Thai Pumpkin & Seafood Curry


This is a fantastic and simple recipe, and is also a great foundation for many curries.

This version uses salmon (an excellent source of Omega 3’s for those of us wanting to be healthy) along with the very seasonal pumpkin (which is an excellent source of Vitamins A, C and E, and is very low in cholesterol and saturated fat).

Ingredients (Serves 3-4):

  • 500g salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1 inch chunks (ask your fishmonger to skin the salmon for you)
  • 500g prawns, raw and peeled
  • 1kg pumpkin (or butternut squash), peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 400ml tin coconut milk (reduced fat option if you wish)
  • 1 tbsp Thai curry paste (yellow or red)
  • 350ml fish stock (a cube is fine)
  • 3tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
  • 2tbsp castor sugar
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 handful of bok choy, or any leafy green vegetable, roughly torn or chopped
  • Juice of half a lime
  • Chopped coriander to serve

Get cooking:

Don’t be put off by some of these ingredients if they’re new to you; they are all readily available nowadays, and prove to be store cupboard basics for this curry base!

In a large saucepan or casserole, and over a medium heat, start by combining the curry paste with a little of the coconut milk, then mixing as you go, add in the rest of the coconut milk, fish stock, fish sauce, sugar and turmeric. Bring to the boil.

Add in the pumpkin and cook on a decent simmer for approx 15 minutes until the pumpkin is tender (keep checking as pumpkins and squash vary, you could get away with 5 minutes for squash)

You can cook in advance up to this point if you wish – there’s about 5 minutes of cooking time left.

Still on a fast simmer, add in the salmon and prawns, and when cooked through (3-4 minutes), stir in your green veg.

Once the vegetables have wilted, add in the lime juice, adding the juice of the remaining half to your taste if preferred.

Sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve immediately!


Tip: a couple of bruised lemon grass sticks add to the flavour of the curry base, if available.