Thai Fish Curry Recipe- Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo and GAPS Legal

I don't often make fish dishes, because fish isn't so cheap here, especially not nice fish. Occasionally I buy some cheaper smaller "bone in" fish, but it's hard to know what to do with them. I mean there's only so many times you can make fish chowder before it gets boring. But I couldn't just cook them like I would regular fish because they're too small and bony to be able to make them into fillets or to bake them or fry them, etc...
So I had a package of fish in my freezer, asking me to do something with it. I wanted something new and interesting, so I polled the Facebook world, and got so many suggestions of things to do with it, more than I could do with my one little package of fish.
My friend Amanda recommended that I try out a Thai fish curry, and it really seemed interesting. I had never made one before, but the combination of ingredients that I found on various websites sounded intriguing. I based this recipe off this Thai fish curry recipe that I found, but made cheaper by using from scratch ingredients and what I had in the home, and by stretching the fish with more fillers.
It really hit the spot! I can see why it's Amanda's favorite fish recipe!

You can use any type of fish for this, whether fish fillets or bone-in fish, and you can play around with the veggies as well. By leaving out the potato starch you can make it Paleo and GAPS diet friendly. Amanda typically serves this with a ball of sticky rice, but I left that out.

Thai Fish Curry Recipe- Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo and GAPS Legal

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs fish with bones, or 4-5 fillets of white fish or other fish
4 medium/large tomatoes
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 package of mushrooms
2 zucchinis
2 cups coconut milk (ideally homemade coconut milk)
3 cups fish broth or water (see below)
2 tablespoons dried ginger
2 tablespoons garlic powder
6 tablespoons fish sauce (ideally homemade fish sauce)
3 teaspoons cumin
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
4 teaspoons honey (or coconut sugar or sucanat or white sugar)
1-2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
A few dashes red pepper flakes (optional, to taste)
5 tablespoons potato starch (optional)
Scallions (optional)

Instructions:
1. If using fish with bones, boil the fish in enough water to cover until fully cooked and the fish can be removed from the bones easily. Separate fish meat from bones. Set aside. Reserve cooking water. This is the "fish broth" mentioned in the ingredients.

2. Chop up the vegetables into small pieces.

3. Mix all the rest of the ingredients other than the potato starch and scallions. If using deboned fish fillets, chop them up and add them, and use water in place of the fish broth. Add the deboned fish if precooked.

4. Bring to a boil and cook until all the vegetables are soft.

5. Remove 1/3 of a cup of broth, let cool, and mix with potato starch, if using. Then pour the liquid back into the pot, and cook until thickened.

6. Top with chopped scallions.

Variations: 
Instead of zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms, consider using carrots, celery, cabbage, or any other vegetables you have in the house. Realize, though, that the flavors will be somewhat different- adjust the rest of the seasonings to taste.

If you like this recipe, you might also like these recipes:

Homemade Fish Sauce




Chicken Vegetable Pad Thai



Have you ever eaten Thai food before? What is your favorite Thai dish? 
Ever eaten Thai fish curry before? Are you a fan? If you've made it, did you use a similar recipe? If not, what was in yours? 
What is your favorite cheapskate fish dish to make?
Does this look like a recipe you'd try?