Looking for a flavorful meal to spice up your dinner plans? Look no further than these Thai Green Curry Salmon and Veggie Bowls! They’re the perfect healthy meal to break the mold of dull, flavor-less, boring dinners.
Lately I have been thinking about dinner in a bowl and was looking for something warm but not too heavy during these hot summer months. Bright green veggies came to mind but I do like to include protein, like salmon, in my dinner recipes. So, my Thai Green Curry Salmon was born! Lindsay at Pinch of Yum recently posted a great recipe for 5-Ingredient Green Curry Bowl and invited her readers to “finish it up salt bae style with a hit of 1) fish sauce, which will make you question everything you ever knew, and 2) brown sugar? Tell me about it, girl.”
So, that’s what I am doing. I added fish sauce and brown sugar and salmon, butternut squash, red peppers, mango, and broccolini, oh my. Because Lindsay gave me a recipe modification license and I just went with it.
This Thai Green Curry Salmon and Veggie Bowl is a hefty dinner but not in a heavy way. It has a lot of different ingredients and layers and layers of flavor. For example, I started with the butternut squash and tossed it around in some thick maple syrup, olive oil and salt.
Roasting the squash first gave it a great, intense flavor and served as a bed for all of the other vegetables which were added to the sheet pan in stages for different cooking times. So, everything roasts on one pan to save clean up time.
It’s summer. No one wants long prep times for dinner, right? You’ll be shocked by how quickly this delicious green curry salmon comes together, and how perfect it is as a quick yet delicious summer evening.
By the way, you HAVE to try the Organic maple syrup from Brandless. No kidding this is the BEST maple syrup I have ever tasted and it costs $3.00 for over 6 ounces! It is a steal and the quality (thickness, color and flavor) is surprisingly good given it’s ridiculously low price. Their syrup is the absolutely perfect addition to the green curry salmon recipe.
The green curry sauce has lots of aromatic ingredients which get all whizzed around in the food processor–garlic, shallots and loads of cilantro stems which all get sauteed in a bit of oil until they release their flavor. Always add the curry paste to the pan and give it a nice saute as well to intensify the flavor and give the garlic and shallots a boost.
While the Basmati or Jasmati rice cooks, you grill the salmon until it is beautifully browned on the outside and still juicy on the inside. My instructions for the green curry salmon will help you achieve the perfect texture every time. Putting the bowls together into one colorful arrangement is not only easy, it’s artistic fun at its most exciting. Well, that may be an exaggeration but how often do you actually get to “style” your own dinner?
You can make these Thai Green Curry Salmon bowls entirely vegan by omitting the fat free half and half and simply mixing the cornstarch with water. Omitting the salmon and adding sweet potatoes or roasted tofu (just cook either or both with the butternut squash) will satisfy any vegetarian.
Enjoy this creamy, delicious green coconut curry that is perfect no matter what the weather. And let’s not forget all the vegetables full of vitamins and flavor that have insinuated themselves into this lovely bowl of curry sauce. Altogether, it’s the perfect healthy weeknight meal.
Thai Green Curry Salmon and Veggie Bowls
You can make the curry as spicy as you want by adding more green curry paste and/or cayenne. You can also substitute zoodles (spiralized zucchini or sweet potatoes) for the rice if you want to reduce carbs.
Ingredients
For the Salmon Rub:
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
For the Veggies:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups butternut squash diced
- 2 heads broccolini
- 1 red pepper julienned
- 1 mango diced
For the Salmon:
- 1 ½ pounds salmon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Salmon Rub
- 1/3 cup sweet Asian chili sauce
For the Green Curry Sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 shallots
- the stems from a bunch of cilantro
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons green curry paste
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 14- ounce cans light or regular coconut milk
- 2/3 cup fat free half and half
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch whisked into the half and half
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 mango diced
- chopped cilantro for garnish
- 3 cups cooked Jasmati or Basmati rice or zoodles if you are avoiding carbs
Instructions
Salmon Rub:
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In a small bowl combine all ingredients. Set aside.
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For the veggies:
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper which you have sprayed with cooking spray.
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In a large bowl combine the olive oil, maple syrup and salt and coat the butternut squash with that mixture. Place the butternut squash on the lined sheet pan and cook for 25 minutes.
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In the meantime, wash, dry and cut the tough stems from the brocciolini and discard them.
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After 25 minutes has passed, push the butternut squash to one side of the sheet pan and spread the brocchiolini in a single layer on the other. Bake for 6 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from oven, cut the broccolini into bite sized pieces and set the pan aside.
For the Salmon:
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Preheat a grill to high heat. While the salmon is grilling, make the rice.
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Rub the salmon with olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning rub all over. Place the seasoned salmon on a sheet of aluminum foil, which you have stabbed with a knife to create a few openings in the foil. Place the salmon on the foil and the foil on the grill and turn the heat to medium.
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Cover the grill and cook the salmon for about 14 minutes, more or less depending on how you like it. You can also bake the salmon at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. After the salmon has been cooking for 10 minutes on the grill or in the oven, spread the Asian Chili Sauce over the top and continue to grill for the remaining time. Set aside.
For the Green Curry Sauce:
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While the salmon is cooking, blend the garlic cloves, shallots and stems from a bunch of cilantro in a small food processor until everything is chopped and combined. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, add the 3 tablespoons olive oil and blend until the mixture has the consistency of pesto.
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Heat a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the cilantro mixture and immediately turn the heat down to medium. Saute the mixture for 3-4 minutes, stirring so that it does not stick. Add the curry paste and brown sugar and cook the mixture for about 3 minutes, stirring.
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Whisk in the coconut milk and heat the sauce for about 4 minutes until everything is just bubbling.
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Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and stir the sauce until it thickens slightly.
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Add all of the vegetables to the sauce and stir until combined. Turn heat to low and let the mixture cook for about 4 minutes.
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To serve, put the rice or zoodles (which should be lightly steamed in the microwave) in four separate bowls. On the side of the rice put a slice of the salmon and some mango. Ladle the sauce and vegetables over the rice and salmon and garnish the bowls with cilantro.
