Karipap Gai (Chicken Curry Puff)

Today's post is a substantial hike in the difficulty levels! Normally I try and make dishes that are easy to follow and make but Karipaps (Curry Puffs) are particularly difficult, or the pastry is at least. As you might be able to see it's a multi-layer puff pastry that is folded in such a way that ends up with an open spiral-like finish. This is the first time I've ever tackled anything like this so it really was a challenge but with a bit of practise, hopefully you can manage it too.

The filling is a fairly simple chicken and potato curry-at least that part is easy to do!

The pastry involves making two lots of dough, both slightly different mixes.

For 8 curry puffs, you'll need:

For the Inner Dough:

• 120g plain flour
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

For the Outer Dough:

• 300g plain flour
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup water (you may not need all of it)
• big pinch salt
• big pinch sugar

For the Curry Filling:

• 4 small/2 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 2 cm squared cubes and pre-boiled for 3-4 minutes
• 2-3 chicken thighs, cut into 2 cm squared pieces
• 1 small onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• a big pinch salt
• vegetable oil for frying

Start by making the filling, as it'll need to be cool by the time you make the doughs.

Heat a small splash of vegetable oil in a pan until hot, then fry the onions until softened. 

Add in the chicken pieces, frying until cooked; about 2-3 minutes. Pop in the spices and salt and mix well. 

Gently add in the cooked potato, stir everything well and cook for a couple minutes more. Leave to cool while you make the pastry...

Make the inner dough

Pour the oil into the flour, it'll quickly and easily make breadcrumbs and then with a little further squeezing and kneading will become a smooth, oily dough. Divide into 8 equal balls (each will be about golf ball size).

Make the outer dough

Put the sugar and salt into the flour, add the oil as before, using your fingertips to make 'breadcrumbs'- this will be a dry mix at this stage. Slowly add in the water bit by bit, kneading gently to bring the dough together. You do not want a dry crumbly dough, it needs to hold together so add enough water to make sure you've got a smooth, pliable dough that will hold itself together.

Divide the outer dough into 8 equal sized balls and use a rolling pin to roll them into a flat circle.

No need to leave the dough to rest, lets move straight on to the rolling....

Making the pastry...

Work on an oiled work surface or board to make life a lot easier for yourself.

Place a ball of the inner dough into the middle of a flat circle of outer dough and fold and squeeze the outer dough around the inner dough ball so it's fully encased. Repeat for the rest of the dough. You now have 8 enclosed dough balls.

Take one of the enclosed dough balls and roll it flat rolling only forwards and backwards- you want a long, narrow 0 shape to the dough, as thin as you can get it.

Loosening the dough from the work surface, roll it up like a cigar, rolling away from yourself (open rolled ends are to your left and right)

Pick up the rolled dough and turn it 90 degrees (an open rolled end is facing you). Use the rolling pin to roll out the dough, like we did at the beginning, into a long narrow 0 shape. Again, use your hands to roll it up like a cigar (or sausage roll!) pushing it away from you before turning it 90 degrees.

Rinse and repeat... 

Altogether I did 3 cycles of rolling out, cigar rolling and turning. As long as you do the same actions each time and turn the dough in the same direction you'll be fine.

On the final cigar roll, smooth the roll off, smoothing the ends into the dough as much as possible and gently manipulate into a more even roll. Cut this roll into 8 equal slices, leaving you with something resembling the picture above.

Give yourself a well deserved pat on the back!!

Filling & Cooking

Heat a deep fat fryer or heavy pan of vegetable oil while you start to fill the dough. Yes more oil, these are not healthy snacks!!

Take one of the dough slices, placed flat on the work surface and roll flat with the rolling pin straight down on top of the layers, again, aiming for an elongated '0' shape. As you roll, you'll see the layers start to stretch and open up. Aim to get the dough quite thin, about 5mm is ideal.

Lift up the rolled dough and place a tablespoon of the cooled curry filling into the inside, fold both halves of the dough together and pinch and twist the edges to seal it tightly.

Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.

Cooking in batches, deep fry for 6-8 minutes until crispy and light brown.

Serve with pickled cucumber/chilli/shallot (known as ajaad- click for the recipe) to help cut through the rich pastry.

Fall into a heap!!

Haw Mok (Fish Custard)

I have vague memories of first making these when I was just discovering Thai food aged about 15 or 16. I don't even remember where I managed to get hold of the banana leaves or if they even turned out okay. Two decades later, it's high time I paid a return visit to Haw Mok.

Fish custard isn't the most appealing sounding name, perhaps a better way to describe haw mok is to say red curry flavoured savoury mousse. You end up with a bouncy textured dense mousse, that is rich with coconut milk and the banana leaf cups adds a hint of smoky fragrance.

