Thai Coconut Bouillabaisse Recipes

THAI-COCONUT BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp shells to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 cup carrot, and 1/2 cup onion to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in 2 1/2 cups water, peppercorns, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Strain mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 cup carrot, and 1/2 cup onion to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bell pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato, garlic, curry paste, and rind; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in broth mixture and coconut milk; bring to a boil.
• Add clams and mussels. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 2 minutes or until clams and mussels open. Remove from heat; discard any unopened shells.
• Stir in shrimp, basil, and remaining ingredients except lime wedges. Cover and let stand 5 minutes or until shrimp and halibut are done. Discard lime rind.
• Place 2 clams and 2 mussels in each of 6 bowls. Divide shrimp and fish evenly among bowls. Ladle 2/3 cup broth mixture over each serving. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

MARK BITTMAN'S BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees; brush bread liberally with olive oil, and bake on a sheet, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Add enough olive oil to a Dutch oven, deep skillet or shallow pot to make a thick layer (don't skimp) on the bottom. In it, cook onion, garlic, celery, carrot, potato, fennel and saffron until glossy. Add stock and tomato and bring to a moderate boil; cook until thick and stewy rather than soupy. Season to taste; it should be so delicious that you don't even care whether you add fish.
• Lower heat to a simmer, and, as you add fish, adjust heat so that the liquid continues to bubble gently. Add fish in order of how long they will take to cook. Monkfish, striped bass and squid are fish that might require more than a few minutes, so add them first. About five minutes later add clams and mussels, holding back any fish that has been cooked or will cook in a flash. When mollusks open, add remaining fish. Cut scallops into quarters and place in the bottom of 4 bowls.
• Add pastis if you're using it; taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle hot soup and fish over the scallops, distributing clams and mussels evenly. Garnish and serve with croutons and rouille, if you're using.

THAI BOUILLABAISSE RECIPE

Steps:

• Advance prep: Place a 4-qt. saucepan over med. heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, shallots, ginger and lemongrass. Sauce until the garlic sizzles and turns white, about 1 minute, then add the broth, coconut milk, wine, fish sauce, chili sauce and saffron. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool to room temp and, if completed hours in advance, refrigerate the soup (up to 8 hours) in the saucepan. Last minute: Bring the soup to a simmer. Transfer 2 cups of the soup liquid to a 3 qt. saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook until they open, about 5 minutes. Save the liquid, bu discard any that do not open. Strain the liquid through fine mesh sieve, strain the liquid back into the soup. Reserve the mussels. Bring the soup back to a low boil. Mix the cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water, then stir into the soup to thicken slightly. Add the shrimp, salmon, tomatoes, basil and nutmeg. Simmer until salmon begins to flake, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasonings, particularly the nutmeg, chili sauce and salt. Add the mussels, still in the shell, turn soup into a tureen or individual bowls and serve at once.