Thai Tilapia with Wild Rice

Thai Tilapia with Wild Rice

I'm calling this dish Thai Tilapia with Wild Rice. Tilapia is a beautifully plain fish. It absorbs flavor like crazy and is friendly for those fearful of fish. (Excuse the consonance) There is this little Thai place back in Sonoma that makes me instantly salivate; E-Saan's Thai off of Sonoma Highway is a must-go! Based on my limited knowledge of Thai cuisine, they use a lot of bright flavors. I love the combination of cilantro, peanuts, lime, carrots, sprouts and noodles. This dish is inspired by the Thai flavors that I love. Lime, coconut oil, cilantro, and curry. 

Thai Tilapia

Ingredients:

• Prep time: 2 min Cook time: 10 min per inch of thickness (for mine, it was about 4-5 min)
• 2 fillets of Tilapia (frozen or fresh) (I got mine from my seafood kit from Madison Taylor Entrees)
• 1 Tbsp of curry powder or turmeric
• 1 Tbsp of finely chopped cilantro
• 1 small lime (the juice)
• 2 tsp of coconut oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

• Preparation:

• Preheat coconut oil in large pan to medium to med-low heat
• This is a quick cook, so if you are making sides, make sure to save the fish until the very end. It takes minutes for these thin fillets
• Place fish into pan and immediately salt and pepper, squeeze lime juice and sprinkle curry powder. (I rubbed the curry powder in a little, but remember you are dealing with a hot pan and oil, so be careful to avoid splatter). 
• Cook the fish one minute on each side, moving the pan to allow the juices to flow over the fish
• Cover it with a lid and poach it for the remaining time
• I turned off the heat and sprinkled the chopped cilantro all over the tilapia and sauce. As soon as I smelled the cilantro, I took the fish off the pan and put on the plate. I split the remaining cilantro and sauce and poured over each fillet. (There isn't much, but hey, it's delicious). 

Wild Rice (MAKE BEFORE THE FISH):

• I weigh my rice on my kitchen scale; I put two parts water to one part rice in my pan (I put a couple dashes of salt and pepper too). I bring it all to a boil and then simmer for 45-50 min. Stir it once or twice during the entire cooking time. Rice is the easiest and hardest thing to cook. Don't lift the lid if you can help it (except to stir). Taste it before you turn off the heat to make sure it tastes done. You can cook a lot and use it for a quick microwave side for later in the week. 

Presentation (please be as creative as you wish):

• I put the fish on the plate (it's really flaky, so be careful, otherwise it becomes fish puzzle pieces)
• Scooped some rice next to it, and poured sauce on fish and rice
• Surrounded the fish and rice with Tequeno's Green Salsa (super addictive and delicious)
• Placed six grape tomatoes in a swish pattern between the fish and rice
• Topped rice with a small sprig of cilantro