I strongly suggest that you spend a bit of time fiddling around with the banana leaves first, learning how to form them into cups. The classic way to hold them together is with cocktail sticks but this wasn't working for me so I've used a trusty stapler to hold them together- if you do this; please be aware of them when serving to others as there is a risk of loose staples getting into the mousse mixture. The banana leaf cups are just to cook and serve in, they aren't edible.

Aim to make about 6-8 cups. To form them, I cut out 4 identical circles of banana leaf about 10cm in diameter each (trim off the the tough edges of the leaf first) before overlapping the centre of all four circles and folding and stapling them until I had a flat bottomed cup. It takes some practice sorry!

However, once you've mastered making the cups, the rest is incredibly easy to do.

This recipe makes 6-8 haw mok, using:

• 3-4 banana leaves (prepared as above)- you can often get them frozen in Asian or Carribean shops
• 2 fillets of white fish, skinned and cut into large chunks
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• 2 eggs
• a few leaves of chinese cabbage or other green cabbage, rolled and very finely shredded
• 1 can of coconut milk (a 400ml one), shake before opening to mix
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a big pinch of sugar
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves, rolled up and finely shredded
• 1 large red chilli, sliced
• a teaspoon of rice flour or just plain flour

Set a steamer/colander with a lid over a large pan of water and bring to the boil.

Place a small amount of shredded cabbage in the bottom of each banana leaf cup.

In a food processor, whizz up the fish, curry paste, fish sauce, eggs, sugar, and 250ml of the coconut milk until well blended. You should now have a very thick mixture, resembling cake batter in texture.

Place the banana leaf cups into the steamer and carefully divide this mixture amongst the cups- don't overfill them.

Place over the boiling water, pop a lid on and steam for 15-20 minutes until completely set. If you're not sure, poke with a skewer; it should come out clean. 

In a small bowl, mix the remaining coconut milk and the flour. Drizzle a small bit of this over the cooking haw mok and replace the lid, steaming for a final few minutes.

To serve, sprinkle over some shredded kaffir lime leaf and a few sliced chillies. The haw mok should easily pull away from the banana leaf. Serve with rice for a full meal.

Khao Pad Gaeng Kiew Wan (Green Curry Fried Rice)

After a rather busy last few days for me I'm ready to get back writing again, It's been my birthday weekend and we decided to take a trip down to see my parents near the south coast. We ended up having an impromptu night in Brighton, a full on day in London (involving a rapid trip to Brick Lane for Indian food supplies, amongst other things, a days walking in the Ashdown Forest and an equally full on day getting gooey-eyed at the amazing Bodleian Library and various colleges during a stop off in Oxford before the long drive back to Lancashire.

It's taken another couple of days getting back in the swing of things but I've finally found time to post this recipe for Khao Pad Gaeng Kiew Wan (Green curry fried rice). Now we're well into April it's now getting so much easier to take photos again as there is still daylight when I'm cooking, Long way it continue!

Like the last recipe I posted (Chicken stir fried with ginger) this is also a common restaurant dish found here in the UK. The red curry paste version is equally common. If you're not in the mood for sharing a bowl of curry or you need to take a portion for the next day, this fried rice version is definitely the easy option and dare I say it, preferable to the usual curry.

It still has all the same flavours that you would expect from a green curry, just in a neater package.

For two large portions use:

• 2 cups of cooked, cold rice (ideally cooked yesterday)
• a tablespoon of green curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• 2/3 skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into cubes (i've also used up some pre-fried tofu pieces cut into small cubes)
• your choice of crunchy vegetables, cut into inch long pieces- I've used baby corn, green beans and pea aubergines
• a small handful of Thai sweet basil (or tarragon as a substitute- never Mediterranean basil!!)
• 1/2 can of coconut milk
• a big splash of fish sauce
• a big pinch of sugar
• 4/5 limes leaves, finely shredded
• 4/5 small red chillies or 1 large, finely sliced
• (optional) a few stalks of green peppercorns

In a large wok, heat the coconut milk until it bubbles, add in the green curry paste and stirring regularly, fry for a few minutes until you can see some oil separating.

Pop in the chicken and cook in the sauce until nearly cooked (2/3 minutes). 

Add in the seasonings- lime leaf, sugar, fish sauce, then the crunchy vegetables, cook for 3/4 minutes until they lose their rawness but not soft.

It should still resemble a very thick green curry at this stage- now tip in the rice and gently mix so everything gets well coated in the sauce. there will no longer be any obvious sauce.

