The Big Book of Curry Recipes (68 page)

When done, remove the ramekins from the steamer and allow to cool slightly. Add 1 tbsp of the rice and coconut milk mixture and sprinkle the top with shredded Kaffir lime leaves and shredded chilli.

Return to the steamer, place over boiling water and steam for 3 minutes more. Serve hot.

Kang Ped Pla-dook (Red Curry with Catfish)

Kang Ped Pla-dook (Red Curry with Catfish) is a traditional Thai recipe for a classic curry of catfish, fingerroot, garden eggs and chillies cooked in coconut milk and fish stock flavoured with red curry paste.

Ingredients:

800g (1 2/3 lb) catfish, cleaned and sliced into steaks

3 tbsp
red curry paste

2 tbsp fingerroot

2 tbsp Thai birds eye chillies, sliced diagonally

40g (1 1/2 oz) Thai holy basil leaves

100g (4 oz) garden eggs (very small, grape-sized green aubergines [eggplants])

1 tsp sugar

600ml (2 1/2 cups) coconut milk

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp Nam Pla (fish sauce)

120ml (1/2 cup) fish stock

1 1/2 tbsp groundnut oil

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat and stir in 180ml (3/4 cup) of the coconut milk and the red curry paste. Cook until the mixture is aromatic and the oil separates out of the coconut milk (about 10 minutes).

Now add the catfish and stir for a few minutes then add the remaining coconut milk and the fish stock. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, for a further 5 minutes, or until the fish is almost done.

Season to taste with the sugar, salt and fish sauce. Add the fingerroot, garden eggs and chillies along with the basil leaves. Stir to combine and bring the soup to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the garden eggs are done through then take off the heat and turn into a serving bowl.

Serve hot, accompanied by steamed rice.

Thai Mango Fish Curry

Thai Mango Fish Curry is a traditional Thai recipe for a coconut milk based fish curry flavoured with diced mango.

Ingredients:

6 kaffir lime leaves (soaked in warm water if dried)

Grated rind of one lime

2cm (4/5 in) piece of galangal, grated

2cm (4/5 in) piece of ginger, grated

2 medium green chillies, whole

large handful of coriander, chopped

5 sprigs of parsley, chopped

2 sprigs mint, chopped

1 tsp curry leaves (optional)

juice of 2 limes

groundnut oil to fry

2 sticks lemongrass

6 garlic cloves

1 tbsp
tamarind paste

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 x 440ml (14.5 oz) tin coconut milk

juice of 1 lemon

1 large mango, diced

12 large king prawns

4 chunky fillets (about 175g [7 oz] apiece) cod/haddock/hake/hoki/monkfish/skate or any other firm fish.

Method:

First make the green chilli paste by placing the kaffir lime leaves, lime zest, galangal, ginger, whole chillies, lime juice, garlic cloves and curry leaves (if using) in a blender. Blitz these to make a smooth paste (if the mixture is too stiff add a little groundnut oil). Next add the tamarind and shrimp pastes along with the coriander, mint and parsley. Blend to form a smooth green paste. This can be prepared beforehand and will keep in the fridge for several hours.

Heat up a wok, add some groundnut oil and pour in the coconut milk and add the lemongrass. Heat this until the coconut milk just splits (about 20 minutes) then add the lemon juice and heat for a further five minutes. Next spoon in the chilli paste (use a little water to get the dregs out). Mix this thoroughly into the coconut milk and cook for five minutes. At this point you can add the diced mango and cook for a further ten minutes, until the mango has almost disappeared into the sauce. At this point remove the lemongrass then add the prawns and mix into the sauce. Finally layer the fish fillets on top and cover the wok with a lid. Cook for about ten minutes until the fish is just done.

Spoon the curry into a large bowl and layer the fish on top. Garnish with freshly-chopped coriander leaves and serve with a large bowl of Thai fragrant rice (also known as Jasmine rice).

Massaman Nuea (Beef Masaman Curry)

Massaman Nuea (Beef Masaman Curry) is a traditional Thai recipe for a classic lightly-spiced curry of beef cooked in coconut milk with herbs and spices.

