The Nation

When I sent in my column last time the caption for my column was “All Curried Out”. It might have given you the impression that I will be finished with writing about curries but nothing can be further from the truth. In fact this week I am giving you two more recipes for curries. One is for Green seafood and soft-shell crab curry with a little difference. I have in the past have told you to buy already made curry paste because it is more convenient. This week I have given you all the ingredients that are needed to be pounded to make green curry paste, so you can see for yourselves how difficult it is to get all ingredients together and how hard it is to pound everything into a paste. I have to admit though that freshly made or home made curry paste gives your curry a better flavors and scent but it is not always convenient.
The other recipe is a curry noodle dish from the north of Thailand. If you went to Chiangmai and did not get the chance to eat Kao Soi then you have not reached Chiangmai. Kao Soi is usually eaten at lunch time and represents northern style of making curries with some Indian and Burmese influence in the recipe. Here again, I have given you the ingredients for the curry paste in this recipe because it is not so difficult and ready made paste is definitely not available. I hope that you will find these two recipes interesting and useful. I hope that you will attempt to try to make these curries for yourselves.

INgredients-for-Kao-Soi

Kao-Soi-with-accompanying-condiments

Kao Soi Gaeh, (Curried lamb noodles Northern Style)

Ingredients:

Chinese egg noodles 200 grams

Lamb stew meat, cubed ½ Kg.

Coconut cream 2 cups

Coconut milk 3 cups

Salt ½ Tbsp.

Soy sauce 1 cup

Sweet black soy 2 Tbsp.

Palm oil for deep frying the noodles 3 cups

Ground chili peppers cooked in oil ½ cup

Lime wedges as needed

Ingredients for curry paste:

Toasted dry chili peppers 7 each

Shallots, roasted ¾ cup

Roasted ginger ¼ cup

Fresh turmeric roasted 3 Tbsp.

Coriander seeds ¼ cup

Salt 1 Tbsp.

*Pound all ingredients together in a pestle and mortar into a paste*

Ingredients accompanying pickled vegetables for the curries noodles:

Chinese pickled cabbage, only the stems,

Cubed or sliced 1 Kg.

Shallots, peeled and cubed 500 grms

Sugar ¼ cup

Salt 2 Tbsp.

Distill vinegar 3 cup

*Bring the vinegar, salt and sugar to boil and allow to cool before adding the vegetables and allow to marinate over night before use.*

Directions:
1. Place the cubed lamb into a pot, add the coconut, salt and bring to boil and simmer until the lamb is tender. Reserve for later use.
2. In a wok, add 1 cup of coconut cream and bring to boil until an oily sheen appears on the surface of the cream. Add the curry paste and cook over medium heat until cooked and fragrant. Once done add this cooked curry paste to the pot of tender lamb in coconut milk. Bring to boil.
3. Correct seasoning with soy sauce and black soy. Make the curry richer by adding the rest of the coconut cream and bring back to boil. If the curry is not salty enough add just salt. Take the curry off heat and reserve.
4. Heat up the palm oil in a pan and fry some of the noodles for garnish on to of the Kao Soi Noodles.

Serving instructions:
1. Cook the egg noodles in boiling water and place into a bowl.
2. Pour the lamb curry over the cooked noodles topped with crispy fried noodles.
3. This dish is served with accompanying pickled vegetables, lime wedges and fried ground chili peppers.

Tips:
a. This is an adaptation of the original recipe from the North. The original recipe usually uses chicken or beef in the curry.
b. Lime is added to the curried noodle because the acid in the lime helps digestion and cuts the fat in the coconut cream.
c. In another version in serving this dish. You do not have to pickle the shallots but just serve cubed fresh shallots and pickled cabbage instead.

Gaeng-Kiew-Wan-Pu-Nim

Gaeng Kiew Wan Talay Pu Nim, (Green Seafood Curry with Soft-shell Crab)

Ingredients:

Soft shell crab, cleaned and quartered 3 each

Peeled shrimps, squid, and mussels, each 200 grms

Coconut Milk 6 cups

Coconut cream 2 cups

Thai round eggplants, picked 200 grms

Kaffir Lime leaves, torn 5 leaves

Thai basil leaves, picked 1 cup

Green and red fresh chili peppers, cut on bias 5 each

Coconut sugar 2 Tsp.

Fish Sauce ¼ - ½ cup

Ingredients for Curry paste:

Red and green chili peppers sliced 15 each

Fresh Thai chili peppers 10 each

Shallots, peeled and sliced 5 Tbsp.

Fresh Garlic, peeled and sliced 6 Tbsp.

Fresh lemongrass, sliced thin 2 Tbsp.

Fresh Galangal, sliced 1 Tsp.

Fresh Kaffir Lime skin, sliced thin 1 Tsp.

Coriander seed, ground 1 Tsp.

Fresh coriander roots 1 Tbsp.

Cumin seed toasted 1 Tsp.

Ground mace ½ Tsp.

Salt ½ Tsp.

Shrimp paste 1 Tsp.

Dry peppercorns 15 each

Pound ingredients together until a green curry paste is achieved

Directions:
1. Bring coconut cream to boil in a large pot until a sheen appears on the surface of the cream. Add the curry paste and stir to spread it out and cook over medium heat until the paste is cooked without burning.
2. Add the coconut milk and bring the liquid back to boil. Add the round eggplants, followed by the soft shell crabs and seafood. Bring back to boil gently.
3. Correct seasoning with coconut sugar and fish sauce and add the kaffir lime leaves.
4. Add the fresh Thai basil leaves and sliced fresh chili peppers, stir and take off heat.
5. Spoon the curry into a bowl and serve with steamed rice.

Tips:
a. Of course you can always buy pre-made green curry paste and the best brand to use is Nithaya.
b. When cooking seafood in the curry, do not cook too long because the seafood cooks very quickly and squid and mussels become rubbery when over cooked.
c. Usually we add the eggplants after adding the meats to the curry but seafood cooks quickly so we add the eggplant first.