Jimmy and Jane Barnes’ comforting Thai curry

There are recipes that impress people… and then there are recipes that become part of a family’s rhythm.

This Thai fish and pineapple curry from Jimmy and Jane Barnes’ cookbook Seasons Where The River Bends feels very much like the latter — comforting, generous, deeply fragrant and designed for sharing around a table with people you love.

When Starts At 60 spoke to Jane recently about the couple’s now-famous “mystery honey”, the conversation kept circling back to food, family and the way cooking has become a grounding force in their lives after decades of touring, music and chaos.

“Music and food… they’re sort of the language of the soul, aren’t they?” Jane told us. “That’s how we connect as a family.”

This curry captures that beautifully.

There’s warmth from the red curry paste, sweetness from pineapple, richness from coconut milk and just enough freshness from lime leaves and Thai basil to lift the whole thing. It also happens to be one of those deceptively easy dishes that tastes like you spent far longer on it than you actually did!

Jane describes it as “very easy and just as tasty” using store-bought curry paste, although ambitious cooks can make the paste from scratch if they’re feeling inspired.

And yes, it absolutely feels like the kind of meal best eaten with music playing somewhere in the background.

Thai Fish and Pineapple Curry

A rich, fragrant Thai-style curry combining coconut milk, red curry paste, tender fish and sweet pineapple. Comforting, vibrant and surprisingly simple to make at home.

Servings 6–8

Ingredients

1 litre coconut milk or cream
2 tablespoons red curry paste (page 135 of the cookbook), or store-bought
450g can pineapple pieces in syrup
450g can crushed pineapple
3 teaspoons vegetable stock powder
225g can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1.5kg fish fillets, cut into 3cm chunks
Fish sauce, to taste
Sea salt flakes
2 makrut lime leaves
Thai basil leaves, torn, to serve

Method

1 Start the curry base: Pour half the coconut milk into a medium-large pot and bring to the boil over medium heat.

2 Add the curry paste: Stir the red curry paste into the coconut milk until dissolved and evenly combined. Cook for around 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and slightly deepened in colour.

3 Add the pineapple: Stir in both the pineapple pieces — including the syrup — and the crushed pineapple. Cook for a further 8 minutes.

4 Build the curry: Add the remaining coconut milk, vegetable stock powder and bamboo shoots. Bring the curry back to the boil and simmer for several minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

5 Cook the fish: Add the fish pieces and cook gently for around 8 minutes, or until the fish is tender and cooked through.

6 Finish the curry: Taste and season with fish sauce and sea salt flakes if needed. Slice the makrut lime leaves finely along either side of the centre stem and stir through the curry.

7 Serve: Spoon into bowls and scatter generously with torn Thai basil leaves. Serve with steamed rice.

Cook’s notes:

Snapper, flathead, ling or any firm white fish works beautifully in this recipe.

If fresh bamboo shoots are available rather than canned, they’ll add even more flavour and texture.

Mae Ploy is Jane’s preferred store-bought red curry paste for this dish.

Like many curries, the flavour deepens even further the next day.