Red Curry Paste

    A while ago I posted a recipe for Red Thai Duck Curry that called for a Red Curry Paste. Although I used this curry paste recipe while making the dish, I didn't post the recipe for it. I had made the paste before I started my blog and didn't think to take any preparation photos.
    I recently ran out of my curry paste reserve, and I'm now getting around to making more. I figured I would take this opportunity to share it with you.

Red Curry Paste:

Ingredients:

10 dried red chilies
1 kaffir lime (or regular lime, juice and zest)
4 Tbsps. shallots, chopped (I used a red onion)
3 Tbsps. garlic, chopped
2 Tbsps. galangal or ginger, chopped
2 Tbsps. lemongrass, peeled (the recipe recommends using only the lower 2 inches)
1 Tbsp. cilantro root
1 tsp. white peppercorns, toasted
2 tsps. coriander seeds, toasted
1 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon shrimp paste

The Loot

Directions:

(1) Remove the zest from the lime. Set aside.
(2) Juice the lime. In a small bowl, soak the red chili's in the lime juice for about 30 minutes to soften.
(3) Toast the spices in a hot pan until they become fragrant. About 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.

Toasting the spices

(4) Add the spices to a mortar and pestle to grind. (The first time I made this recipe, I didn't bother grinding the spices. I thought I would just toss them into the food processor along with all the other ingredients. The seeds didn't completely grind down. When I used the curry paste in a recipe, the seeds were bothersome and made me not enjoy my meal).

Before

After

(5) Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process the mixture until it reaches a paste like consistency. (At this point you're going to be adding the shrimp paste. I feel I should warn you, IT SMELLS SO BAD. Think of the wost thing you have ever smelled, and times it by 5. I find it difficult to believe that something as smelly as shrimp paste could contribute in any way to a recipe. But it does, so don't worry.)

(6) From here I portion the curry paste out into 1 Tbsp. mounds and freeze them until ready to use. They keep really well in the freezer.

*This recipe yields approximately 6 Tbspfull's of curry paste. Please BEWARE, this curry paste packs some serious heat!

Craving Some Curry...

    My husband doesn't like seafood. So I thought I would make all the recipes I have been wanting to try containing seafood, while he's away. This one was on the top of the list so it was the first to be made.
It was so good, I never wanted to stop eating it. Seriously.
    A while back I made my own homemade curry paste. A Red Curry Paste, as well as a panang curry paste. They turned out marvelously. I had gotten around to using the Red Curry Paste quite sometime ago when I made Red Thai Duck Curry. It was so good, I was just itching to try the other one. This recipe was the perfect way to test it out.


Pineapple Panang Curry with Prawns:

Panang Prawn Curry with Pineapple
served with Basmati Rice

 

Ingredients:

1  Tbsp.peanut oil
1/4 cup panang curry paste

1 14oz can coconut milk
1 lime (juice)
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. palm sugar (grated, or white or brown sugar)
1 pound shrimp (peeled and deviened)
1 red pepper (sliced)

1/2 cup pineapple, cut into chunks
1 handful peas

1 handful cilantro
1 handful peanuts (roasted and chopped)

Directions:
(1) Heat the oil in a sauce pan.
(2) Add the panang curry paste and saute until fragrant, about a minute.

(3) Add the coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar and simmer for 15-20 minutes to thicken.

(4) Add the shrimp,peas and red pepper. Simmer until the shrimp is cooked, about 5 minutes.

(5) Add the pineapple, cilantro, and peanuts. Remove from heat, and serve over hot Basmati Rice.

You may also like:
Red Thai Duck Curry
Indian Butter Chicken

The Perfect Pad Thai

    I was trying to eat up all the vegetables I didn't get to this past week. Rather than wasting them, I usually toss them into a stirfry of some sort. This time I felt like Shrimp Pad Thai.
    Pad Thai is an all time favourite of mine. I've had it a bunch of times in various restaurants, but I find that they are always to heavy handed with the noodles, and they never put enough of the good stuff in there. Because of this reason I choose to make my own at home. I believe I do a much better job :)
   

Shrimp Pad Thai:

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. tamarind concentrate or tamarind paste dissolved in water
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. palm sugar or brown sugar
2 tsp. chili sauce
1 serving rice noodles
1 Tbsp. peanut oil
1 serving shrimp/chicken/tofu
1 shallot (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
2 Tbsp. roasted peanuts
1/2 cup carrots (julienned, very thinly)
1/2 cup celery (cut on the bias)
1/2 cup red/green pepper ( very thinly sliced)
1 green onion (thinly sliced)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
lime wedges

*Most people use bean sprouts as the main vegetable. I really don't like bean sprouts so I chose to use the vegetables that I had on hand.

Directions:
1) Slice all the vegetables so they are ready to go.
2) Prepare the sauce by combing the tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar, and chili.
3) Quickly scramble the egg.

