Curried Eel
Submitted by patwad
A traditional Danish curried eel recipe where tender poached eel is draped in a rich curry-onion roux sauce. Simple, old-world Scandinavian cooking with just a handful of ingredients. Serve over steamed rice.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
40 minCurried eel is a beloved classic in Danish home cooking, where the flavors of Northern Europe meet the warm spice trade routes that shaped Scandinavian cuisine centuries ago.
The method is beautifully unfussy. Eel gets poached in salted parsley water until tender, then a quick roux of browned onion, butter, flour, and curry powder gets thinned with that rich fish stock. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon, thick and golden.
Poured over the eel and served alongside fluffy steamed rice, it’s the kind of soul-warming dish that defines hygge.
Kitchen Tips
- Ask your fishmonger to skin the eel for you. It saves a messy step and they’ll do it in seconds.
- Poach the eel gently. A rolling boil will toughen the flesh. Keep it at a low simmer.
- Brown the onion properly in the butter before adding the flour and curry. That caramelization adds sweetness and depth to the sauce.
- Use a good-quality curry powder here. With so few ingredients, each one matters.
Ingredients
Directions
One large or two small eels are suitable for 4 persons.
Skin the eel, cut in pieces as long as a finger and put in boiling salt water with a top of parsley.
Use water enough to cover only half the fish, so the stock will be good and strong.
Cook the eel until it is tender and keep it hot while making the sauce.
Melt butter in a pot, brown a large onion and add flour and curry.
Dilute with the fish stock until the sauce is thick enough.
Taste it, and if it is not strong enough add more curry.
Pour it over the eel, serve in a deep dish and have an extra dish of fluffy steamed rice.
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