It's quite apt that the first recipe published on this blog is my favourite dish. I cooked this dish for a friend and myself at PB in February. I had just returned from Thailand two months prior to the trip to PB, and was trying to re-adapt to life in Sydney, something that I'm still finding hard. My friend has also been going through a difficult time after experiencing many setbacks throughout his 20s. So we can relate to each other greatly, and it was great to go to PB to get out of the city and relax, or to get grounded, as my friend would say.
My friend cooked slow-braised lamb shoulder on the first night, which was aroi maak (Thai for very delicious), and which I thought would be impossible to come close to, not that I was treating it like a competition at all. I decided that I would cook Thai red curry. I was a bit concerned that it would not turn out well, but I followed a recipe from a Thai cookbook that I bought at the Bookazine store on Khao Sarn Road, and it turned out to be wonderful. My friend was very impressed. I had wondered whether I should use chicken or beef, as I actually had initially fallen in love with red beef curry (Gang Dang Nua), but I thought that it had the capacity to toughen up too much. As it turned out, the method of cooking this recipe made everything so tender, especially the vegetables. I decided to use asparagus rather than aubergines, as I’m not a great fan. They turned out to be a beautifully tender addition to the dish. I had to use canned baby corn because there was no fresh baby corn – it’s Umina after all!!! I loved the twist of adding the halved tomatoes towards the end of the dish, together with a handful of brown sugar. The tomatoes actually melted into the dish quite quickly, and added a layer of lushness. I topped it off with a garnish of coriander, which actually was lovely (I’m not usually a huge fan of coriander).
As I said to my friend, the best red curry I’ve ever eaten is at Center Khao Sarn in Bangkok. I would eat it probably twice a week, if not more! My friends, who have been there, agree. It’s just so rich and luscious, my mouth waters even thinking of it now. Red curry for me is the epitome of Thai cooking. I believe you can judge how good a Thai restaurant is by its red curry. Most can make a decent Pad Thai, but red curry is a marker of excellent Thai cooking. I was a bit hard on myself when tasting my dish, as I was comparing it with Center Khao Sarn's red curry, which obviously can’t be beaten. However, I’m proud to say that I was very happy. The only thing that I would do in hindsight would be to add one or two chillies, chopped in large slices keeping the seeds in, in order to add heat to the curry base. It’s Thai cooking, after all! One other thing to note about this recipe is that it uses jarred red curry paste. The advantage of using jarred paste include reducing the cooking time and getting to know the general flavour of a red curry paste. However, I now make my own red curry pastes because the ingredients are fresh and I can alter the balance of the ingredients depending upon my own taste (the spicier the better!).
Recipe (serves 3-4):
My friend cooked slow-braised lamb shoulder on the first night, which was aroi maak (Thai for very delicious), and which I thought would be impossible to come close to, not that I was treating it like a competition at all. I decided that I would cook Thai red curry. I was a bit concerned that it would not turn out well, but I followed a recipe from a Thai cookbook that I bought at the Bookazine store on Khao Sarn Road, and it turned out to be wonderful. My friend was very impressed. I had wondered whether I should use chicken or beef, as I actually had initially fallen in love with red beef curry (Gang Dang Nua), but I thought that it had the capacity to toughen up too much. As it turned out, the method of cooking this recipe made everything so tender, especially the vegetables. I decided to use asparagus rather than aubergines, as I’m not a great fan. They turned out to be a beautifully tender addition to the dish. I had to use canned baby corn because there was no fresh baby corn – it’s Umina after all!!! I loved the twist of adding the halved tomatoes towards the end of the dish, together with a handful of brown sugar. The tomatoes actually melted into the dish quite quickly, and added a layer of lushness. I topped it off with a garnish of coriander, which actually was lovely (I’m not usually a huge fan of coriander).
As I said to my friend, the best red curry I’ve ever eaten is at Center Khao Sarn in Bangkok. I would eat it probably twice a week, if not more! My friends, who have been there, agree. It’s just so rich and luscious, my mouth waters even thinking of it now. Red curry for me is the epitome of Thai cooking. I believe you can judge how good a Thai restaurant is by its red curry. Most can make a decent Pad Thai, but red curry is a marker of excellent Thai cooking. I was a bit hard on myself when tasting my dish, as I was comparing it with Center Khao Sarn's red curry, which obviously can’t be beaten. However, I’m proud to say that I was very happy. The only thing that I would do in hindsight would be to add one or two chillies, chopped in large slices keeping the seeds in, in order to add heat to the curry base. It’s Thai cooking, after all! One other thing to note about this recipe is that it uses jarred red curry paste. The advantage of using jarred paste include reducing the cooking time and getting to know the general flavour of a red curry paste. However, I now make my own red curry pastes because the ingredients are fresh and I can alter the balance of the ingredients depending upon my own taste (the spicier the better!).
Recipe (serves 3-4):
500g chicken breast, sliced
3-4 tbs Red Curry Paste
1½ tbs sunflower oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Bunch of asparagus, chopped into inch-length pieces
15 baby corns, halved
1 red capsicum, chopped into inch-length pieces
500 ml coconut milk
50 ml chicken or vegetable stock
2½ tbs fish sauce
25g brown sugar (or 2 tablespoons clear honey)
2 tomatoes, cut in half
3 kaffir lime leaves, torn in half
2-3 red chillies, sliced into large pieces
Coriander leaves, chopped
Jasmine rice
Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan and stir-fry the Red Curry Paste and garlic over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant.
Add the chicken and stir for 4-5 minutes. Add the vegetables, coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce and sugar and cook on a low to medium heat for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes, sliced red chillies and kaffir lime leaves and simmer for an extra two minutes.
Spoon into dishes and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with Jasmine rice on the side.
Cuisine: Thai
Source: "200 Thai Favourites" by Oi Cheepchaiissara
Rating: Four stars
G Man, Mate I absolutely agree with your comment " Red curry...is the epitome of Thai cooking...(one) can judge how good a Thai restaurant is by its red curry." I could not have put it better myself ! I look forward to trying out the Red curry in Khao sarn road myself soon ;P Btw for this winter weather I'm a bit biased towards the slow braised lam shoulder myself. Keep trucking with both the blogs. Cheers UK
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