All the fixin's ready to go. While cooking Thai food,
it comes together quite quickly. It's best to have all
the ingredients prepared and ready to go before
you start cooking

The sauce Makings.
(Tamarind Concentrate, Fish Sauce,
Sambal Oelek(chili sauce), Palm Sugar)

If you're opting to use palm sugar, make
sure you grate, rather than chop it. You
want it to dissolve quickly into the sauce.

4) Cook the noodles according to the package directions.
5) Heat oil in the pan.
6) Add the shrimp, shallots and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.

When the shrimp start to turn pink, it's time
to flip over and cook the other side. They only
take a moment, so be careful not to over cook.

7) Add the sauce and the noodles. Mix and move to the side of the pan.
8) Add the egg, let sit a moment and then mix it in to the noodles.

9)Add the vegetables and let cook for a minute. Combine with the noodles.

10) Add the peanuts, green onion and cilantro. Remove from heat.
11) Serve with lime wedge.

Curry-ously Delicious

    A while ago I found the most delicious looking recipe for a Red Thai Duck Curry on a blog I frequently follow (The Pioneer Woman). I got around to making it for the first time tonight, and it did not disappoint. It had the perfect balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy  very spicy, that you expect to get from eating Thai food. If you are a fan of curry at all, you must try this.
    The recipe calls for a Red Curry Paste. Coincidentally I had hunted down all the ingredients to make this myself on a recent trip to Montreal. Once I made it, I portioned it out and froze it for later use. It kept well, and I used it in tonight's recipe. You can purchase red curry paste already made in the Asian aisle of your supermarket, but the flavor nuances are lack luster in comparison to the homemade product.
    I had also found some beautiful looking duck breasts on the same trip, and couldn't pass on the opportunity to give them a try as well. This recipe originally suggested "pan frying" the breast until cooked. I decided to sear and reduce the fat on top of the breast until it was nothing but a delicious crust (Draining the fat as needed). I then flipped the breast over and transferred the entire oven proof pan to a preheated oven to finish cooking. I cooked the breast to a moist medium well, and let it rest until I was ready to use it on the curry.
   Typically, Thai style curry dishes are paired with an aromatic rice like Basmati or Jasmine. But in my quest to cut calories from an already calorie ridden dish, I replaced the rice with a cauliflower "rice". It added an unexpected "creamy butteriness", that I really enjoyed. As a lover of all rices, I was thinking I would regret my decision to subsitute. But I did not. This recipe has made my top 10 favorites list. I can't wait for Lunch to eat my leftover's.
 

Red Thai Duck Curry

Red Thai Duck Curry on Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

1 whole boneless duck breasts, fat on if desired
2 tbsps. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsps. red curry paste (store bought or homemade)
1 14oz can full fat coconut milk
1 cups hot water
2 tbsps. fish sauce
1-2 tbsps. fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsps. olive oil (additional)
½ whole red onion, sliced
1 whole green or red bell pepper, cored and sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes (I omitted these)
2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (the original recipe used basil)
Jasmine rice cooked (or you can use cauliflower "rice")

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
(2) Wash and dry duck breast. Score the fat on the breast.

(3) Place in a preheated (oven safe) pan, that has been set over medium high heat, fat side down. Cook for several minutes, draining the fat as needed. You will know the fat is finished searing, when it has become crispy and golden brown in color. (Don’t worry about cooking the duck at this point. You just want to give the skin some great color. You will finish cooking in the oven).
(4) When the duck has rendered it's fat and has reached the desired crispness, drain off the remaining fat. Flip the duck breast so it is fat side up. Transfer to the oven for 8- 10 minutes. (8 minutes for med well, 10 minutes for well done).
(5) Once the duck breast has reached it's desired doneness, remove from the oven and let rest.

Let tht duck breast rest for a
few minutes.

Thinly slice the duck breast.

(6) Now, start creating the curry. In a clean saucepan, heat 1 tbsp. of  olive oil. Go ahead and add the minced garlic to the pan. Add red curry paste to the pan and stir. Cook paste for several minutes to release the flavors.

                                                

(7) Pour in the coconut milk, hot water, fish sauce, and minced ginger. Stir and allow to cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Reduce until it reaches a sauce like consistency.

(8) In a second pan, heat the remaining oil over medium high heat. Add sliced onions and bell pepper and cook for a few minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. About 3 to 4 minutes.

(9) Add pineapple and cherry tomatoes. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
(10) Taste the curry sauce, which should be thickened by now. Add more spice if needed.

The sauce is thickened when a ribbon
appears after you scrape the bottom of
your pan with a spatula.

(11) Pour vegetables into the curry sauce. Stir to combine. Set heat to medium low, to keep warm. (Add a little hot water if it seems too thick, or allow to bubble longer if it needs more thickening). Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

(12) At the last minute, stir in the chopped cilantro. Serve curry mixture immediately over a hot bed of rice.

*Yields 2 Large Servings