Mix through the basil leaves, chillies and (if using) green peppercorns. Sprinkle over any remaining chillies, shreds of lime leaf or Thai basil for decoration.

Gaeng Som Cha Om (Sour Curry with Acacia Omelette)

Gaeng Som must be one of the few 'curries' I've yet to touch on; my preference for Northern and Central Thai cuisine means I often overlook dishes from South Thailand, perhaps unfairly. To this end today's recipe and the next will focus on southern Thai food.

Gaeng Som is more soup like than other curries and has a simple and aromatic paste making it an easy dish to pull off. It's sourness comes from a combination of tamarind paste and lime juice. Any combination of crunchy vegetables can feature in a gaeng som but keeping it traditional, I've just used bamboo shoots. A popular addition; acacia omelette (kai jeow cha om) helps to provide a pleasing textural contrast and soaks up some of the broth.

For 4 small bowls use:

• 200g peeled prawns
• 200g of drained and rinsed bamboo shoots, sliced
• 50ml of taramind concentrate
• juice of 1 lime
• small handful of peeled Thai shallots
• small handful of dried red chillies
• 4 or 5 fingers of krachai (galingale) chopped
• 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste
• 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• a big splash of fish sauce

and for the accompanying acacia omelette follow this recipe

Begin by making the acacia (cha om) omelette, cutting it into squares and keeping warm while you make the curry.
Make the curry paste by pounding the dried red chillies, shallots, shrimp paste and krachai in a mortar, working it until you have a well blended red paste. The krachai will be one of the predominant flavours of the dish whilst the chillies give it it's orangey/red colour.
Boil the chicken stock in a large pan and pop in all the prepared paste, mixing well. Turn down the heat to a simmer.
Add in the bamboo shoots and cook for 2 minutes, then add in the tamarind and fish sauces.
Next in go the prawns- 3 minutes or so for raw, 1-2 for pre-cooked.
Finally squeeze in the lime juice, give everything a final quick stir and stir with freshly cooked rice.
Serve the acacia omelette both in and on the side of your gaeng som.

Gaeng Pa Moo (Pork Jungle Curry)

Like any recipe, over time you make amendments and adaptations, you find better ways to make a dish or variety of ingredients that have a better 'fit' and are truer to the authentic version of a dish.

This is one such recipe- way, way back in June 2014, jungle curry was one of the first recipes I put up on my blog- click here for beef jungle curry. However, despite being my favourite type of Thai curry, it was always one I felt I couldn't quite do justice to and wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. Over the last couple of years I've been fiddling with both the way the curry is cooked and the ingredients. 

Jungle curry, is a northern Thai curry, heavy on the vegetables, typically one of the hotter Thai curries and is made without coconut milk. If you like spicy hot, herbal flavours with lots of crunchy textures, you'll love Gaeng Pa. It's very easy to do. It's also easily adaptable to be a vegetarian dish- just add more of the meaty king oyster mushrooms and substitute the fish sauce for a big pinch of salt.

So may I present the upgraded- Gaeng Pa Moo (Pork jungle curry)...

This make four portions:

• 300g of lean pork, sliced thinly
• 5 baby corn cobs, cut into chunks
• a small handful of green beans, cut into chunks
• a large handful bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed
• 2 king oyster mushrooms, cut into wedges
• a large handful of pea aubergines/eggplants
• a large red chilli, sliced
• 3 fingers of krachai (finger root), finely shredded
• a tablespoon of green peppercorns
• a handful of holy basil (or sweet basil- but NOT Mediterranean basil!!)
• a few kaffir lime leaves, ripped into small pieces
• a large tablespoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• 300ml of meat stock
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a small pinch of palm sugar (or light brown sugar)

• Heat the stock in a pan (no wok needed for this recipe) until simmering. Add in the pork; it's thinly sliced so will cook quickly, in around 2 minutes. 
• Add in the red curry paste and stir until thoroughly mixed into the stock. 
• Add in the lime leaves and krachai strips, which will start to infuse into the broth. 
• Next pop in the chunkier vegetables; green beans, pea aubergines, baby corn cobs and bamboo shoots, let them cook down for a few minutes then add in the king oyster mushrooms, green peppercorns, sugar and fish sauce. 
• Cook for a few more minutes, stirring every so often; the vegetables should still retain some crunch. 
• Just before serving, stir in the basil and chilli slices and serve with rice.

Choo Chee Pla (Fish in Thick Red Curry Sauce)

Wow, I've been away for a long time again and for that I can only apologise. Those of you who saw my last post will know I'd been rather ill, had lost my appetite and wasn't really cooking, hence putting up a post from before I got the lurgy. You'll hopefully be pleased to know that the 2nd round of antibiotics have done their job and I'm now hungry and have most definitely taken over the running of the kitchen again!!

