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    Home » Mains » Fish and Seafood » Tropical Thai Swordfish

    Tropical Thai Swordfish

    Published: Apr 25, 2019 · Modified: Feb 5, 2021 by HWC Magazine · 97 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Tropical Thai Swordfish is a mouthwatering succulent grilled fish with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chili and Asian pear. (LOWER CARB, GLUTEN-FREE) #fish #seafood #thai #grilling #summertime #lowcarb #glutenfree #easyrecipe #eattheworld #asianrecipe / https://www.hwcmagazine.com

    Tropical Thai Swordfish is a mouthwatering succulent grilled fish with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chili and Asian pear. 

    Just one bite and you will be hooked. The Essential Thai Herbs and Spices used in the marinade and as a vibrant tropical topping to the grilled swordfish. Don't worry if you do not have all of these Asian spices and herbs. We have easy to find Western Substitutions for all of them in the recipe.

    • Savory from garlic and shallots and fish sauce.
    • Sour from the freshly squeezed limes.
    • Spicy from the Thai bird chilis.
    • Sweet from the Asian pear.
    Grilled Tropical Thai Swordfish slathered with aromatics and garnished with chili and limes.

    This grilled swordfish one of our favorite recipes from our Best Tasting Fish and Seafood Recipes for Picky Eaters. It's a perfectly light, healthy and delicious. Tropical Thai Swordfish is perfect for gluten-free, diabetic friendly and low carb diets.

    Jump to:
    • What kinds of fish are best for grilling?
    • How to prepare a fish for the grill?
    • Spring and Summer Gatherings
    • What to Serve with?
    • Thai Herbs and Spices and Substitutions
    • Balancing the Flavors WITHOUT added sugar
    • Delicious Thai Recipes to complete the Meal
    • Tropical Thai Swordfish
    Bite shot showing flaky the grilled swordfish is. Mouth watering.

    What kinds of fish are best for grilling?

    Firm fleshed fish are great for the grill. Swordfish are almost steak like and can really hold up to the grilling process. We have found that we do not even need a fish basket for swordfish.

    However, other light tasting fish that would be perfect in this recipe are mahi mahi, snapper, whitefish, cod, haddock, sea bass just to name a few. These fish are more delicate so it is best to use a fish basket to turn the fish on the grill.

    We actually grilled our swordfish just in a grill pan on the stove top. Use a fish that is sustainable and available in your region.

    Grilled swordfish ready to serve on a black plate.

    How to prepare a fish for the grill?

    The best way to keep your fish from sticking and falling apart on the grill is to do the following...

    1. Use a fish basket or a very firm fish.
    2. Adding a little olive oil over the fish and also rubbed on the grill surface or fish basket will prevent sticking. Do not use too much oil as you do not want the grill to flame up and burn your fish. You just want to use a little oil in your marinade.
    3. Be sure to first clean the grill. Then, use a towel to apply a light rub of oil onto the grill plates or use a little oil spray to coat the fish basket. (We of course do this away from the fire) LOL …
    Swordfish just taken off the grill with beautiful grill marks

    Spring and Summer Gatherings

    Do you like to entertain? Tropical Thai Swordfish is a fabulous idea for entertaining as you can do the prep in advance and have the fish marinating. When you guests arrive serve then a delicious Blue Elephant Chili Cocktail and have them nibble on our Thai Firecracker Shrimp Party Appetizers. You can grill your Tropical Thai Swordfish when your guests are settled in.

    With a huge mortar and pestle crushing up lemongrass and aromatics.

    What to Serve with?

    If you like Thai flavors, be sure to make our Prik Nam Pla along the side to dip your fish into. Check out our SPICY starter,  Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup it's perfect any time of the year. For sides, be sure to try our Thai Pomelo Crab Salad Avocados or Thai Grilled Watermelon Salad

    A sweet delicious ending to a meal is never better than a traditional Easy Mango Sticky Rice or No-Churn Dairy Free Mango Swirl Ice Cream

    Thai Herbs and Spices and Substitutions

    Diagram showing what lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and chili peppers look like.

    Do you cook with Thai ingredients often? If not, then let’s take a minute to review. Please check out of Essential Thai Herbs and Spices post.

    Kaffir Lime leaves – The crushed leaves emit an intense citrus aroma

    Lemongrass – culinary and medicinal cooling herb that smells like fresh lemons

    Galangal – cooling herb that is very firm and difficult to chop but is very zesty and aromatic – different than ginger

    Thai chili peppers – SPICY FIRE

    Shallots – aromatic

    Fish sauce – adds a deep blend of savory notes to the recipe

    Fresh limes – adds a delightful sour note only add after you turn the heat off.

    Aromatics toasting in a black pan.

    Balancing the Flavors WITHOUT added sugar

    Thai flavors are all about balancing the sour, spicy, savory and sweet. However, we do not like to add sugar or sugar alternatives unless we need to. Can you guess what we added to add a little element of sweet to the dish? Yes, a little grated Asian Pear (nashi).

    You could also use a little grated apple, regular pear or even a squeeze of fresh orange juice. If you are diabetic or watching your carbohydrates feel free to use a sugar alternative of choice. If you are looking for more Grilling and Chilling Recipes be sure to check out our Summer Grilling and Chilling Recipes.

