Thai Recipes

Kaeng Phet Daeng Kai (Red Curry)

The Thai name of this dish literally means "hot red chicken curry".There is a very similar recipe for a green curry (Gaeng Khiao Wan Kai). Thoughin Thai restaurants in the west, green curry is often the hottest style of curry, as the name indicates, this red curry is generally the hottest inThailand. If you reduce the amount of curry paste to ameliorate the heat, theresulting dish will lose its red coloration. To offset this you can add a littletomato paste to the mixture.

Ingredients

1 cup chicken (in smallish bite sized pieces)
½ cup of coconut milk
½ cup makhua puang (Thai eggplant - these are small round eggplants)
3 tablespoons red curry paste (see below)
2 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)
1 tablespoon sweet basil
1 tablespoon palm sugar
2 kaffir lime leaves (or a little lime zest)

Method

Cut the chicken up, then briefly fry the curry paste until fragrant, reduce the heat, add the coconut milk slowly, and continue to stir whilst cooking until a thin film of oil apppears on the surface. Skim off the oil, and discard it. Add the chicken and other ingredients except the eggplant. Bring to a boil and cook until the chicken begins to change colour. Adjust the flavors to suit yourself. When it is at a boil again add the eggplant and continue till thechicken is cooked through. Serve with steamed white Jasmine rice.

Nam Prik Kaeng Phet Daeng (Red Curry Paste)

The sauce can be used for the above recipe. The name translates to 'hot red curry paste'. The only real difference between green curry paste and red curry paste isthat the green is made from fresh green prik ki nu (birdseye chilis), and thered is made from dried red ones.

Ingredients

15-30 phrik ki nu daeng haeng (dried red birdseye chillies)
10 cloves kratiem (garlic)
Chopped 1 tablespoon takhrai (lemon grass)
Very thinly sliced 1 tablespoon roasted coriander seeds
Ground 1-2 teaspoon kapi (fermented shrimp paste)
1 teaspoon kha (galangal) chopped
1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds ground
1 teaspoon chopped coriander (cilantro) root (if you can't find the roots,use the white lower stem)
½ teaspoon zest of "kaffir" lime (ordinary lime will do)
5 white pepper corns, toasted and ground a dash fish sauce

Method

Toast the dry seeds in a dry skillet or wok to bring out the flavour andaroma. Mix in a mortar and pestle or food processor.

Will keep for a about a month in a well stoppered container, or may befrozen (I suggest using an ice cube tray to give known quantities for cooking without defrosting a large batch.)