Choo Chee Pla is a dish that has been on my to do list for quite a long time now, there are certainly some similarities with Penang curry - they're both thick, creamy coconut based dishes, predominantly sweet and mild in heat. The main difference is choo chee uses a red curry paste rather than massaman and is always a fish/seafood based one. For convenience and presentation, I've chosen to use fish fillets but whole fish can also be used. For texture (and mostly indulgence) I've chosen to lightly batter and deep fry the fish; not an essential for choo chee; but very nice!

I like to eat this with lots of fresh sweet basil leaves, white rice and something tangy like a som tam salad to cut through the richness.

For two people use:

• 2 large fish fillets cut in half (I've used basa/river cobbler- yes I know it has poor credentials but it's robust and holds up well when deep frying)
• a large handful of plain flour
• 400ml of good coconut milk eg Chakoh or Aroy-D
• a level tablespoon of red curry paste (Mae Ploy is what I always use)
• a large splash of fish sauce
• a large pinch of palm or light brown sugar
• 5 or 6 kaffir lime leaves, rolled and shredded finely
• optionals to serve- sliced large red chilli & Thai sweet basil leaves 
• vegetable oil for deep frying

Heat the oil for deep frying to around 180 degrees celcius. Pat the fish pieces dry with kitchen paper and dust in the plain flour before placing gently in the oil, fry until a light golden brown and crisp (around 5-8 minutes depending on the size). I did mine in two batches so as not to overcrowd the fryer.

While the fish fries, make the sauce. Heat a dry wok and when hot, add in the coconut milk. Allow the milk to bubble away, reduce and the oils to start making their way out- this should take about four to five minutes. Stir gently to help it along.

Next pop in the red curry paste and mix well for several minutes until fully blended and the red oils start to float to the top of the sauce. Add in the fish sauce and sugar, stir well.

Drain the fried fish on kitchen paper before putting on your serving plate, pour over the sauce, sprinkle over the lime leaves and serve up with chillies and sweet basil. Don't leave it hanging around too long so the fish stays crisp.

Gaeng Taipo Pla (Morning Glory & Fish Curry)

Hi there everyone, firstly I hope you've had a lovely Christmas and/or some time off to relax and spend with friends and family. Let me start by apologising for my absence. I would love to say I've been having wild parties and gorging on food for the last 10 days or so but that isn't the case; in fact Christmas more or less has been thrown out of the window this year. I've been incredibly sick with a clostridium difficile infection, which developed after a course of antibiotics. I'm not home and dry yet but after a week of being rather poorly, I am starting to feel more human and am eating again. I'm also currently banned from the kitchen while infectious and on a very light diet; although am trying some Khao Man Gai (fatty chicken rice) tonight.

What with the floods/clean ups and power cuts and now this horrible bug it feels like I've been away for long enough, so it's high time to get blogging again.

This is a recipe I made a couple of weeks back that was planned during the time we had the floods; remember the swordfish I had to throw away? The week after, I bought some less expensive, but delicious steaks of hake and finally made the curry I had planned; Gaeng Taipo Pla.

It reminded me of some of the dishes we ate while we were in Malaysia in the summer, there's certainly a lot of common ingredients. It's a nice easy one to do and if you're sick of turkey and meat right now as a lot of us are after the Christmas festivities, it's a great dish- hot, sour, pungent and healthy with lots of crunchy morning glory.

For two people use:

• Two fish steaks (I used hake but any firm fish will work well)
• A very big handful of morning glory, trim off ends then cut into inch long pieces
• 200ml or 1/2 a can of coconut milk + water to make up to 400ml
• 75ml of tamarind concentrate
• A level tablespoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• A big splash of fish sauce
• A walnut sized chunk of palm sugar/ light brown sugar
• Juice of a large lime
• A few lime leaves, ripped up into small pieces

Heat the coconut milk in a wok over a reasonably high heat, gently stirring every now and again until the oils begin to separate from the coconut milk. When they do, add in the red curry paste and fry until well mixed, fragrant and the red oils can be seen. Now pop in the fish sauce, tamarind, sugar and lime leaves along with the additional 200ml water. After all are well mixed, gently pop in the fish steaks and let them slowly cook in the sauce, carefully turning over if needed after a few minutes to allow the fish to cook fully.

When you are happy the fish is cooked, use a slotted spoon or fish slice to carefully lift the fish out and put briefly to one side. Back to the pan of bubbling curry, add in the lime juice and morning glory, stirring well, cooking for only a minute or so until the morning glory is just wilted. 

