Khanom Jeen Nam Ya (Fish Curry Noodles)

Typically this is a breakfast or lunch dish in Thailand but if you make it for your evening meal I don’t think anyone will mind! This is typical southern Thai street food and is another of those dishes that can be adapted depending on what is available from the market (or in my case, my local Asian food store) on the day. Don’t feel you have to use the same accompanying vegetables. Eggs, pickled cabbage and stink or wing beans are all popular too.
The basic fish curry is served over soft rice noodles and served alongside a selection of crunchy raw vegetables, herbs and crispy dried chillies. The slippery noodles and soft silky sauce contrast really nicely with the beansprouts and green beans and it is both fiercely hot, fishy and salty but balanced out with rich creamy coconut and pepped up with lots of citrus flavours.
For 3-4 portions use:

• A pack of fresh rice noodles (typically thin ones), separated into individual strands or if using dried, soaked until fully flexible.
• 300g of skinned & boneless fish
• a big splash of fish sauce
• 400ml (a can) of coconut milk
• 200ml of fish ‘stock’ (boiling water left over)
• about 8 kaffir lime leaves, torn up

For the curry paste:

• 2 fingers of fresh turmeric
• 2 fingers of krachai (finger root/galingale)
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• a small handful of dried red chillies (6-12)
• a big knob of galangal
• 3 Thai shallots
• a teaspoon of black peppercorns

And to accompany:

• 2 heaped handfuls of beansprouts
• a handful of green/long beans, chopped into pieces
• a few handfuls of whatever fresh Asian herbs you can get- sweet basil would be ideal (I couldn’t get it) so coriander was used here
• several dried red chillies (lightly toasted to crisp them up)
• several slices of cucumber

Start as ever, by making the paste. Pound up all the ingredients, bit by bit, not putting too much in the mortar at once. Start with the tougher ingredients, working through to the softer ones and keep working away until a smooth red paste is reached- 15/20 mins probably. Pop the paste to one side, you need the mortar again…
While doing this, gently boil the fish in water. If you use pre filleted skinned fish, it’ll not take long, perhaps 10 mins. If you use whole fish, maybe 15 minutes. After boiling, scoop out, straining off any drips of water and spend some time as needed to remove any skin and bones. Keep the fishy water for the next step. Put the prepared fish into the mortar and gently pound it, until you have a smooth paste.
Heat a wok and pour in all the coconut milk, gently heating it through. Add in your newly made curry paste and stir through. Let the curry develop for 5 minutes before adding lime leaves, fish sauce and the pounded fish. Add in some of the fish stock as needed- the curry should still have a fairly thick (yoghurt like) consistency. Cook on low heat for a further five minutes. In the last 5 minutes, heat through the fresh rice noodles in hot water until soft and flexible and drain, plating up alongside your selection of vegetables. Ladle over the nam ya curry.