Mahi mahi with mango salsa and coconut rice
Golden, flaky fish with a sweet and zingy mango salsa over creamy coconut rice, like a beach vacation on a plate.
- 45 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $6.27 a serving
- 790 calories
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- ¾ cup coconut milk, shaken well
- 1 mango, diced
- 2 tbsp red onions, finely chopped
- ½ jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 limes, 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges
- 2 mahi mahi fillets, about 6 oz each
From your pantry
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 790 calories, 41 g protein, 100 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $6.27 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No coconut milk? Light coconut milk works.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No mahi mahi fillets? Cod fillets work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice until the water runs mostly clear, then put it in a small with the coconut milk, water and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Dolly’s tip: Shake the can well before you open it. The cream settles on top.Bring it to a gentle over medium-high heat, once so nothing sticks.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium-high heat
Cover, to low and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid, then slide it off the heat and leave it covered.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Coconut milk can catch on the bottom, so keep the heat truly low.the mango and it with the onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and of salt. That’s your salsa.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Dolly’s tip: Cut the two flat cheeks off the pit, score each one in a grid, and scoop the cubes out with a spoon.the fish dry and both sides with the chili powder, garlic powder, pepper and the rest of the salt.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat until it . Add the fish and cook without moving it for 4 minutes, until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min
Flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily in the thickest part.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
Fluff the rice with a fork, top with the fish and a big spoonful of salsa, and serve with lime wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
