Thai curries are famous for the sublime aromatic flavours balancing sweet, tart, savoury and spiciness.
And… welcome toThai week!!
Welcome to Thai Week!
Thai Yellow Curry Paste. I’ve recently discovered that a stick blender is the easiest way to make curry pastes!
Every now and then, I like to do a recipe theme week.
Green Papaya Salad(coming Wednesday) Great as side, yet substantial enough as a starter.
Thai Black Sticky Rice Puddingfor dessert!
The colours, meanwhile, make up a rainbow of deliciousness!
StrikingThai Red Curry, vibrantGreen Curry, caramel colouredMassaman Curry.
They vary in spiciness and sauce richness, with some made with and others made without coconut cream.
The spice level varies from mild (2 fresh chillies) to quite spicy (4 chillies).
It can be as mild as you want or quite spicy I enjoy it both ways.
I urge you to try making this at least once the taste is incomparable to canned pastes!
And in fact, I really cant recommend any store bought yellow curry paste.
That said, its a good idea to taste the chillies to gauge the spiceiness and adjust accordingly.
Pick up the chillis only, leaving behind the seeds, and put them in a bowl.
Thai Yellow Curry Paste. I’ve recently discovered that a stick blender is the easiest way to make curry pastes!
Cover with boiling water and leave for 30 minutes to rehydrate.
Strain chillis andreservethe soaking liquid we are going to use some of it for the curry paste.
Use 4 chillis for fairly spicy but not blow-your-head-off.
If youre concerned, you’ve got the option to leave them out!
Here is how I deseed and chop fresh chillies.
Yes, I know I should use gloves.
Sharper edges than eating teaspoons, and the shape is perfect for seed scooping.
Lemongrass
Fragrant, with a gentle citrus taste, lemongrass is a quintessential South-East Asian flavour.
Galangal
This is a plant root used in South-East Asian cooking that looks similar to ginger.
It also tastes like ginger but is more citrusy and a little pine-y.
Its actually pretty hard to cut so take care when slicing it!
Peel it like ginger, either with a sharp edge teaspoon or (carefully!)
with a small knife.
I use my microplane, one of my favourite kitchen tools more information here.
The flavour is mild, earthy and slightly bitter eaten by itself.
Its primary use in cooking is for healthfulness and for colour.
Turmeric stains fiercelyonce grated!
Use gloves when handling it, and grate it onto a ceramic or metal plate or bowl.
So using a shrimp paste in oil makes up for this.
Por Kwan is the brand I use, pictured below, which is sold at Asian stores.
The result is very close to using Thai Shrimp Paste with Bean Oil!
OtherThaiShrimp Pastes in Oil Only Thai shrimp pastes.
Other ingredients
Garlic Yes, 8 cloves!
Spices Coriander, curmin, cardamom, fenugreek powder and white pepper.
Of these spices, fenugreek might be the hardest to find.
If you do not have it, leave it out.
TIP:Use a stick blender.
Not to mention easier to clean!
Yellow curry paste done now its onto the curry.
Youll be glad to hear its a simple plonk-and-simmer job!
Chicken and fish are also other favourites for yellow curry which you’re able to use instead.
Ive included directions for both these in the recipe notes.
Use fresh if it’s possible for you to, and keep the tail on.
Otherwise frozen thawed is perfectly fine.
I dont need to tell you that the better the quality of the prawn, the better the dish!
The cutting size is specified in the recipe.
Coconut cream We use cream to give the curry sauce its thickness as well as richness.
Look for brands that have a high percentage of coconut extract.
Ayam brand is my choice.
Substitute with green beans (for similar shape) or more carrots.
Add chicken stockinto the cooked off curry paste and stir to dissolve.
Simmer chicken stock Simmer on medium heat for a minute to bring the flavours together.
Add remaining curry sauce ingredients:Reduce heat to medium low.
Add tamarind, fish sauce and sugar.
Stir until tamarind is dissolved.
Prevent screen from sleeping
Potato takes a surprisingly long time to cook in a thick coconut curry sauce!
Prawns and bamboo shoots:Add prawns and bamboo shoots.
Stir, then cook for 3 minutes until prawns are just cooked.
Overcooked, rubbery prawns in a homemade yellow curry from scratch is a depressing thought!
Next, were going to finish the dish with a few garnishes!
Garnishes for Thai Yellow Curry
Here are the garnishes typically used to serve Thai Yellow Curry.
Thai Basil Leaves Tastes like regular basil plus a bit of aniseed flavour.
Highly recommended to finish this dish off.
Substitutewith coriander/ cilantro (best) or normal Italian basil.
Find it in the Asian section of supermarket but cheaper at Asian stores.
Fresh chilli slices Purely option, for a splash of colour and extra spice, if desired.
Use large chillies if you want the colour without the spiciness.
A quick and easy recipe, this aint!
This is certainly not a quick n easy midweek meal.
It involves sourcing ingredients that may be new to you, and preparing ingredients you havent cooked with before.
But is it worth it?
Hundred times over, YES YES YES!
So if youre a Thai Curry fan, I urge you to try making this at least once.
The taste is incomparable to canned pastes!
Thai Yellow Curry (from scratch!)
Ingredients
Instructions
Recipe Notes:
I adore Thai curries!
Proof:
Life of Dozer
Dozer!
You were NOT supposed to go in the water today!