    Delicious Thai Recipes to complete the Meal

    Thai Firecracker Shrimp Party Appetizer

    Prik Nam Pla - The Incredible Thai Table Condiment

    Thai Pomelo Crab Salad Avocados

    Thai Grilled Watermelon Salad

    Thai Shrimp Mango Salad

    Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

    Tropical Thai Swordfish / https://www.hwcmagazine.com

    Tropical Thai Swordfish

    Tropical Thai Swordfish is a mouthwatering succulent grilled fish with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chili and Asian pear.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Mains
    Cuisine: Thai
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 369kcal
    Author: HWC Magazine

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoon oil for frying
      (we used coconut oil)
    • 2 shallots
      peeled and minced
    • 3 stalks lemongrass
      diced very finely (white part only)
    • 4 cloves garlic
      peeled and minced
    • 2 inch Galangal
      (Kha)knob peeled and grated or can use ginger
    • 1-2 Thai Bird Chili
      (Phrik) or to taste - smashed with the back of your knife but left whole(optional)
    • 5 kaffir lime leaves
      stem removed and sliced thinly
    • 2 green onions
      chopped
    • 1 tablespoon mirin
      (can also use cooking sherry or white wine or skip if you have dietary issues)
    • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
      (use a gluten-free brand if you need to keep gluten-free)
    • 1 Asian pear (nashi) peeled - 1 whole grated (can use other types of pears or apple as well)
    • 2 tablespoon lime juice
    • Oil
      for prepping grill, fish basket or grill pan
    • 4 fillets swordfish fillets (or can use whole fish or any firm white fish)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Make Thai Aromatic Herb Mixture: You can either chop up all of your fresh aromatics (shallots, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and green onions) very fine or use a mortal and pestle to break up into smaller pieces. (We do not generally cut up the chili but instead just smash with the back of your knife. Thai Bird Chili Peppers might be little but they are VERY MIGHTY.) Place oil in frying pan up to medium heat and add in shallots, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, Thai chili pepper, kaffir lime leaves, green onions and sauté until fragrant and the onions are translucent. Add mirin or cooking sherry and deglaze the pan. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Add fish sauce, grated Asian Pear (or other types of pears, apples or juice of an orange and juice of a lime. Stir.
    • In a resealable plastic baggie or sealed container place in the cleaned swordfish and add ONLY ONE HALF of Thai aromatic herb mixture (you will reserve ½ of the Thai aromatic herb mixture as a topping upon final serving) and rub the swordfish well. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for about 30 minutes.
    • Prepare and Preheat grill. Slightly oil grill grates or fish basket to prevent the fish from sticking (You can use gas, charcoal or even a grill plate on top of stove). If you do not have a grill or grill pan, you can also make on the stove top in a frying pan.
    • Remove the swordfish steaks from the marinade and drizzle with a little oil on both sides and place on hot grill. Grill swordfish steaks for 2-3 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your fish or until the fish flakes easily with fork. Your fish should no longer be translucent but be white in color. Remove from grill and keep warm.
    • Garnish your Topical Thai Swordfish with the other half of the remaining Thai Aromatic Herb Mixture. Serve with a Prik Nam Pla Dipping Sauce if desired and enjoy!

    Notes

    Feel free to exchange swordfish with any white mild fish native to your region. A firm fleshed white fish holds up better on the grill.
    Exchanges and substitutions are welcome.
    If you cannot find fresh lemongrass, there is the lemongrass paste you can find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
    Feel free to exchange a regular onion for the shallots. If you are unable to find galangal, exchange with fresh grated ginger.
    You can use any chili you desire such as a jalapeno but note that each chili has a different heat level so you will need to adjust to your taste preferences.
    Kaffir lime leaves can be found in an Asian market. However, if you cannot find kaffir lime leaves exchange with 1 teaspoon lime zest but add only AFTER you have cooked the Thai Aromatic Herb Mixture, while it is cooling.
    Feel free to use a cooking sherry instead of mirin Japanese wine. If you do not have fish sauce, then salt and pepper your fish to your desired level.
    The addition of Asian Pear is for a little natural sweetness. You may also use a little grated regular pear, apple or even a little fresh orange juice. Thai flavors need to keep the balance between spicy, sweet, sour and savory.
    Recipe for Prik Nam Pla dipping sauce.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 528mg | Potassium: 927mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 264IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg
    Did you make this recipe?Tag us @HWCMagazine or hastag us #HWCMagazine!

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    About HWC Magazine

    Join our Healthy World Cuisine medical editors (trained in both Western and Eastern Medicine) and learn how to EAT your way around the WORLD from the comfort of your own kitchen. Grab free health tips, recipe ideas, meal plans and gain a better understand how eating choices can affect your health. Be the healthier and happier YOU!

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Dana says

      December 06, 2021 at 1:47 am

      5 stars
      I miss grilling season.... Have to bookmark this for spring.

      Reply
    2. dedy oktavianus pardede says

      April 29, 2013 at 8:11 pm

      i've paired swordfish with black garlic dan thai inspired sauce before, i think basically the fish itself being so savory..
      this is price and rare to find in my place, lucky you
      i think their endagered fish species because i grown with the marlin fish fillet in the most of my childhood, but none seen in local fresh market nowdays

      Reply
    3. Scrambled Megs says

      April 29, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      koh samui is one of my favourite places in the world. cannot wait to go back. this fish looks amazing

      Reply
    4. Robyn says

      March 19, 2013 at 4:14 pm

      I am going to Bangkok in April, Bam and this seems like the perfect dish to get my taste buds ready for the trip. You are truly an inspiration! Your dishes are unique perfection.

      Reply
      • Healthy World Cuisine says

        March 20, 2013 at 2:43 am

        Thank you for your kind comment and I am happy to pass along my passion for this cuisine. Have fun in Bangkok! It is going to be hot so be prepared. Yes it is time to get your taste buds ready. Thai culinary cuisine is one of my favorites in the world. I am lucky to live in Asia so I can get many of the fresh ingredients I need to make it.

        Reply
    5. Bernice says

      March 09, 2013 at 5:09 pm

      Beautiful pictures!!

      Reply
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