Coconut Curry Fish with Rice Noodles over Lettuce

In the summer of 2011, my family and I went down to Emerald Isle, NC for a family vacation. On that trip, I had my first hush puppies and enjoyed some truly tasty fresh fish dishes. I had key lime pie that was to die for, and I made a long list of restaurants to visit next time we go. Well, the time is coming up soon when we  will be returning back to the beach and the biggest food item I am looking forward to most is having the opportunity to enjoy another taste of a dish I have been trying to recreate for the last year. I don't remember what the dish is actually called and I can't find the dish on their website (Oh, I sure hope it is still there!), but the name of the restaurant is California Roll Cafe. I have tried many variations of the dish, but I am getting to the point where I'm not sure what the original tasted like. Anyway, I will get it again and I will ask for tips. In the meantime, I think this version was one of the best I've made yet, so I will put it all out here now and I will make a second post that is more accurate to the actual recipe later on.


Coconut Curry Fish with Rice Noodles over Lettuce

Open a can of reduced fat coconut milk and soak a large piece of fish (hallibut works great, but so does any other white fish) for about 4-6 hours in the coconut milk. When you are ready to cook the fish, take it out of the fridge and add some fresh ground ginger, curry powder, salt & pepper and let simmer with the lid on for about 5 minutes. While it is cooking, julienne 1-2 carrots and add them to the fish, cover and simmer for about 5 more minutes. With one minute to go, add some chopped green onion so they just get soft. While all of this is happening, bring water with chicken broth (I use Osem Chicken Consomme) to a boil and add a package of rice noodles.

Take fresh lettuce, I prefer bibb because of the hearty texture and soft flavor, and create a bed with it. Place a nest of rice noodles on top of the lettuce. Place a piece of fish on top of the noodles and generously cover the dish with the coconut curry sauce used to cook the fish. I have tried it with sprouts as well, but I find it difficult to eat the whole package of sprouts before it goes bad.

Coconut Curry Fish with Rice Noodles over Lettuce ~209 calories per serving, recipe makes 4 servings.