Serve the curry with a fish steak on top along with freshly cooked white rice.

Gaeng Om Gai (Herbal Chicken Curry)

Gaeng Om is the ultimate meal if you are feeling under the weather, if you're eating light and fresh or it's dark, cold and raining outside. It's light but filling, fresh tasting but complex and is versatile and quick to make. It's also not exactly a curry (though it does start with a paste) and is more broth like so it can be eaten with rice or alone as a soup. Like other northern Thai dishes (jungle curry, hanglay/northern curry) it doesn't use any coconut milk.

For 3-4 portions, use:

• 2 large lemongrass stalks, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 3 red chillies, chopped
• a chunk of galangal, finely chopped

• a small handful of lime leaves, ripped up
• a few dried red chillies
• 2 small chicken breasts/ 4 thighs, trimmed of fat and sliced into thin pieces
• a handful each of dill and Thai sweet basil
• 3 spring onions, chopped in a few pieces
• 3 or 4 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
• a large splash of fish sauce
• 300ml of chicken stock

Start by making a paste of the first 5 ingredients by pounding them up in a mortar. It'll take some time (10-15) but stick with it and you should have a fairly smooth paste by the end of it.

Heat half the chicken stock in a large pan and add the paste, heat until fragrant and some of the rawness is cooked out. Next add the chicken and mushrooms and cook for around 10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Next in goes the dried chillies, lime leaves and fish sauce and the remainder of the stock; the consistency you're looking for should be broth like, rather than curry sauce so add a little more water if needed, or reduce down if it's a bit too watery. When the gaeng om has reached the desired thickness, add in the spring onions and herbs... 

(The observant among you will notice I haven't used Thai basil but tarragon; unfortunately there was none to be found when I made my gaeng om and tarragon is the best substitute to my mind with its anise flavour- never mediterranean basil which so many UK restaurants resort to- ugh)...

Back to it- once the herbs and spring onions have gone in, you can turn off the heat and simply stir them through the broth, they'll wilt quickly. Serve either with rice or a big spoon and feel gaeng oms healthiness sink in!

Gai Pad Pong Karee (Chicken Fried with Curry Powder)

Soft chicken and egg pieces, a few crunchy vegetables and a mild yellow curry powder stir fry served over rice; this is great comfort food, just what you want on an autumn evening. 

As far as stir frys go, this is a great one as you won’t need to look hard for the ingredients (apart from possibly the nam prik pao- roasted chilli paste) and you can be eating it in around 20 minutes. It’s another classic Thai street food dish (although it’s often made into a luxury version by being served with crab or other seafood). Evaporated milk (although not a common ingredient in savoury recipes in the UK anymore) still crops up in Thai food quite regularly (such as tom kha gai soup) and is interchangeable with coconut milk (though obviously will give a less sweet flavour whilst still retaining the right creaminess). Mild curry powder gives it it’s bright yellow colour and makes it popular for little ones too.

For 4 portions use:

• 6 medium sized chicken thighs (skinned, boned and trimmed of fat), cut into small pieces
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 100ml of evaporated milk
• a heaped dessertspoon of nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste)
• a heaped dessertspoon of mild curry powder
• a large handful of crunchy veggies (I used some green beans and green/yellow bell peppers)
• 1 onion, sliced
• a few red chillies, chopped into a few bits (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a big splash of oyster sauce
• vegetable oil for frying

Prepare the sauce first as it’ll all get poured in together- mix in a bowl the eggs, evaporated milk, nam prik pao, curry powder, soy sauce and oyster sauce. This will make things much quicker and easier.

In a wok, heat the oil until reasonably hot and stir fry the garlic for a few seconds before you add in the onion. The onion needs a minute just to soften, we’re not looking for colour. Now add the chicken. Cook the chicken until it’s more or less completely white and cooked through. Toss in the rest of the veggies and stir fry for a further minute then pour in the sauce. It’ll take a few minutes but as the egg cooks you’ll get something that resembles a lightly scrambled texture; i.e some solid and fluffy bits and still a little liquid- that’s the consistency you want. Don’t worry about it looking slightly curdled- that’s how it’s meant to be!!

Serve over hot fluffy rice and enjoy- this dish is like having an warm blanket wrapped around you.

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.

