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Curry Paste: Red Curry Paste

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Recipes for a 3/4 cup red curry paste

Ingredients

* 12 dried red chili peppers, soaked (at lease 4 hrs) and coarsely chopped

* 1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh lemon grass (available at oriental market in the frozen section)

* 1 tbsp chopped fresh galangal (or 2 tbsps dried)

* 2 tsps coriander seeds

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 tbsps chopped garlic

1 tsp shrimp paste (available at oriental market)

1 tbsp chopped fresh kaffir lime leaves

2 tbsps chopped shallots

Preparation

If you use dried ingredients, soak them until they are sufficiently soft.  Then place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend them to form a smooth paste.  If you use dried ingredients, you may need to add water in small amounts ( you can use the soaking water of any of the dried ingredients).  If you do not have a blender, you can use a mortar and pestle to pound all ingredients to form the paste.

Note: This red curry paste is recommended for seafood, poultry, and beef.  It can be used in a regular curries and also in dry, sautéed meat mixture.

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Appetizer: Fish Cakes (Taud Man Pla)

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Ingredients (for 6 servings)

1 small cucumber

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

2 small fresh red chili peppers, remove seeds, and chopped

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 pound cod or white fish fillets, skinned

2 tablespoons of fish sauce

2 tablespoons of red curry paste

One 1/2-inch piece fresh or frozen galangal, finely chopped

1 egg

8 fresh Kaffir lime leaves, deveined and finely shredded

2 cups vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation

Score cucumber, remove seeds, thinly slice and place in bowl.  Dissolve sugar in water and pour over cucumber.

Add chili peppers, vinegar,salt, and shallot and refrigerate until ready to use.

Check fish fillets to make sure there is no bones.  cut fish into 1-inch pieces.  Chop the fish or use food processor to process fish for 10 seconds.  Add fish sauce, curry paste, galangal, egg, lime leaves, and pepper and mix all of them well.  Wet hand with water.  Form into 12 balls, then flatten into 1/4 inch-thick patties.

Heat a wok with oil to 375 Fahrenheit. Fry fish cakes for 5 minutes or until golden brown, 3 to 4 at a time.  Serve with cucumber-chili mixture.  Makes 6 multi servings.

What do you think?

I love to hear your thoughts.  Please leave your comments below

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Appetizer: Mussels in a Clay Pot

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Ingredients for 4 servings

21/2 pounds mussels, scrubbed

1 cup fish stock

4 stalks lemongrass, cut into 21/2-inch pieces and smashed

8 medium shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves

9 fresh Kaffir lime leaves, deveined

6 garlic cloves, chopped

3 small fresh red chili peppers, chopped

3 fresh green chili pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped coriander

Preparation

Wash and drain mussels in several changes of cold water,  Discard any that have opened. 

Pour fish stock into a 21/2-quart clay pot.  In layers in the pot, arrange one-third of the mussels, one-third of the lemongrass, one-third of the shallots, on-third of the basil leaves, and one-third of the lime leaves.  Continue to make layers with remaining mussels, lemongrass, shallots, basil, and lime leaves. 

Cover pot and bring to a boil over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes.  Increase heat to high for 5 to 6 minutes or until mussels have fully opened.  Discard any that do not open.

With a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, chilies, salt, and sugar until mashed into a paste.  Stir in lemon juice and sprinkle with the coriander.  Serve the paste as a condiment with the mussels.  Make 4 servings.

What do you think about this recipe? 

I love to hear your thoughts.  Please leave your comments below