Lime Coconut Fish Soup

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This wonderful Lime Coconut Fish Soup is bursting with bright and bold flavors. You will be amazed at how easy this dish is to make, especially given the big flavors that come from it. The broth produces a delicious sweet and sour flavor that is rich and deep. The Fish is poached in this beautiful broth until it is perfectly cooked in all it’s flaky goodness. This is a fun dish that is inspired by Southeast Asian ingredients that you are just going to love!

This Lime Coconut Fish Soup is packed full of big flavors

What I love about cooking Southeast Asian recipes such as this one are the huge-flavored ingredients used. There is nothing subtle about SE Asian cooking, and this recipe is no exception. Fish Sauce, Coconut Cream, Sugar, Ginger, Garlic, Chili, Lime Juice, and Fish Broth are the big flavors that make up this wonderful broth

Every one of those ingredients by themselves has a huge flavor profile to them. Add them all together, and you get the most delicious Broth ever! What always surprises me about Southeast Asian cooking is that even though the flavors are so immense, everything always falls into perfect balance. Every ingredient in this broth has it’s place, and none of them seem to contradict or attempt to overpower each other

In fact, it is one of those dishes that if you ate it blindfolded and were asked to name the ingredients, I guarantee most of you would pick up on all these ingredients. The Ginger, Lime, Coconut, and Fish Sauce are so prominent in the dish, and add so much character and flavor to this wonderful meal!

The Fish is cooked by poaching it in the flavorsome Soup

Fish cookery can sometimes be a bit of a tricky skill to master. Not in this dish! It’s got to be one of the easiest ways to cook perfect flaky White Fish every time. All you need to do is drop the pieces of Fish into the Broth and allow it to poach for about 5 minutes

It’s best not to stir the fish around too much as it is poaching. Just ensure that it’s well submerged so that the Fish pieces cook evenly. Moving the Fish around too much may result it in breaking up, which is not what we want. We want beautiful, big chunks of perfectly cooked Fish in this wonderful Broth!

You will be able to tell when the Fish is done as it will turn completely White and be firm, yet quite springy to the touch. If you are unsure if the Fish is cooked, simply take a piece out of the broth and cut it through the middle. If the Fish flakes away easily and the internal color is the same as the outside, then it’s done!

What type of White fish is best to use in a Thai style Soup like this one?

There are loads of options when it comes to choosing the right fish. What you want is a firm White Fish that will hold its shape and be beautiful and flaky once cooked. You can ask your local Fish Monger what the best Fish would be to use. Depending on where you are in the world there are loads of different options. Some universally good Fish choices are Cod, Haddock, Snapper, Halibut, and Sea Bass

A good rule of thumb is to consider the same type of Fish that works well in Fish and Chips is going to work well in this dish. So, if you’re an avid Fish and Chips fans, the choice will be easy!

For such a rich flavor, you’ll be amazed at how simple this dish is to make

What I love about this Lime Coconut Fish Soup is how simple it is to make. Sometimes you think that a dish with such powerful flavors like this one will require an immense number of steps and technique to make. This is not true at all. In fact, this recipe may be one of the easiest meals we’ve got on our website!

Simply cook the Onions and Aromatics (Garlic and Ginger) and then add the liquids. Bring all of that together by cooking it for about 10 minutes, then in the goes the Fish. After about 5 more minutes the Fish will be cooked, and the dish is now complete. It really couldn’t be any easier!

Top the dish with some beautiful finishing ingredients for color, texture, and taste!

Sometimes overlooked, but often the best part of a Soup is the toppings! Adding toppings to this delicious Lime Coconut Fish Soup adds even more flavor and texture to the bowl. I prefer to add the toppings once you’ve plated individual bowls, this way the toppings will stay perched on top of the plate, looking their best!

There are a load of great toppings to add to this Soup. If you are looking for adding a crunchy texture to the dish, why not try frying some Shallots in a bit of Oil? You can even give them a little bit of a Flour coating to make them extra crispy!

For the photos in this recipe, we’ve gone with a combination of fresh Cilantro (which is an absolute must for any Thai-style recipes), some sliced Red Chili (complete with the Seeds of course!), and some slices of Lime

I like to reserve 1 of the Limes and add the slices to the Soup right before serving. Not only does this give the dish a striking visual appeal, but it allows the diner to add more Lime Juice to the dish if they prefer. If they don’t want more Lime, they can simply remove it from the Soup. Easy!

The color of the Soup will be impacted by the Vegetables you include in the dish

Combining Coconut Cream and Fish Broth will yield a beautiful white Soup. However, the color of the Soup will be influenced by what other ingredients you add to it. It won’t really impact the taste at all, but something to consider if you are going for a particular color in the presentation

For our recipe we used Red Onions. That luscious Red Onion color began to come through in the soup, giving it a slightly pink looking color. Combined with the Fresh Lime Juice and Chili, the result was a brilliant color that looked so appealing and delicious!

Lime Coconut Fish Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. White Fish (eg: Cod, Haddock, Halibut, Sea Bass)
• 3 cups Fish Broth (recipe here)
• 14 oz. Can of Coconut Cream
• 4 Limes
• 2 tbsp. Fish Sauce
• 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 1 tbsp. of Fresh Ginger, grated
• ½ Onion, finely diced
• 1 Red Chili, diced (seeds included)
• ½ cup of Cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
  
  

Instructions

1. Add the Vegetable Oil to a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add the Onions and cook for 5 minutes, then add the Garlic, Ginger, and Chili and cook for a further 1 minute
2. Pour in the Fish Broth, Coconut Cream, Soy Sauce, and Fish Sauce along with the Juice and zest of 3 Limes. Cook the liquid for about 10 minutes, adjusting the heat to avoid it boiling
3. Cut the fish into large chunks and remove any skin and bones then add to the Broth, ensuring they are submerged in the liquid. Cook for a further 5 minutes on the low / medium heat until the Fish is cooked through
4. Remove from heat and ladle into individual serving bowls. Finish the dish by sprinkling it with the chopped Cilantro and slices of the remaining Lime
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can replace the Fish Broth with Vegetable Broth if you prefer
• For a less spicy Soup, remove the seeds from the Red Chili before adding to the dish
  
  

We hope you enjoy this recipe for a simply delicious Lime Coconut Fish Soup! If you did enjoy this dish then we’ve got loads of amazing Thai-inspired dishes here. Check out a few of our favorites:

• Pad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Beef)
• Spicy Thai Beef Basil
• Thai Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing
• Spicy Asian Poached Chicken Salad
  
  

Happy Cooking!