Gaeng Hed Fang (Straw Mushroom Curry)

Sometimes you just want a simple, healthy, quick to make dish. This was just a it- a quick mushroom and bamboo shoot ‘curry’ with lots of herbal flavours. Satisfying and comforting, it would be a great cold weather dish. I’m a big fan of texture in food and this was lovely, crunchy bamboo shoots contrasting with the slippery mushrooms.
This is northern Thai cuisine and starts with a simplified red curry paste. It has predominantly a salty/sour/hot flavour and if you don’t want it to be vegetarian/vegan, you can definitely add some meat into the mix.
For two people use:

• A drained tin of straw mushrooms, halved
• 150g or thereabouts of drained sour bamboo shoots (or use regular plus the juice of half a lime) cut into strips/small pieces
• a big handful of Thai sweet basil (bai horapha) leaves
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 100ml of stock
• a big splash of light soy (or fish sauce if not needed to be vegan/veggie)
• a small amount of vegetable oil for frying

For the paste, pound together:

• 1 lemongrass stalk (peeled and chopped first)
• 5 dried red chillies, ripped up
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4/5 shallots, peeled and chopped
• a big pinch of salt

Heat the oil in a wok and when hot, briefly fry off the paste for 30 seconds or before adding the stock and soy (or fish) sauce. Pop in the bamboo shoots and mushrooms and let it reduce a little (say 5 minutes).
Just before serving, sprinkle in the basil leaves and spring onions.

Moo Khua Kling (Dry Roasted Curry)

 I Had a break from Thai food over the weekend and as a late birthday treat sampled some amazing Japanese/Danish hybrid food at Sticks n Sushi in Greenwich. We couldn’t decide what to pick from their vast menu so went for the lazy option; basically tell the server your budget and they pick for you! We sampled tataki, rice crispie shrimp tempura two ways (whole and with avocado in rolls), black sesame and truffle crispy cauliflower, salmon sahimi, tuna, pork and steak yakitori. The quality of the ingredients and the imaginative way they were served was amazing!
Anyway, since we’ve just arrived back, Moo Khua Kling is a perfect dish to cook as it’s really quick to make and doesn’t need many ingredients. It’s not really a curry at all, as it’s a dry dish though it is stir fried in red curry paste. It’s a Southern Thai dish and like most Southern dishes packs some serious heat. It’s traditional not to add vegetables to the dish but to serving cooling ones alongside.
For two people use:

• 350g minced pork
• a level tablespoon of red curry paste
• a ‘finger’ of fresh turmeric, if available, or a heaped teaspoon of powder
• 8-10 kaffir lime leaves, spine removed, rolled and shredded fine
• a large red chilli, or 4/5 small red, sliced
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• optional vegetables (cucumber, green cabbage, lettuce etc.)

Bash the fresh turmeric (if using) into a paste in a mortar then mix the turmeric (fresh or powdered) with the red curry paste. Use a non stick wok to dry fry the meat over a high heat until fully cooked and any water has evaporated. Add in the curry paste and mix thoroughly, cooking for a couple of minutes until fragrant and even coloured. Throw in the fish sauce, chilli slices and lime leaves, leaving some back for decoration if you want to. Cook until dry (1 minute or so) then serve with the cooling vegetables.

Gaeng Penang Moo (Pork Penang Curry)

It’s been an exciting week in our house; not least, today is my 30th birthday! For the last two nights I’ve eaten out; Thai (of course) on Tuesday night and Malaysian last night. I’ve been exploring Malaysian food a little more recently as we’re due to go on holiday to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in a couple of months and I want to get to grips with the cuisine a bit more beforehand. I got some lovely birthday presents but two in particular have got me very excited. The first from my wonderful husband (you’re looking at the results) a new macro lens for my camera meaning I can get even more detail and depth of field in my pictures and secondly a private photo tour of some of Kuala Lumpur’s wet/dry markets. I can’t wait!
In honour of my forthcoming trip to Malaysia (but obsession with Thai food) today I have made a Penang curry- very thick creamy sauce, nutty, mild in taste and quite sweet; not my usual choice but really indulgent and a lovely birthday tea!
For two portions use:

• 400g lean pork, sliced thin
• 400ml (1 can) coconut milk (keep a little back to drizzle over)
• a tablespoon of Massaman curry paste (I used Aroy- D)
• half teaspoon of shrimp paste (I added it as there wasn’t any in the curry paste- if your paste has it already, skip this)
• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
• a tablespoon of palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
• a small handful of peanuts, crushed
• 5/6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
• a handful of sweet basil leaves
• 1 large red chilli, sliced

In a wok heat the coconut milk (save some back for drizzling over the finished dish). Cook until it starts reducing, bubbling and oils begin to rise. Stir every now and again so it doesn’t stick/burn. Add the curry paste and (if using) shrimp paste, cook and stir well for severeal minutes until mixed together and thick in consistency. Throw in the pork, fish sauce, sugar, nuts and lime leaves and stir,coating everything in the sauce until fully cooked (about 5 minutes). Stir though most of the basil leaves and serve. Sprinkle over the chilli slices, spare basil leaves and drizzle over the remaining coconut milk.