Ingredients:

For the Beef:

1kg (2 lb, 3 oz) beef, sliced into large chunks

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

500ml (2 cups) coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

120ml (1/2 cup)
massaman curry paste

To Finish:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

500ml (2 cups) coconut cream

2 cardamom leaves

1 tbsp whole green cardamom pods

3cm (1 in) piece of cinnamon

150g (1/3 lb) peanuts

5 shallots, peeled

4 tbsp palm sugar

1 tbsp tamarind pulp mixed with 80ml warm water, set aside for 20 minutes then passed through a fine-meshed sieve

2 tbsp fish sauce

Method:

Place the beef in a bowl then pour over the ginger, coconut milk and fish sauce. Toss to combine then cover and set aside to infused for 30 minutes. After this time, turn the entire mixture into a pan, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the
massaman curry paste
according to the recipe.

To finish the curry, heat the oil in a wok and stir in the massaman curry paste. Cook for a few minutes, stirring vigorously, then add half the coconut cream and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the paste has spice paste has dissolved into the coconut cream. Now continue cooking until the oil separates out and forms a layer on top of the spice mix.

Now stir in the remaining coconut cream, bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes, or until the oil separates out once more. Stir in the cardamoms, cardamom leaves, shallots, peanuts, palm sugar, tamarind water and fish sauce. Now add the contents of the beef pot and stir thoroughly to combine.

Bring back to a simmer and continue cooking for a further 20 minutes, or until the beef is very tender. Adjust the seasonings to your desired levels of sweet, salty and sour (add more chillies for heat, but this is not supposed to be a particularly spicy curry).

Serve hot, accompanied by steamed Jasmine rice.

Khanom Jeen Nam Ya (Khanom Jeen Noodles)

Khanom Jeen Nam Ya (Khanom Jeen Noodles) is a traditional Thai recipe for a classic dish of a soup of pounded fish meat and a spice paste cooked in coconut milk with chillies that’s served on a bed of rice noodles and is typically eaten for breakfast.

This is a classic example of Bangkok street food, where this noodle dish is the breakfast of choice for many.

Ingredients:

150g (1/3 lb) fresh fish fillets or 250g (10 oz) fish on the bone (snakehead [
pla chorn
] is typical, but you can substitute catfish or any firm-fleshed freshwater fish)

400ml (1 2/3 cups) coconut milk

1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/4 tsp palm sugar (or to taste)

2 tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)

2 tbsp
Nam Ya paste
(or 1 tbsp
Red curry paste
)

600ml (2 1/2 cups) water

2 x 3cm (1 in) lengths of krachai (fingerroot), chopped

2 Thai bird’s eye chillies, chopped

400g (1lb, scant) rice noodles

Method:

Combine the coconut milk, salt, palm sugar, fish sauce, Nam Yam paste and water to a pan. Add the fish and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 12 minutes, or until the fish is tender.

Remove the fish from the stock (keep this simmering) then flake the fish and remove any bones. Pound the meat in a mortar then stir this back into the stock. Keep cooking for about 15 minutes longer, or until aromatic.

Pound together the fingerroot and chillies in a mortar then stir this paste into the soup. Season to taste with salt, fish sauce and palm sugar to adjust the balance of flavours and add a little fish stock cube, if desired (most Thai cooks would add this).

In the meantime, cook the noodles, as directed in the packet. Place noodles in the base of a serving bowl, spoon over the soup and serve.

Thai Green Curry of Prawn and Fish

Thai Green Curry of Prawn and Fish is a traditional Thai recipe for a curry of king prawns, white fish and vegetables in a coconut cream sauce flavoured with a traditional green curry paste made from scratch.

Ingredients:

100ml (2/5 cup) groundnut oil

250ml (1 cup) coconut cream

250ml (1 cup) milk

2 tbsp palm sugar (or Demerara)

6 tbsp fish sauce

6 baby aubergines

170g (5 1/2 oz) bamboo shoots

4 green beans

4 French beans (the longer the better)

2 celery stalks

4 Kaffir lime leaves

2 taro stems (taro contains lots of papain, substitute 50g papaya if needed)

12 Thai basil leaves (20 basil leaves)

310g (10 oz) fresh white fish cut into cubes

12 king prawns peeled and de-gutted

4 tbsp crushed peanuts to garnish

small bunch of coriander, chopped, to garnish

For the Curry Paste:

3 cloves garlic

3 small chillies

3 large green chillies, split and de-seeded

2 tbsp galangal, chopped and pounded (or 3 tbsp ginger)

3 coriander roots chopped and pounded

4 kaffir lime leaf or 2 tbsp lime zest

1 stalk lemongrass chopped and pounded

8 shallots

12 chilli leaves (to enhance colour or substitute a bunch of chives)

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp shrimp paste

Method:

To make the curry paste: Using a pestle and mortar pound all the chopped fresh ingredients (including the spices) then put into a grinder and blend until smooth.

