Poached Cod in Coconut Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach …a fragrant, low-carb, low-calorie meal that can be made in under 30 minutes. Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, low carb, low calorie dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes. | www.feastingathome.com

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over a huge mound of baby spinach.  A simple, fast, affordable, low carb, low-calorie dinner that is actually….delicious!  You’ve been asking for more of these….so here you go!

The aromatic lemongrass broth has just a hint of coconut milk, keeping it light and lean (under 300 calories). Once the broth is made,  slip the fish in it and poach for just a few minutes.  Place the fish over a huge bowl of baby spinach, then ladle the flavorful both overtop which will gently wilt the spinach. So we are clear here….this is meant to be soup-like, rather than a “saucy”.

Here, fresh cod is “swimming” in a fragrant lemongrass broth with a lot of spinach. Crunchy radishes are added for a bit of texture and if you want, a few basil leaves.  The best thing is …. you can make this in under 30 minutes! I’m kinda in love with this dish! I’ve had it 3 times in the last week, getting it just right for you.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, low carb, low calorie dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes. | www.feastingathome.com

For heat, add a few slices of fresh chilies or chili flakes or chili threads to the bowl, taking care never to add fresh chilies to the broth while it is cooking- it will make it way too spicy.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

The flavorful base is made with shallot ( much more flavorful than onion), lemongrass, ginger and garlic.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

Saute in a little coconut oil, until fragrant and golden.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

Add the coconut milk, only about ⅓ cup ( to keep this light) and season it with salt, lime and a little fish sauce. If you have kefir lime leaves or galanga on hand they would be a  nice addition, but really not imperative.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

Slip the fish right into the broth for a couple of minutes to cook and infuse it with beautiful flavor.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

Place mounds of baby spinach in a bowl.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, low carb, low calorie dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes. | www.feastingathome.com

Place the fish overtop, then ladle with the delicious broth, wilting the spinach.

Garnish with chilies or chili threads ( or chili flakes), crunchy radish, scallions and a few basil leaves if you want.

Squeeze with lime.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

If cooking for one, save the flavorful broth for tomorrow- you will want it.

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach ...a fragrant, healing bowl that can be made in under 30 minutes. GF, Low Carb. | www.feastingathome.com

Happy week friends!

s.

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Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over baby Spinach | www.feastingathome.com

Poached Cod in Lemongrass Broth over Baby Spinach

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

Description

A light and flavorful main dish featuring Poached Cod in a fragrant Lemongrass Broth over a bed of baby spinach.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 68 ounces white fish ( True Cod, black cod, halibut, sea bass- I used True Cod in the photos)
  • 12 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1 shallot- finely chopped ( Shallot vs. onion, makes for a more flavorful broth)
  • 23 garlic cloves- rough chopped
  • 1/4 cup tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass or use lemongrass paste
  • 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
  • 4 cups chicken stock ( or sub water)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk, more to taste
  • 1 lime- lime juice to taste, start with half a lime, taste, adjust.
  • 5 ounces baby spinach
  • Optional additions- shittake mushrooms, radish, thai basil, bean sprouts, jalapeno slices, cripsy shallots. Add kefir lime leaves or galanga to the broth for extra flavor.

 


Instructions

  1. Cut fish into 2 pieces and season with a little salt and pepper, set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a medium-large sauce pan or pot, over medium heat.
  3. Add shallots, garlic, ginger and 3 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass.
  4. Saute, stirring often, until fragrant and golden, about 4- 5 minutes. Add stock, salt and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes to allow flavor to develop. Add coconut milk ( both solids and water), and a generous squeeze of lime. ( you could make this ahead & refrigerate at this point) Taste, adjust salt, lime and add more coconut milk if you prefer it richer. If broth is too salty for you- add a little water.
  5. Gently, place fish in the simmering broth, spooning the fragrant liquid over the fish. Simmer for just a few minutes ( 3 minutes) taking care not to overcook.
  6. Place a generous mound of baby spinach in two bowls. Carefully lift out the fish from the broth and place over the bed of spinach. Using a ladle, divide the broth between the two bowls. Top with shredded or sliced radish, sliced jalpeno or red chilies ( for heat).
  7. Enjoy!

Notes

Do not cook chilies in the broth, it will get too spicy. Simply add to individual bowls at the end.

