Deconstructed Malaysian Fish Curry

Recently I met an old friend in Singapore who now lives in Malaysia.  He kindly greeted me with a handful of Malaysian curry pastes, which I subsequently reveled in, Stateside.  After a while, I was getting the sense that many of the curries I was making began to look and feel similar.  So on a whim, I decided once to keep everything separate and found the individual flavors and textures of the dish were heightened, even with a generous slathering of the spicy curry paste, prepared as a sauce.
2 large tilapia fillets, cut in half; enough for 4 portions

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup Malaysian fish curry paste
1 cup chicken broth or water

2 cups green beans
1 orange pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1/4 head cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cumin seeds

In a small sauce pan, sauté the onion in a little canola oil, for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and bring the heat up to high.  Cook the veggies for another 5 minutes or so, until the tomatoes release their liquid and begin to caramelize.  Add the curry paste and the broth and stir well.  Reduce to a low simmer.

Meanwhile, sauté the green beans, peppers, cabbage, pepper flakes and cumin seeds in a large skillet, in a bit of canola oil (I also ad a pad of butter for flavor). Cook only until just crisp-tender, about 6-8 minutes.

While to veggies are cooking, heat a tablespoon each of canola oil and butter in a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat.  Add the tilapia and brown the first side for about 3-5 minutes.  Carefully flip the fish and cook the other side through for another 3-5 minutes.

Plate the fish and vegetables, ideally next to a bit of rice.  Spoon some curry sauce on top of the fish. Garnish with lime slices.

Serves 4.

Singapore River