Gingery Fish With Green Beans   

By Amelia Rampe

Updated March 12, 2026

  • Ghazalle Badiozamani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
35 min
Rating
5(60)
Comments
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This quick fish stir-fry celebrates summer’s bounty with the addition of chopped tomatoes and green beans but has enough lemongrass, ginger and chile to taste delicious any time of year. Most of the foundational flavor in this recipe gets infused into the dish with the help of an aromatic paste that leans into Southeast Asian flavors created by blitzing cilantro, ginger, garlic and lemongrass in a food processor. (The food processor does most of the heavy lifting and is important for breaking down the fibrous lemongrass.) You’ll cook the paste in oil to deepen the flavors, then add tomatoes, which melt into the mixture and create a sauce that will enrobe the fish and green beans. Serve with your choice of steamed rice or toss into cooked or fried noodles.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 large shallot, cut into large chunks

  • 6 garlic cloves

  • 1 serrano chile, roughly chopped, seeds optional

  • 1 bunch cilantro, stems roughly chopped and leaves reserved for garnish

  • 1 (6-inch) piece fresh lemongrass, trimmed, pounded and thinly sliced

  • 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

  • 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided

  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

  • 3 large vine or beefsteak tomatoes (about 1 pound), coarsely chopped

  • 8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces 

  • 1 ¼ pounds skinless red snapper, haddock, cod or black bass fillets, cut into 3-inch pieces

  • Fish sauce (optional), to taste

  • Cooked rice or noodles, for serving

  • Lime wedges, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

    1. Step 1

      In the bowl of a food processor, add the shallot, garlic, chile, cilantro stems, lemongrass and ginger. Pulse the ingredients, scraping down the bowl as needed, until the mixture has turned into a coarse paste, 1 to 2 minutes. 

    2. Step 2

      Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the oil shimmers, add the paste and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the aromas have released and the mixture is beginning to look caramelized, about 5 minutes. 

    3. Step 3

      Add the tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted and softened, about 5 minutes. Add the green beans and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until bright green, about 3 minutes. (If you’d like the mixture to be slightly saucier, you can add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water.) 

    4. Step 4

      Season the fish with salt and pepper. Push the mixture in the skillet to the side and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add the fish on top of the oil and then gently spoon the tomato mixture on top and cook the fish undisturbed, 2 minutes. Gently stir the mixture and cook it 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat and let the mixture rest 1 minute. The fish will begin to flake and the green beans should be crisp-tender. Taste and season with fish sauce, if using. 

    5. Step 5

      Serve with cooked rice or noodles and garnish with cilantro leaves and a lime wedge.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
60 user ratings
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Comments

Kevin

We keep our ginger, lemongrass (trimmed), and galanga in the freezer. Then when we need it, we use a micro grater to shave off what we need and return it to the freezer. It really cuts down on waste, and we always have what we need on hand to make Thai or other exotic Asian dishes. The finely grated spices can be added directly to sauces, yielding all the flavor, and there is no need to fish any of it out of the dish before serving.

Lynn

Perfect spring dinner. Doubles ginger and lemongrass but otherwise made as is. Delicious.

Tricia J

@Sue you could try mint, or equal parts mint and parsley. That would give you the freshness of green herbs

Adam

This is excellent - tons of flavor. Like any good Southeast Asian dish, it hits every taste bud - salty, sweet (from the tomato and fish), spicy, and citrus (from the lemongrass and cilantro - but doesn't hurt to add a zest or squeeze of lime). Also loved the mix of textures of soft tomato and fish, grainy paste, and crunchy string beans over jasmine rice. I made as written with tilapia.

SPS

This was excellent. We added a bit of soy sauce at the table. For me the fish seemed to fall apart. Still good.

John F.

Just etraordinary. Loved every bite. Did nothing more than bump up beans and time for them a tad, Also, having decoded NYT's cooking "times", which ignores prep time, this stands out so much the 1.5 hrs it took a slowpoke like me was worth it. This was absolutely outstanding. (used snapper). Wow!!

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