It’s Friday again, so that means no meat. For me it means a serious sacrifice: Fish (which is expensive) and organic and/or Fair Trade groceries. Today’s menu is Curried Nile Perch with Pandan Rice and a fruit salad. Dessert is Ben and Jerry’s with Fair Trade labeling. Here’s the recipe (I changed it a bit):

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of peanut oil (for frying)
• 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 big clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 stalk of lemon grass (Sereh), finely chopped
• 3cm / 1.5″ fresh ginger root, finely chopped
• 3 chillies, finely chopped
• 200 ml / about 1 cup of fish stock
• juice of 3 limes
• 200 ml / about 1 cup of coconut milk
• flesh of 1/2 coconut, finely chopped
• bunch of Coriander / Cilantro (yields about 1/2 cup fresh leaves)
• bunch of Parsley (yield about 1/4 cup of fresh leaves)
• 1/2 Papaya, coarsely chopped
• 2 large fillets of Nile Perch (monkfish can also be used)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion and garlic until they are soft. Add the chopped lemon grass, ginger and chilies.
2. Stir in the fish stock, lime juice, coconut milk, coconut flesh, coriander and parsley. Before adding this you could mix this together first in a blender to make sure it’s nice and smooth. Add also the coarsely chopped papaya.
3. Add the fish and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Serve immediately.
4. Serve with chilled white wine (I drink Thandi, which is Fair Trade) and pandan rice (also Fair Trade) and a fruit salad (for example pineapple, mango, peach and other tropical fruits).

My dessert was Ben and Jerry’s (Chunky Monkey flavour)

Links:

• Fair Trade Original Food (sold in almost all Dutch supermarkets)
• Fair Trade Wine etc. (U.S)
• More Fair Trade flavours by Ben and Jerry’s
• Original recipe

Posted under Sea Food