Weyalan's ocasional curry recipe thread

[Weyalan]

I recently went to a Thai place owned (and run) by a Vietnamise family. Had an amazingly tasty dist,

Panang(sp?) fish I think it was kind of a stew like thing, and omg horking tasty. I wasn't gonna eat the whole meal, but, it was just tooooooooooooooooo tasty.

Here is a pretty autentic recipe for Penaeng curry paste:

Penaeng curry paste

Ingredients

20-25 dried red chillis, shaken to discard the excess seeds.
2 tblsp shallots, chopped (or spring onion, or small brown onions)
2 tblsp garlic, chopped
2 tblsp lemon grass, finely chopped
1 tblsp galangal, grated (use ginger if you can't find galangal)
2 tsp coriander seeds, roasted
2 tblsp coriander root and stem, chopped
1 tblsp shrimp paste
3 tblsp of chopped raw peanuts, roasted.

Method

Mix together to a fine paste in a food processor. The prepared paste should be allowed to mature for a few days in the fridge, before use, to bring out the full flavour. Store in a well sealed jar

Note: You can reduce the number of chillis used if you want a milder curry, but I don't recomend going to less than 12 chillis.

Penaeng curry recipe to follow

[Trademaster]

What kind of Red chilis? and the size of said chilis? how big is they?
Cause I'm thinking if I use thai dragons, that curry is going to be melting cooking pots and such. If I go with say anchos, it's gonna be all kinds of mild.

[Weyalan]

Penaeng pla Simple penaeng fish curry

Ingredients

1 largish fillet of fish (or 2 small fillets), cut into pieces. Note: Use a firm fleshed fish that wont disintegrate during cooking
1 cup coconut milk
2 tblsp garlic, chopped
3-4 tblsp paenang curry paste (see recipe above)
3-4 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tblsp palm sugar (to taste) (raw sugar will do)
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
10-15 holy basil leaves, finely shredded (also known as "thai basil", but ordinary basil will do)
1-2 fresh red chillis, thinly sliced, for garnish (if you are soft, use capsicum instead)

Method
Place a wok over medium high heat, and warm the coconut milk, but don't let it boil. Add the curry paste, and stir it until the oil begins to separate out and form a thin film, to bring out the maximum flavour. Add the remaining ingredients except the fish, lime and basil leaves, and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened. Add the fish and fry/simmer until the fish is almost cooked (5 minutes?) then add the leaves and stir fry briefly before serving. Garnish with red chillies

[Rebis]

The red chillis are dependant on you. The Pacific cultures just call them all chillis, we went crazy and named them. Remember that the heat and the flavor will change the taste, but it is a garnish, so it should be minor.

[Weyalan]

What kind of Red chilis? and the size of said chilis? how big is they?
Cause I'm thinking if I use thai dragons, that curry is going to be melting cooking pots and such. If I go with say anchos, it's gonna be all kinds of mild.

The typical thai chilli is commonly known as "birdseye". It is a smallish chilli - usually only about a 1/2" long, and sort of tear-drop shaped - rounded & smooth (when fresh, not dried, obviously) In terms of hotness, it is what I would describe as "medium heat" i.e. slightly hotter than a jalapeno, but in a similar ballpark.

At the end of the day, TM, its all about making a paste that is of suitable hottness for you (or the people you are feeding). If you use too much chilli and make the paste too hot, you end up having to use using less of the paste, to compensate, therefore not getting enough of the other flavours.

Both the green curry paste and the penaeng curry paste recipes are what I would call "hot", and therefore what most people would probably call "extremely hot". You can obviously tone them down to suit your own palate by either (a) reducing the number of chillis, or (b) using milder chillis. In fact, if you do use less chillis, it is, in my opinion, worth adding a bit of chopped capsicum, just to keep the authentic balance of colours.

Curry pastes are definitely something you need to experiment with to find your own happy place.