Place the coconut and groundnut oil into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to the boil.

Split the cream (separate fat from the coconut cream, using the existing oil to assist).

Add the curry paste and fry for a further 12 minutes. Add the crushed kaffir lime leaves and fry until fragrant. Ensure that the ingredients are cooked enough to prevent then from tasting raw.

Add all of the coconut milk, palm sugar and fish sauce then bring to the boil and simmer for 7–10 minutes.

Add the aubergine, bamboo shoots, green beans, French beans, celery, taro stems, basil, fish and prawns. Cook for 10–12 minutes until the fish is done.

To serve, place the curry into a deep bowl. Sprinkle the peanuts and coriander leaves to garnish. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Gaeng Ki Lek (Northern Thai Pork and Ki Lek Curry with Fingerroot)

Gaeng Ki Lek (Northern Thai Pork and Ki Lek Curry with Fingerroot) is a traditional Thai recipe for a classic curry of pork and ki lek leaves cooked in coconut milk, with an aromatic curry paste containing chillies, fingerroot, galangal and chillies.

Ingredients:

6 plump garlic cloves, chopped

5 shallots, chopped

10 dried long red Thai chillies, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, then quartered

5 fresh Thai birds’ eye chillies, sliced into 1cm lengths

4 fingers of krachai (fingerroot), scraped and chopped (if using pickled, soak in water for 30 minutes before use)

5cm (2 in) length of galangal, peeled and chopped

4 lemongrass stalks, peeled and finely chopped

600ml (2 1/2 cups) coconut milk

Nam Pla (fish sauce)

1 large bunch of ki lek
^[1]
leaves and flower buds, boiled for 15 minutes, rinsed thoroughly then boiled in fresh water for a further 15 minutes, to remove their bitterness (or, if using pickled leaves, rinse them well)

200g (7 oz) pork, thinly sliced into strips

Method:

In a heavy pestle and mortar, pound together the garlic, fingerroot, galangal, lemongrass and dried chillies to form a smooth paste. Add the fresh chillies and pound lightly (just to bruise).

Add the coconut milk to a wok over medium heat, bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer. Continue cooking until the coconut milk thickens and separates to give up its oil (about 8 minutes). Stir in the curry paste at this point then simmer gently, stirring constantly. After about 6 minutes begin adding the fish sauce, a tablespoon at a time, until the salt balance of the curry is to your taste. Continue cooking until the curry base is thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon.

Now add the pork and stir in the sauce until thoroughly cooked through (about 10 minutes). Finally, stir in the ki lek leaves and buds and cook until warmed through. Serve hot, accompanied by boiled jasmine rice.

Fragrant Coconut Rice

Fragrant Coconut Rice is a traditional Thai recipe for a classic dish of rice cooked in coconut milk that is the classic Thai accompaniment to many meals.

Ingredients:

1 tsp ground cloves

900ml (3 3/4 cups) coconut milk

2 tsp galangal (fresh or dried)

1/2 tsp green peppercorns, crushed

2 tsp lemongrass

200g (7 oz) Long Grain Rice (Preferably Jasmine)

1/2 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated

1 tsp Sea Salt

Method:

Soak the galangal and lemongrass in hot water for an hour to soften, then mash together. Place the mash in a pan and mix with the coconut milk, sea salt, green peppercorns, nutmeg and cloves. Bring this to the boil, stir in the rice, cover and gently simmer for 12 minutes.

Stir thoroughly and cook covered until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice tender, about 5 minutes (add a bit more coconut milk if necessary.)

Serve immediately as an accompaniment to a curry, lentil, meat or vegetable dish.

Gaeng Pa-naeng (Panang Curry)

Gaeng Pa-naeng (Panang Curry) is a traditional Thai recipe for a classic curry of beef or pork cooked in coconut cream with Panang curry paste.

Ingredients:

1 tin (440ml [14.5 oz]) coconut cream (or coconut milk)