Ever since I made Thai curry, I’ve been itching to make another savoury meal. This time, however, I was determined to cook fish since I wanted to add new proteins to my repertoire. I also had a can of coconut milk in my pantry (bought for the aforementioned Thai curry), so naturally I had the urge to use it! Before we skip to the components, let me brief about two requirements I wanted to meet with this particular meal. Whenever I think of accompaniments to seafood, I never picture purees (which would be the natural route for other proteins), rather I picture sauces, probably because I bank so heavily on them to cover the raw seaweed-like scent of fish. Naturally, I wandered in the same direction and thought of a sauce, which was my first requirement.

I have this habit of shadowing the cook in my head before I actually step into the kitchen. In the midst of that, I realised I would need only one pan for cooking the fish and assembling the sauce. So I tried to think of a third and last component that could also be finished in the same fashion. Having this one-pan wonder idea (my second requirement) in my head, I immediately thought of all the roasted flavours you can achieve by using only one pan. I wanted to take advantage of that and so I made a side that naturally has that flavour profile: roasted garlic green beans, which also pairs well with fish. Plus, its healthy (anything that has greens in it is healthy, though don’t apply that logic for a sliver of lettuce in a double decker cheesy wagyu burger).

As for the fish, I made a quick marinade with a base of ginger-garlic paste and threw some spices! Now it would really be a shame if I didn’t tell you the whole dish especially after I made a promise! Well, I still won’t. That’s why there are post titles.

A one pan meal!

Spiced sea bass:

• 4 fillets of sea bass
• 2 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. canola oil
• About 2 tbsp. water

Mix the ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, salt, turmeric, oil and water till you get a marinade of a spreadable consistency. Brush the marinade on each side of all fillets and rest for about 20 minutes. Heat some oil in a pan. Cook each fillet for about 3 minutes on one side before flipping and cooking the other side for 3 minutes.

Garlic green beans:

• Green beans
• 1 tsp. oil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Salt

Boil the green beans in water until just cooked. Drain and transfer them to a bowl of cool water to halt the cooking process. Pour about a teaspoon of oil in the same pan you cooked the fish in. Add chopped garlic, followed by the green beans once the garlic turns golden and fragrant. Cook for about a minute. Season with salt.

Coriander-coconut cream sauce:

• 2 tsp. oil
• 1 cup coconut cream/milk
• A small piece of ginger
• 1/2 a small red onion
• A pinch of turmeric
• Salt

Thinly slice the onion and grate the ginger. Heat some oil in the pan. Add the onion and ginger and season with turmeric and salt. Cook for about a minute on medium heat before adding the coconut milk. Reduce the heat to a low and cook for about 2 minutes, seasoning with salt, if required.