A recipe from Kat – Surry Hills
I love this curry – The flavour develops beautifully with each mouthful….. Starting off slightly sweet and then a slow rise in heat….. Take the time to make a really smooth spice paste and make sure you allow it time to cook out the raw flavour of the paste before adding the other ingredient.
Ingredients
For the spice paste:
- 4 candlenuts (or 2 teaspoons ground almonds if you can’t get them)
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 6 red shallots
- 4 garlic cloves
- 6 long red chillies
- 3 small red chillies
- 2 fresh lemongrass stalks
- 3 tablespoons chopped galangal
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh turmeric
- 1-2 tablespoons grated palm sugar
Other:
- 2 fresh lemongrass stalks
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 2 salam leaves (or curry leaves if you can’t get them)
- 600g chicken thigh fillets (no skin)
- 250ml water
- 2 teaspoons tamarind pulp
- Sea salt
- 250ml coconut milk
Method –
- Prep all ingredients for spice paste – peel and cut shallots and garlic; trim and seed long chillies; trim small chillies and lemongrass; peel and chop galangal, ginger and turmeric and grate palm sugar.
- Prep all other ingredients – bruise lemongrass and tie into a knot then cut chicken into bite size pieces.
- Grind all spice paste ingredients in mortar and pestle (or grinder) until it’s a smooth paste. Usually takes about 20 minutes
- Heat oil in wok over medium heat and add spice paste and cook until when you inhale over the top it is smooth (trust me on this – you can tell the difference!) – usually takes about 5-7 minutes
- Add lemongrass, lime leaves and salam leaves and fry for another 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and toss for 2-3 minutes until its sealed.
- Add the water, tamarind and salt. Simmer until chicken is cooked.
- Add coconut milk and simmer for around 10 minutes.
- Check seasoning and add salt if required
Serve with rice and some lime wedges.