[Trademaster]

Hence my question. If we're talking eastern chilis, I'd guess most likely thai dragons. even as little as 20 of 'em is a whole heck of a lot of heat. Those are the nifty chilis that are OMGHOT you find in much of the local "spicy" chinese fare. I like the little buggers myself, lots of heat, so ya only need a little of them, usually one or two peppers pasted for a meal serving 4 is more than enough for most people. (Dunno about dried though, I'd just pick 'em offa the plant and go.)

Edit: Cool thanks for the additional information, looking up "birdseye" now, (they look similar to thai dragons)

[Rebis]

The chilis can be a combination of types of chillis also. Thai Dragons and mix with the sweeter/milder chilis to create a paste could create a good flavor. Keep with the eastern chillis at the moment. A chipotle, negra pasilla, habenero or jalepeno would drastically change the flavor.

[Rebis]

Rebis will now insert a simple spicy recipe that is sadly not a curry.

Nigerian Heat Kabobs

Serves 4

Needed equipment: barbeque grill, 1 large bowl, 1 large ziploc sack, several skewers (if wooden, soak in water for several hours)

Ingredients:

1 can of beer (your preference, I am snobbish so I go for a bottle of Fat Tire or whatever I am drinking at the moment)
8 ounces of beef chopped into 1 inch cubes (make sure it is tender enough for grilling, you don't want to chew on the beef for hours after cooking)
1 to 2 ounces of cruched peanuts
1 ounce of red pepper flakes (if you want to kill yourself replace the flakes with cayenne powder, specifically African cayenne)

Process
-trim the fat off the beef and cut into cubes (doesn't have to be exact, just big enough to fit on a skewer and not turn into charcoal in five minutes on the grill
-put the meat in the bowl and pour the bottle/can of beer on the meat. Store in a the fridge for 30 minutes.
-drain the beer off (it is no longer drinkable, so don't contemplate that)
-put the meat in the zip-lock with the peanuts and red pepper
-seal and shake the bag to make sure all is covered
-remove the meat and put on the skewers (note: make sure to wash your hands immediately after or else you will be gifted with a new brand of pain after going to the toilet or scratching your eye)
-cook the meat on the grill, sear it with direct heat and cook it to desired doneness by indirect heat. It should be medium well in less that ten minutes or else your grill is too cold (this can be done in the over, but the flavor will be slightly different.

Serve hot and enjoy.

This is a nice appetizer on a hot summer day and could be used as a garnish for a simple green salad.

[Trademaster]

As an aside, the Birdseye chilis can run up to 175,000 Scoville heat units, thai dragons up to 150,000. I'm thinking it's time to check on my thumb coloring again.

Thanks for the fish recipe, I'll prolly poke around a touch and modify it some, add some veggies and such. Gonna have to check on the carb content for coconut milk. might be something I can actually eat on a regular basis. How long does the curry pastes last in the fridge? Are they freezable? Would it be incentive enough to maybe convince the 'Trarys to visit with some bbq sauce? How's it travel? Say like 12 hours in a car driving easterlyish toward the Kansas/Missouri state line?

[Weyalan]

Thanks for the recipe, Rebis - simple & spicy - i'll give it a try!

TM: Its all about modifying to suit... the recipe I gave was pretty basic, so go for your life and feel free to post your results here. The curry paste, in a clean airtight jar should last for a month or more in a fridge. You can freeze it, in which case it will last for probably 3-6 months... but if you are gonna freeze, freeze it in small portions (i.e. enough for 1 dish), so you don't end up thawing & refreezing and thawing and refreezing.

