Fish in Green Curry Sauce

My mother instilled an envioronmental conscience in me when I was very young and it really effects the way I buy groceries.  For a few weeks, my grocery store only carried oranges from Australia, which is ridiculous because I know for a fact there are oranges growing all over this state.  I didn't buy them because of the ridiculous amount of pollution caused by transporting the fruit all the way here from Australia.  

I buy local foods when I can, shop in bulk to minimize packaging waste, and look for sustainable fish and seafood.  Which is where this recipe comes in.  I needed just some basic white fish.  I remembered from this handy guide that Atlantic cod and halibut, as well as red snapper were on the avoid list, but as I browsed through the case, the only white fish I didn't know about was Orange Roughy.  

I made this dinner, which I thoroughly enjoyed, then had an eye-opening chat with my neighbor, who has a broader knowledge of seafood sustainability than I do.  Not only is this fish dangerously high in mercury, it is from Australia, wildly overfished, and takes 20 years to reach sexual maturity, making it very difficult for the population to rebound.  

I consider this a lesson learned, and will not be shopping without my Seafood Watch Guide again!  But for the record, I highly recommend you make this with Pacific cod, Pacific halibut, or US farmed Tilapia.  And print yourself off a guide at the link above so you can shop sustainably as well!

(adapted from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider)

about 1 pound of white-fleshed fish fillets

1 small shallot, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tsp butter

2 tsp - 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste (depending on your tastes - it can be very spicy!)

1 tbsp fish sauce

2/3 cup light coconut milk 

chopped cilantro for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 F and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.  

Sprinkle the shallot in the bottom of the pan, then lay the fillets on top.

Spray a piece of foil with nonstick spray and lay it, sprayed side down, on top of the fish.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the fillet meets no resistance.

Meanwhile, bring the wine and butter to a simmer and cook until all the alcohol has cooked out. 

Stir in the green curry paste and coconut milk and simmer for about 3 minutes.  Stir in the fish sauce and cook for one minute more.

When the fish is done, pour the curry sauce over it, then garnish with cilantro.