Gaeng Hang Lay (Northern Curry)

I’ve been enjoying exploring some of Thailand’s lesser known curries recently. Green and red are so popular here in the UK, with Massaman, Penang and Jungle following behind somewhere. Along with the recipes I’ve posted recently for Gaeng Kari (Indian style curry) and Khao Soi (Burmese style curried noodles) I feel there are still some amazing Thai curries that need better representation here in the UK, Gaeng Hanglay is one of them. It’s a dish from the north of Thailand, and like another northern curry, Gaeng Pha (jungle curry) it doesn’t use coconut milk. It shares ingredients from both Burmese and Indian cuisines. As there are a few stages to making this curry, it does take a bit of time, around 3 hours altogether, but it is definitely worth it.


This recipe gives three big portions or four small ones:


For the hang lay spice mix:

Toast the following spices in a dry frying pan until starting to brown (but not burn!) then grind in a pestle and mortar:

• a heaped teaspoon of Szechwan peppercorns


• 6 dried red chillies


• a heaped tablespoon of coriander seeds


• a heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds


• ½ nutmeg, crumbled


• a heaped tablespoon of powdered turmeric

For the pickled garlic use:

• a bulb of garlic, peeled


• a pinch of sugar


• a pinch of salt


• a big splash of white wine/ rice wine vinegar


• a splash of water.

Mix everything and leave to pickle for at least an hour. This will keep for a week at least.


For the curry paste:

Pound up all these ingredients in a pestle and mortar, start with the tougher ingredients and add the spice powder and shrimp paste (if using last). It’ll take a while but pestle and mortar does give the best results:

• a tablespoon of your hang lay spice mix


• 3 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed, outer layer peeled off and finely chopped


• ½ red onion, roughly chopped


• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped


• a finger sized piece of galangal, roughly chopped


• a few pieces of fresh turmeric, roughly chopped (use a tablespoonful of dried if you can’t get fresh)


• a heaped teaspoon of shrimp paste (leave out if you don’t have access to an Asian supermarket.

For the curry use:

• 300g of pork, cubed. I used pork loin but left the fat on


• about 20 Thai shallots/ regular shallots are fine too, peeled but left whole


• a handful of peanuts


• a large piece of ginger, peeled and cut into strands


• your pickled garlic + a big splash of the pickling liquid


• the rest of your hang lay spice mix


• a big splash of dark soy sauce


• a big splash of fish sauce


• a big splash of tamarind juice (use lime if you can’t get tamarind)


• water  as needed


• a big pinch of sugar


• a small splash of vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl, start by mixing together the meat, curry paste and dark soy sauce, letting it marinate for an hour or more, if you have time.

In the meantime, toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan, when they have brown edges, turn them out and leave for later.

When the meat has marinaded, heat the oil in a wok or heavy frying pan. When it’s hot, add in the meat and fry to seal the meat and render out some of the fat. After 5 minutes of cooking, add in the shallots and fry for another few minutes before adding in the pickled garlic and juice, peanuts and ginger. Give everything a good stir then add in the rest of the spice mix. Stir again before adding the fish sauce, tamarind and the sugar. Slowly add in water until you can only just see the tops of the ingredients poking out before leaving the curry to simmer for at least an hour. From time to time, give the curry a stir and check the water level; adding more if needed. The pork should be soft and the sauce shouldn’t be too thin when it’s ready.

Serve with fluffy or sticky rice.

Gaeng Kari Moo & Ajaad (Pork Indian style curry & cucumber pickle)

This was just the right kind of dish for a cold evening, warm and comforting, spicy but not hot. It’s as close a dish as you’ll find in Thailand to how we stereotypically think of a curry. It’s name (Gaeng= Curry in Thai, Kari = Curry in Tamil) basically means that it is a Thai interpretation of an Indian curry and as such has a lot of spices that you would normally find in garam masala. In terms of looks and main ingredients, it is also quite similar to a Massaman curry and is kept very simple, using just meat, onions and potatoes but the paste has some obvious differences. Feel free to change the meat to chicken or other veggies. The ajaad (pickle) adds sharpness and acidity to balance the mild and slightly sweet curry sauce.


