Fish in Coconut Milk with Pineapple (Filipino Fish Stew)

In all kinds of weather, it would be hard not to enjoy a stew with a creamy mix of coconut milk. Feeling cold? Warm yourself up with the comforting taste of this kind of dish. As for hotter weather, you can also turn to a dish with a coconut-y base to hype up the feel of summer. The component also goes nicely with the simultaneous sweetness and tanginess of pineapple. And so I decided to mix them for this Fish in Coconut Milk with Pineapple recipe.

What does Fish in Coconut Milk with Pineapple taste like?

Most Filipinos would probably be familiar with dishes that combine the flavors of coconut milk with pineapple. After all, dishes such as Pininyahang Manok sa Gata just make sense. The chunks of this tropical fruit can make your coconut stew taste far more exciting and flavorful. But for this particular dish, I decided to utilize fish fried to perfection. This golden brown fish just fits perfectly with the soothing, creamy taste of coconut milk. You also get just enough saltiness and flavor from the fish to contrast well with the pineapple.

But for this dish, we will be using an ingredient that may be easier to deal with and get your hands on than coconut milk. Knorr Ginataang Gulay Mix can help us achieve that same creamy quality for our stew. Now are you ready to put your apron on? Come cook this Fish in Coconut Milk with Pineapple with me!

How to Make Fish in Coconut Milk with Pineapple

Preparing the fish

Step one for us would be to get 2 teaspoons of salt, and then spread this out evenly on 1 whole fish. Make sure that your fish has already been cleaned well. Once you are done rubbing the salt all over, you can just let the fish sit for 10 minutes so it can absorb your seasoning well.

Frying the fish

Take your 1 cup of cooking oil, and put this in a pan. Apply heat, and let the oil’s temperature reach 350 °F. Then you can get your fish from earlier, and put this in the pan. Cook this until one side becomes golden brown. Afterwards, turn the fish over so you can fry the other side. Just keep an eye on the fish so you do not end up overcooking it. When both sides are golden brown, you can remove the fish, and let the oil drip using a wire rack. If you don’t have this, you can let the fish stay on a plate lined with some paper towel instead.

Getting our garlic, onion and ginger ready

Scoop around 3 tablespoons of the oil we utilized for the fish. Get a clean pan, and pour the oil inside. We will then add 3 cloves of garlic we’ve minced, and sauté these until they become brown. And then just place the 1 onion you’ve chopped along with 1 thumb of ginger in the pan. Also sauté these until the onion gets soft.

Integrating the coconut milk flavor into the dish

Grab a clean container, and put 40 grams of Knorr Ginataang Gulay Mix inside. Pour 1 ½ cups of water as well. Mix these until they are well-blended. After that, you can put the mixture inside your pan. Keep the heat going, and let your mixture boil.

Adding the fried fish and pineapple

It’s time to take the heat down to medium setting. Get the fish you set aside earlier, as well as 1 cup of pineapple chunks. Put these in your pan, and then cover the container. Keep everything cooking for 5 minutes.

Placing bell peppers inside

Once the 5 minutes are up, you can take off the cover. Then take your 2 bell peppers that are sliced, and add them to the mix. Cook up your ingredients without the cover on top for 3 minutes more.

Seasoning the stew

Go ahead, and add as much fish sauce and ground black pepper as you would prefer. Mix that into your stew, and then just transfer everything onto a serving bowl of choice. A hot bowl of this would go perfectly with some rice, and so make sure to have it ready as well.

But there are more dishes you can enjoy with this recipe!

What to Serve with Fish in Coconut Milk with Pineapple

Cilantro Lime Rice

Tired of having plain white rice? Cooking up some Cilantro Lime Rice is a fun way to make your dish more flavorful. This is something I particularly like to use for burritos, but it also makes for a fitting side dish, especially when you want to try rice with a more refreshing taste.

Coconut Shrimp

Going with the theme of coconut-y flavors, I would recommend trying our main dish alongside some Coconut Shrimp. This is essentially the seafood ingredient with a beautifully crunchy coconut breading. You could even add this to your stew if you would like an additional source of protein.

Biko

And what’s a great meal without dessert? This famous Filipino rice cake is delightfully sticky and sweet, and made even better with— you guessed it— some delicious coconut milk. Try making your Biko from home!

I hope you liked making this Fish in Coconut Milk with Pineapple dish! Drop any questions you might have about it in the comments below.

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag us on Instagram at @panlasangpinoy or hashtag #panlasangpinoy so we can see your creations!