Special delivery: Sign up for the free Marlin email newsletter. Subscribe to Marlin magazine and get a year of highly collectible, keepsake editions – plus access to the digital edition and archives.
We used red snapper to bring James Beard Award-winning chef Clay Conley’s Florida dish alive—served with nutty, antioxidant-rich black rice and a green curry that really knocked our socks off. This recipe pairs perfectly with a Coconut-Lime Pomegranate Mojito.
Ingredients | Serves 4
For the Fish
- 2 oz. blended oil
- 4-8 oz. fillets American red snapper
- 2 Tbsp. green curry
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- ½ red onion, julienned
- 3 Tbsp. nuoc mam
- 3 Tbsp. lime juice
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. mint, julienned
- 2 Tbsp. Thai basil, julienned
- 2 Tbsp. cilantro, julienned
- 5 kaffir lime leaves, julienned
For the Green Curry
- 2 Tbsp. shrimp paste
- 1 clove garlic
- 15 peppercorns
- 2 tsp. ginger, peeled and diced
- Zest of 1 lime
- 5 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 stalks lemongrass, smashed and minced
- 2 jalapeños
- 1 bunch mint
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 bunch cilantro
In a blender, puree all of the ingredients with just enough water to make it smooth
For the Rice
- 1 cup rice
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1½ cup water
- 1 stalk lemongrass, large chop
- 1 small knob of ginger, sliced
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 Tbsp. green curry
Add all of the ingredients to a rice cooker, and cook until done. Remove the lemongrass, ginger, and lime leaves. Mix in the curry paste just before serving.
Preparation
Marinate snapper in the green curry for 4 to 10 hours. Stir together tomatoes, onion, nuoc mam, lime juice and sugar. Add herbs, and allow the salad to sit at room temperature for at least 45 minutes. Season fish with sea salt. In a large saute pan, heat oil until smoking hot. Add snapper, and sear for 4 minutes. Flip over the fillet, and continue cooking just until done and opaque. In the center of the plate, add a mound of black rice. Top with seared fish, then spoon over tomato-herb vinaigrette.