Shallot (vs onion) gives this the best flavor.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 302
  • Sugar: 1.3 g
  • Sodium: 1421.2 mg
  • Fat: 16.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 9.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 7.6 g
  • Fiber: 1.9 g
  • Protein: 25.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 68 mg

 

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Comments

  1. I made this last night and it was wonderful. I omitted the coconut milk and used a little extra broth because my son does not like it. I also used roasted garlic base which gave a really nice flavor. Additions were basil and Furikake.






  2. Hi Sylvia!
    I made this last night. It was delicious! But my broth did not look very pretty as the coconut milk curdled. Any tips for me so it doesn’t happen again?

  3. Hi Sylvia, thank you very much for posting this recipe! I am working on getting back into pre-holiday shape with some clean eating and this sounds like just the perfect recipe to try! I was wondering though, there are two nutrition labels for this recipe. Do you know which is correct for this recipe?

    Thank you

  4. I’ll make this again. It was easy and delicious. My only substitute was lemongrass paste instead of the fresh.






  5. A delicious meal that’s nice and light. I used swai and also added shitake mushrooms and kefir lime leaves to the broth.






  6. This looks yummy and I can’t wait to try it! I had a question about the recipe; it says “¼ cup tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass”…is that ¼ cup, or ¼ tablespoon? New to your blog, but I’m obsessed!

  7. I saw this recipe and knew I would have to try it. I live in Maine and sometimes will get fresh seafood right off the dock as the fishermen unload it. The lemongrass at the store seemed kind of expensive and not very fresh. I substituted a tablespoon of wasabi paste for the 3 tablespoons of chopped lemongrass. I kept everything else the same. It came out wonderful. I also used some Chinese radishes as a garnish. Loved the photographs. You have a very inspiring website and I love to browse and see things I might want to try.

    1. Wow Terry, I would never have thought of using wasabi as a substitute! Thanks for sharing… and how wonderful to be able to get fresh fish like that!!!

      1. My wife and I are really loving the versatility of this recipe. We went to the Asian market and got some fresh lemongrass and have been making up a batch a couple of times a week. I made up a batch using scallops, shrimp, and squid instead of cod last week. My wife took a leftover chicken breast, chopped it up into small cubes with some thinly sliced carrots. Simmered it a few minutes in the lemongrass broth and then ladled it into a bowl of rice. We like to double up the broth so we can make up a quick leftover dish.

        1. Mmmmm, sounds delicious! I’m glad you found lemongrass- Asian markets also usually have lemongrass already chopped in the freezer section- which can be really handy. I also pick up frozen kefir lime leaves too and have them on hand to toss in soups and curry and rice. Always love hearing from you Terry. Hope all is well with you.

  8. i made this list night for some friends – I was surprised at the thinness of broth and hesitant to serve but I couldn’t have been more wrong! It was fantastic! I doubled everything except the water (I did 6 cups rather than 8) and it was so fantastic. We all loved it. Can’t wait to make it again!

  9. Something VERY wrong here. I made it exactly as the recipe stated. Additions as per the recipe were shitake mushrooms and jalapeno slices to serve. It was utterly bland, tasteless, with a thin, watery broth. What a waste of rather wonderful ingredients. I am an experienced cook, often try your recipes and find them fun and interesting. So what is the problem here? The only thing I can suggest is that 4 cups of water is twice as much as should have been used, and perhaps a vegetable stock instead of water. Such a disappointment.

    1. I guess you didn’t like it. 🙂 I will adjust recipe and add more notes- i appreciate the feedback. Perhaps it’s not for everyone. I’ve made it several times, yes the broth is thin, intentionally- it’s designed to be a broth ( soup-like) not a sauce- but it has always been flavorful…. so I’m a little stumped here. There is nothing worse than making a recipe and having it not be successful, yes such a waste, so I’m sorry this was the case for you.

    2. I found the broth to me extremely flavourful and delicious 🙂 love this recipe and its a go-to now!

    3. I had the same experience. It was like eating a bowl of water with fish in it. It smelled delicious, so I had high hopes, but it tasted like absolutely nothing. We dumped our bowls in the trash.

        1. Marny, thanks for your feedback. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I’m totally stumped here. The broth should be really flavorful. Can you tell me if you altered it or made any changes to the recipe? Did you use shallot, lemongrass and fish sauce?

          1. The only change I made to the recipe was using 3 cups of water instead of 4 since 4 sounded excessive. I used shallot, fish sauce and lemongrass and also added keffir lime leaves.

  10. I am always looking for new cod recipes. I am going to try this. Would you double it as written for 4 servings or modify it. Thank you

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