Fish Suruwa — Fijian Fish Curry

Ingredients

• 700 g fresh snapper or mahi-mahi, skin on, cut into large pieces
• 400 ml coconut milk, freshly pressed if available
• 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• For the curry paste
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 20 g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 3 garlic cloves, finely crushed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1–2 fresh chillies, finely sliced
• To serve
• 300 g long-grain rice or cassava, cooked separately

Method

1. 1
   Combine the turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, onion, and chilli to form the curry paste. Cook the paste in a wide pan over medium heat, stirring, until the onion has softened and the spices are fragrant and no longer raw — the paste will deepen in colour and begin to catch lightly at the edges.
2. 2
   Add the chopped tomatoes and stir them through the paste. Cook until the tomatoes have broken down and their liquid has largely reduced, leaving a cohesive, rust-coloured base.
3. 3
   Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer. The sauce should be pale golden and liquid — it is a light, coconut-based braise, not a thick gravy. Do not allow it to boil hard.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Add the fish pieces to the simmering curry last. Cook for five to eight minutes only. The fish is done when the flesh is just opaque through to the centre and yields to the lightest pressure — it must not be allowed to flake apart or crumble in the sauce.
5. 5
   Serve immediately with rice or cooked cassava. The finished sauce is pale golden, light, and creamy; the fish pieces hold their form within it.