Make Your Own Thai Curry
With us having spent the best part of September in Genoa, you would be forgiven for expecting a string of Italian recipes. Fret not, they're coming soon. But you may remember a review of Ting Thai, and its wonderful, authentic Thai curries.
That's a dish which is almost up there with chicken tikka masala on the list of Scottish favourites, and it's one which many will now make at home. I suspect, however, that the vast majority of these will be created using a jar of ready made curry paste. This week, courtesy of the lovely Sarah Mellersh and her much missed Let's Cook Scotland, we'll tell you how to make your own. Once you've done that, you won't go back to the jar.
The Thai curries we get in this country are very much toned down for western taste buds. The food which the Thais make for themselves at home has a pretty fierce heat, far spicier than average Indian cuisine. The advantage of making your own is that you can regulate the heat. The recipe given is not for cissies. Feel free to adapt to suit yourself. The paste recipe will make enough for about 10 tablespoons, enough for two curries. It freezes well. It might be worth making double quantities while you're at it.
A quick word about lemongrass. Even the fresh stuff we get in this country is pretty coarse and woody, and will leave an unpleasant texture in your paste. If I'm using it in Thai food, I usually employ two or three pieces, bash them and remove them before serving. You can't do that here. Sarah's recipe calls for a tablespoon of finely chopped lemongrass. I would suggest a teaspoon or two of lemongrass paste.
Make the curry paste first.
Thai Red Curry Paste
Ingredients
4 red chillies, roughly chopped, seeds in or out - your choice; 1 - 2 tsp dried chillies (if making for the first time, I'd omit these); 1 - 2 tsp lemongrass paste; 140g shallots, peeled and roughly chopped; thumb size piece of fresh ginger; small bunch coriander (including stalks) roughly chopped; 8 kaffir leaves, stripped from the stalks; good grind of black pepper; ¼ tsp dried shrimp paste or 2 salted anchovies; ½ tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp ground coriander; 2 tbsp paprika; 5 tbsp cold water.
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Put all the ingredients in a blender and blitz to a smooth paste. You may need to add a little more water.
Thai Green Curry Paste
As above, but-
- use green chillies instead of red
- use extra coriander
- omit the paprika
Thai Yellow Curry Paste
As for the red curry paste, but-
- omit the paprika
- add a teaspoon or two of turmeric.
Thai Chicken Curry
Ingredients
450g chicken breasts; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 400ml can of coconut milk, left undisturbed for at least 3 hours; 5 tbsp curry paste (see above); 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves (which failing a grating of lime zest); 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp tamarind paste; 1 tsp sugar (ideally palm sugar, but brown will do); 15 - 20 basil leaves (ideally Thai (holy) basil, but ordinary basil will do); lime juice for garnish (this is especially important in a green curry).
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Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces. Carefully open the tin of coconut milk. Take 4 tbsp of the thick coconut cream that will have formed at the top and transfer to a separate bowl. Stir the remaining contents of the tin and set to one side. In a wide pan heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the coconut cream and stir. Add the curry paste and combine the two. Stir fry for 3 - 4 minutes. You want the mixture to be slightly browned and starting to separate. Reduce the heat and add all the other ingredients apart from the basil and the lime juice. Bring back to a simmer until the chicken seems to be cooked (ie has turned white through). Cook for another minute or two and add the basil until it wilts.
Do your final seasoning with a squeeze of lime juice. You may also want to adjust the levels of fish sauce and tamarind. Best served with jasmine rice.
If Janet Hood were still with us, she'd be shouting for more chilli. A celebration of Janet's life will take place on Saturday 19 October 2024 at Dukes Corner, 13 Brown Street, Dundee DD1 5EG at 4.30pm. The bar will be open from 4. If you plan to attend, please let her son Johnny know using the link https://bit.ly/3N748fz.