Thai food is a winner at any dinner party. The fragrant aromas of exotic spices and unusual flavour combinations make this style of food an exciting variation for families tired of the standard meat and two vegetable dishes that grace so many New Zealand dinner tables.
Not only is Thai food one of the most intensely flavourful Asian cuisines, its incorporation of crisp, fresh, lightly cooked vegetables makes it one of the healthiest too.
One of the best known Thai dishes is Thai Red Curry. If you’d like to cook something different for dinner, try the recipe below.
Thai Red Curry
The first step in making Thai Red Curry is to make the curry paste itself. The bonus to making the dish this way is that you can store any unused red curry paste for use in later curries. It can also be used to liven up soups and noodle dishes and is great with seafood, chicken, vegetables and beef.
Red Curry Paste
This recipe uses quite a few ingredients, but is not complicated at all. You will need a food processor, though.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup of chopped red onion
- 2 red chillies (you can substitute chilli paste)
- 1 dessertspoon of chilli powder (add more or less depending on how hot you like your curries)
- A piece of galangal about the size of two sugar cubes (galangal is more traditional, but if you can’t find any ginger is a good substitute)
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 3 Tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons of ready-prepared lemongrass (the kind in a jar). Alternatively, you can mince 1 stalk of lemongrass yourself.
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped coriander
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
- 1 dessertspoon of ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- ¼ teaspoon of white pepper
- ¼ can coconut cream
Method:
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend into a paste.
Making Your Red Curry
Ingredients:
- Red curry paste
- Chicken cut into cubes – you can use either breast or thigh meat
- Red capsicum, sliced.
- 1 small can of bamboo shoots drained
- Spring onions cut into 2 cm lengths
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 can coconut milk
Method:
- Fry a couple of dessertspoonfuls of red curry paste in a little oil for a minute to release it’s aroma – the amount you use will depend on how much chicken you’re using and how strong you like your curry.
- Add the chicken and cook until browned.
- Add the red capsicum and spring onions and cook for a further minute.
- Add the coconut milk and the kaffir lime leaves, cover and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes.
- 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time add the bamboo shoots.
- Serve with jasmine rice.
Authentic Thai Cuisine
Once you have your curry paste you’ll be able to whip up this authentic Thai dish in no time. The exotic flavours and rich creamy texture of Thai Red Curry will certainly make a difference at the dinner table.
