * Delicious. * Serve on fresh spinach, which will wilt (could also be roasted broccolini or other). * Too sweet; less honey. * Use all coconut milk; extra (milk w/ ginger, garlic, turmeric, etc.) is part of rice dish. * Give tomatoes 5-12 minutes’ head start. * Halve tomatoes to avoid bursting on oven walls 😬. * Roast cauliflower as a side. X

This was outstanding and I used some of the milk mixture to make rice. I used the whole can of coconut milk and after I whisked in the ginger, garlic, turmeric etc., I put a cup of the milk mixture as half of the liquid for making basmati rice in a rice cooker. Other half water. Fabulous rice! I didn’t have cilantro by the way and the dish was still amazing.

Excellent. Made with thick cod fillet, took a little longer. Used parchment paper, so skipped broiling and raised oven temperature to 500 and moved pan to bottom shelf for last few minutes. Served with jasmine rice.

Agree with Sheila. This is delicious. Another great recipe from this author. Appreciate the clear directions on baking and broiling. We used halibut, and it was perfectly cooked.

As a hesitant fish-eater, this was delicious! I used arctic char and served with spinach and brown rice. I followed the advice of others and used a glass baking dish instead of a sheet pan. I threw in some spinach with the tomatoes before broiling, but I think it worked just as well and was simpler to put fresh spinach underneath the fish when serving and the spinach wilts under the hot fish

I made this tonight using striped sea bass fillets and it was WONDERFUL! Served with brown rice and roasted broccoli. Heavy duty foil on sheet pan was easy clean-up. No need for that 3rd Tbsp oil on fish- plenty of moisture and fat from the coconut milk marinade. Watch closely when in the broiler, only needed about 4 minutes for beautiful browning and blistering of tomatoes. Thank you for another delicious fish recipe!

Loved this! Very easy, used striped bass and it was delicious. Personally, it was a little on the sweet side, so I would not use a whole tablespoon of honey next time. Maybe just one or two teaspoons, max.

Regarding the aluminum sheet pan. I always put a silicone sheet on the pan (no burning mess on the pan either), which takes care of a multitude of issues. You could use parchment paper, too, but it might burn under the broiler.

Loved this, so easy and delicious. I used fresh halibut and followed the recipe exactly except used a tablespoon of siracha in addition to the red chili flakes. The fish came out perfectly moist and very flavorful. This is a great addition to my repertoire. I think one could use shrimp or chicken as well. Could serve with rice or quinoa to soak up the sauce. Winner!

Excellent and super easy to make. I followed the advice here and made coconut rice to go with it. Pickled some sliced fresno chilis in seasoned rice vinegar to serve on top.

We love this and have made it 5 or 6 times to date. No significant changes, although to avoid exploding tomatoes, I put them in a bowl and crushed them lightly with a potato masher.

Never bake or broil ANYTHING in ANY kind of pan without lining it first with aluminum foil, and then, if needed, with parchment paper. I know it's not the most ecological, but life is too short to spend it scrubbing baking pans.

We like to add lacinato kale with the tomatoes. It crisps in the oven. A favorite!

I really like this recipe and will definitely use it again. I made it with mahi-mahi and followed it precisely, with the only substitution being agave nectar in place of honey. I did prick the cherry tomatoes so that I could keep them whole. I particularly loved how the red pepper added the tiniest amount of heat to linger on the palate without being too strong; the richness of the coconut milk and the olive oil and the acid of the lime help balance it out. Very nice.

We made this in the middle of the night and it was incredible, we’re gonna do some rice and zucchini in place of the tomatoes next time!

Outstanding!! I used 1 lb (5 filets) of defrosted Trader Joe’s branzino filets and followed the directions with the lower end of the time estimates but broiled for even less time because my pan was very close to the broiler. IT WAS EXCELLENT! And I’m not even a big fish eater. Truly wonderful.

I loved this so much. Took note of some other comments and cooked it in a Pyrex dish in the middle of the oven and staggered cooking times for firstly some cubed butternut (I had some leftover and thought the flavour profile would work) then the tomatoes for 10 mins then finally the fish&sauce. I used John Dory fillets for 2 but made the full amount of sauce (no ingredient changes just a very scant tablespoon of honey) and the plates were licked clean!!! Delicious

This was excellent and easy. I used Arctic char. The filet was so thin that I only cooked it for five minutes, so the tomatoes didm''t burst as much as they should have. The coconut sauce was delicious and very light, even though I used full-fat coconut milk. A very nice weeknight dish, but good enough for company.

I followed the recipe exactly and it was missing something, the coconut milk was slightly overpowering the other flavors and made everything taste bland. If I were to make it next time, I’d amp up the spices and add a dash of fish sauce

Doubled the sauce for rice later, used sablefish, threw spinach in for the broil (would only throw it in for half the broil time next time) and wow probably the best nyt recipe I’ve made

Add rice

We have made a lot of different recipes from the NYT app. This is one of our favorites. Absolutely delicious. We made it with cod. I think the lime zest really made this dish. And the turmeric. Would highly recommend.

Great. Might add a little fish sauce to bump up the umami in the marinade/sauce.

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