Golden tilapia bowls with coconut rice and mango salsa
Flaky, golden fish over fragrant coconut rice with a sweet, bright mango salsa, like a beach vacation in a bowl.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 2
- About $3.78 a serving
- 760 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
- ¾ cup coconut milk, shaken well
- 1 cup mangoes, diced, pre-cut is fine
- 2 tbsp red onions, finely chopped
- ½ jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tilapia fillets, about 5 oz each
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 760 calories, 38 g protein, 93 g carbs and 28 g fat, and costs about $3.78 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 tilapia fillets? Cod fillets work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice until the water runs mostly clear, then put it in a with the coconut milk, water and ½ tsp of the 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.
Bring it over medium-high heat, once so the rice doesn’t stick.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
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
Dolly’s tip: Coconut milk scorches faster than water, so medium-high is enough to get it bubbling.Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid, then turn off the heat and let it , covered, for 10 minutes.
Steam. Steaming means cooking food over or in a little simmering water with a lid on to trap the steam. It cooks gently and keeps vegetables bright and tender.
How you’ll know: The color turns vivid, and a fork goes in with just a little resistance.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Meanwhile, the mango, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, half the lime juice and of salt together in a bowl.
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.
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.
Mix the chili powder, garlic powder, paprika and ¼ tsp of the salt, then the fish dry and sprinkle the mix over both sides.
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.
When the rice starts its 10-minute rest, heat the oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat until it .
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.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: Timing the fish to the rice is the trick here. Tilapia takes about 6 minutes, so it goes in near the end.Lay in the fish and cook for 3 minutes without moving it, until underneath, then flip it gently with a wide spatula.
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: 3 min
Dolly’s tip: Thin fillets are delicate. Slide the spatula all the way under before you lift.Cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the center is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 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, divide it between two bowls, and top with the fish, mango salsa, avocado and the rest of the lime juice.
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.
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