Curry is a tasty dish popular in many countries in world not only in Asia but also in Europe, America, Australia… If Indian curry (especially from the North) impresses people by the taste of yoghurt, Thai curry makes people remember by its strong taste of coconut milk. There are several types of Thai curry of which the most popular are red curry, green curry, Penang curry which is a bit lighter than other types of Thai curry…
I will guide you how to make Thai red curry with home-made red curry paste.
Ingredients
For Thai red curry paste:
6 Thai red chilies, big sized (12 small sized ones) or using other types of red hot chilies
3 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1 galangal
2 lemon grass, chopped
1 tsp cumin (or ¾ cumin powder)
1 tsp coriander
2 lemon leaves
1 shrimp paste
1 tsp salt
Ingredients for fish curry:
This recipe can be also used for chicken or beef curry. You can increase the ingredients if you cook for more than two.
250 gr salmon (or other similar firm fish)
2 tablespoons red curry paste (You can reduce into half of that if you don’t eat too spicy)
Salt, pepper to taste
400 ml coconut milk (strong and condense) or 800 ml the liquid type
1 big eggplant (abt 250gr)
1/2 red paprika
½ green paprika
100 gr Thai green bean
100 gr shredded bamboo sprout
½ onion
½ tomato, peeled and chopped
½ tablespoon sugar
Some lemon leaves
*Note: You can replace the vegetable above with the types you want such as carrot, potato, sweet potato, etc.
If you are not in the mood to make the Thai curry paste, you can also use the ready made one that you can easily find in big supermarkets, Asian stores or open markets.
Method
Making Thai red curry paste
Place a frying pan over medium heat and cook all ingredients (except the shrimp paste and cumin powder if you use cumin powder instead of seeds) until the flavor comes out (about 7-10 mins).
Grind all the ingredients into a smooth paste mixture. Add in cumin powder and shrimp paste and blend until evenly and smooth.
Making the curry
– Slice the fish into small square or rectangle pieces, about 2-3 cm long. Season it with salt, pepper to taste.
– Wash the vegetable and cut into square or rectangle pieces or into the shapes you want. If you use potatoes or sweet potatoes, cut them into 2-2.5 cm long pieces. Fry the potatoes/ sweet potatoes with a pinch of salt and about 2 tsp of red curry until medium cooked.
– Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil into a pan. When the oil is heated, add in 2 tablespoons of red curry (or less, if you don’t eat too spicy). Continue to add in the fish and stir well.
– Add coconut milk. Make sure the liquid cover the whole fish, if not add more water. Add in all the vegetable and stir well. Add sugar and then lemon leaves.
– Cook the soup over low heat until all the vegetable is cooked but not too soft. Add more salt and spices if necessary.
– When the curry is done, ladle the soup into a soup bowl and serve hot with rice or bread.
Bon Appétit!