Thai me up!

Thai cooking tends to be very simplistic, but it has heavy emphasis on aroma and spice. It juggles with multiple flavour combination to make something that is perfectly balanced to hit all the right notes on one’s tongue. My first experiences with Thai cuisine was the Thai Red Curry at one of my after office local haunts. It was a Friday night staple after heavy duty post work vodka red bulls! Over time I started exploring Thai flavours, pad thai noodles, satay, massaman curry and my most recent Sriacha sauce! The flavour palette of Thai food is very much like Indian food but what’s different is the amount fresh ingredients used in Thai food. Thai chili peppers usually turn up ground from fresh to add proper heat to their curry pastes. This results in very spicy dishes and very colourful dishes at the same time.

Here’s my take on the humble Thai curry…

You’ll need:

4-6 medium red chillies roughly chopped

2 shallots, roughly chopped

Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

4-5 garlic cloves, crushed

Small bunch of fresh coriander, stalks and roots attached if possible

2 lemongrass stalks, chopped

1 lime, grated zest and juice

8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces (if unavailable, use the grated zest of 1 extra lime)

1 inch piece galangal, peeled and chopped (if available, else ginger will suffice)

1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed

2 tsp Thai fish sauce or light soy sauce

3 tbsp olive oil

Put all this in a food processor. I tend to make this paste and store it for future use. Each batch lasts us about 3-4 time for a meal of two easily.

When you need to cook it, cook the paste in oil as preference and add meat and veg per preference. Also, 1 tbsp of dried or 2 tbsp of fresh finely grated coconut will add a different dimension to your dish. Once the paste is cooked, add 1 tin of coconut milk and let the curry simmer. DO NOT cook this curry on a high flame, keep it between medium and low. The flavours will only tend to build up. Garnish with chiffonade cut basil and coriander. Add some thinly sliced chillies for an extra kick.