[Weyalan]

Onion bhaji

Ingredients:

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
4 medium sized onions, roughly chopped
1-2 green chillis, finely chopped (remove seeds if you want a milder experience)
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger finely chopped or grated
200g (8oz) gram flour (besan/chickpea flour)
100g (4oz) rice Flour
½ tsp baking Powder
1 tsp garam masala
¼ tsp chilli powder (vary to taste)
2 tsps ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
water

Method

Finely chop one of the Onions and the Green Chilli. Sieve the Gram and Rice Flour into a large bowl and add the garam masala, chilli Powder, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Now add the finely chopped Onion and Chilli. Slowly add water, whilst stirring the mixture, until you get a thick batter. Now, coarsely chop the remaining 4 Onions and add them to the batter. Mix well, and leave to stand for 10-minutes. Heat a Deep Fat Fryer to 190C, carefully lower golf ball sized Bhaji’s, 3 or 4 at a time into the oil. Remove when crisp and brown. Note: you can use a Wok with very hot oil instead of deep fat fryer. In this instance, flatten the bhaji using a spatula when placing in the oil and fry one side completely before turning over. Serve with mint chutney (see recipe earlier in this thread) and/or raita.

[Weyalan]

Nasi Goreng (simple Indonesian fried rice)

Ingredients

1lb cold cooked rice (i.e. cook the rice a few hours in advance), preferably jasmine
2 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 shallots, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, and chopped
2 - 4 red chilies, sliced
1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste
1 1/2 tablespoons kejap manis (sweet thick soy sauce)
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
1 cup of whatever leftover meat you have available, such as chicken, prawns, pork, beef, etc. chopped into small pieces as necessary
1/2 a cup of greens such as caggage or bok choi, chopped
Salt to taste
Sliced cucumber and tomato to garnish

Method

Gently stir the cold rice with a fork to separate the grains. Lightly grease a non-stick pan with a few drops of oil and fry the egg to make a thin omelet. Cool then slice/shred into small strips

Heat remaining oil in a wok and fry the shallots, onion, garlic, chillis and shrimp paste until soft. If you are using other ingredients such as prawns or chicken, add now and stir-fry until almost cooked.
Increase the heat to maximum and add the rice, fish and soy sauce, tomato paste, & cabbage, stirring constantly until well mixed and heated through. Serve garnished with the shredded omelet, cucumber and tomatoes.

N.B. To make rice:
1 cup of rice (jasmine or basmati)
1.6 cups of cold water
salt (to taste)

Rinse the rice a couple of times to remove starch. Place in a heavy bottomed pan with a well fitting lid, add water and salt. Bring to the boil on a haighish eat, stirring occasionally. When rice comes to the boil, cover with the lid (it really must fit well, to minimise the escape of steam), place a weight on the lid (I use an upside-down pot with a cast iron stewepot on top of that. Reduce heat to very low and cook for 25 minutes. Remove from heat (still with lid on) and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before serving (or, if you are making nasi goreng, allow to stand for a couple of hours)

P.S. I have no idea if 1 cup of rice will make 1 lb. The quantity of rice is relatively unimportant, but the proportion of rice to water is crucial. I use my favourite coffee mug and that makes enough rice for 3 hungry people.... use your judgement.

['Trary]

Hey Wey, got any suggestions for my dhal? When I cook it, no matter now low the heat is, the lentils tend to lose their shape and turn mushy.

Still tastes good but the presentation is lacking.

Advise me!

[Weyalan]

Try using different types of lentils. The most common red (orange, actually) lentils are probably the most prone to mushiness. Yellow split peas can also have a similar tendency. I like to use "chana dal", which comes from the chick-pea family... these are a really tasty lentil and tend to hold together pretty well. You can also use green or brown lentils - these tend to stay together well because they come with their outer shell still on (you cook them whole). I am less partial to these lentils myself, but thats just personal taste.

[Indi]

I created a curry recipe last night...I think I still need to add sliced almonds and possibly some golden raisins, and I need to take some of the sweetness out.

more or less it's:
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into smaller pieces

Then on top of the chicken and all the 'sauce', I added:
1 cup milk
1T dijon mustard
1T honey
1tsp curry powder
1tsp garlic paste
pinch garlic flakes
salt
pepper

I reduced the sauce a tiny bit, then covered and simmered for an hour.

soon to be added:
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins, finely chopped

It still tastes a little sweet. I didn't have red peppers, but I do have cayenne, I was afraid to add it though because I didn't want it to be a bad combo. Any suggestions on how to take the sweet away? Should I run out and get the Birdseye peppers?