Cá Nục Kho Nước Dừa với Cà Ri Ni – Curry Mackerel with Coconut Juice

I was craving for Vietnamese braised mackerel in pineapple and onions but wanted to try my friend’s version with curry and turmeric powder. So I merged the two together and it turned out delicious! Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my husband and I did! (I will have to go back and upload photos next time I cook this.)

Prep time: 30 minutes (I cleaned the fish so I can use the fish scraps as my garden fertilizer. Prep time would be faster if you have the fishmonger at the Asian markets clean the fish for you.)
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serving: 7

Ingredients:

3 mackerels
1 can Coco Rico*
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Half cup chunky pineapples
1 cup chopped scallions
1 yellow onion bulb
4+ Tbsp fish sauce (Squid Brand)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tBsp Ca Ri Ni curry powder*
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tBsp Coconut Oil

*Note: Substitute the can of Coco Rico with coconut water plus sugar to your preference. Coco Rico is already sweet so I do not add sugar in my recipe. Cà Ri Ni is a Vietnamese-Indonesia curry powder mixed with other herbal spices. It’s my favorite curry powder to use for my Vietnamese curry recipes.

Direction

1. I like cleaning the mackerels since I can save the fish scraps to feed my garden. Once I clean and rinse off the fish blood, I cut the mackerel in halves. Then I got paper towels to blotch the fish to absorb the water.

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2. Finish prepping the other ingredients. Chop onions and scallions. I always have chunky pineapples I freeze stocked up for quick fix like this.

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3. In my 14-inch Hexclad pan, heat up pan with one tablespoon of Coconut Oil. Then add in the onions and the pineapple. (I defrost the frozen chunky pineapple in the microwave for one minute first). Cook on high heat for about two minutes or until the pineapple has completely thawed.

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4. Pour in the Coco Rico and fish sauce. Season with ground black pepper, turmeric powder, and Ca Ri Ni curry powder. (Once again, the Coco Rico is already sweet so I do not add sugar. If you use natural coconut water, then you might want to add some sugar to balance out with the fish sauce.)

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5. Lay the mackerel pieces into the pan. Cook the mackerels for 13 minutes on medium heat.

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6. Then flip the mackerel over. Add in the cherry tomatoes. Continue cooking for another 13 minutes on medium heat. I added the scallions the last five minutes. Add more black pepper if needed.