For two big portions use:


For the yellow curry paste-

• half a red onion/ 6 thai shallots, peeled and roughly chopped


• 1 stalk of lemongrass, peeled, trimmed and roughly chopped


• 1 bulb of garlic, peeled


• a thumb sized piece of galangal, roughly chopped


• 2 red chillies


• a tablespoon of coriander seeds


• a heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds


• a teaspoon of fennel seeds


• a tablespoon of tumeric powder


• a heaped tablespoon of mild curry powder

in a dry pan, add the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds and lightly toast over a gentle heat until they smell fragrant and are just starting to go brown. Get them off quickly otherwise they’ll burn and be useless. Pour them into a mortar and grind into a fine powder. After, add in the powdered turmeric and curry powder, stir and pour out into a bowl.

Take the fresh herbs (garlic, chillies, galangal, lemongrass and onion) and like I did for the Khao Soi recipe, put these ingredients into a tin foil parcel and place directly over a low flame or place in the grill. This will roast/ char the ingredients but keep an eye on them all the time and keep moving the foil parcel- especially if you use direct flames. Take off after 5 minutes or when the herbs have softened and have some colour on them.

Put them into the mortar and bash them up until you have a paste. Put the paste into the bowl with the dry spices and mix well.

That’s the curry paste done. Now onto the pickle….


For the pickle use:

• about ¼ of a cucumber, thinly sliced and cut in half


• about 50ml of white wine vinegar


• about 50 ml of water


• ½ a big red chilli, sliced


• a sliver of red onion/ 1 shallot, very finely chopped

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and let them steep in the vinegar while you make the rest of the curry


Finally, for the curry, use:

• 200g of lean pork leg, cubed


• 8 new potatoes / 2 big potatoes (peeled), cut into bite size pieces


• 1 white onion, cut into bite size pieces


• 200ml of coconut milk


• 300ml of water


• a splash of liquid seasoning (stock/ maggi/ a stock cube etc)


• a big pinch of sugar


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• fresh coriander for garnish.

In a wok, heat the coconut milk on high, try not to stir and after a few minutes it should start to split,and the oils will become visible. At this point add in the curry paste and stir well. It should become a very thick sauce. Cook for a minute before adding in half of the water, the stock, the pork, onions and the potatoes. This bit takes the longest; depending on your potatoes, it can take up to 30 minutes for the potatoes to soften. Keep an eye on the liquid, and keep topping up the sauce if needed. When the potatoes have softened, add in the sugar and fish sauce and have a taste. If everything’s fully cooked and to your liking, serve with fluffy rice or even flatbread and sprinkle over the coriander, serving the ajaad on the side.

Khao Soi (Curried Noodles)

This is another new favourite- my husband has requested this as a regular in our house.

In other news (and I’ll come back to the noodles very soon) I’m soon to be relocating back to my home city in Lancashire :) which means I’ll no longer be stuck in a small town in North Yorkshire! Sadly this will mean an end to my Thai food stock up trips to Nong Fern in Leeds but does mean I have two Asian supermarkets on my doorstep! The very good news is, the recipes will all be continuing!

Back to the Khao Soi- for once I wasn’t lazy and did make the simple curry paste from scratch- you could use a yellow or red Thai curry paste but it’s worth giving this one a go as it’s a bit different due to the roasting process. Khao soi is a northern Thai dish and is said to take a lot of it’s influence from nearby Burma. It’s a creamy, rich satisfying noodles dish, not too hot at all.

For two people use:

• 2 skinless small chicken breasts/ 4 thighs, chopped into small pieces


• 400ml coconut milk


• 100ml water


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• a big pinch of sugar


• 2 sachets of egg (yellow) noodles


• vegetable oil for deep frying


• a lime, halved

For the curry paste, use:

• 4 cloves of garlic


• 2 stalks of lemongrass (ends trimmed and outer layer peeled off)


• 6 lime leaves


• a finger sized piece of fresh tumeric


• a finger sized piece of ginger


• 3 red chillies


• a small handful of coriander roots or stalks

• 4 red shallots/ half a red onion cut into a few bits


• 4 brown/ 10 white cardamom pods


• a small handful of coriander seeds

Start out by placing all the curry paste ingredients into a packet made from tin foil. Place this foil packet over a low-medium heat hob- I did this on electric, gas works best. Don’t let the foil packet sit for too long, keep it moving to stop the contents from burning. After 5 to ten minutes, take a look inside; there should be some charring and everything should have softened up. This provides a really nice smoky flavour to the paste. Pop everything into a pestle and mortar and pound, pound, pound away until you have a course paste. I cheated a bit after a while and transferred the pounded paste to a mini herb chopper, just to get it really fine. 

Once the paste is done, heat a wok and pour in the coconut milk. Let it sit for quite a while, until reduced by half and the oils are visible on the surface. Add in all the paste and stir fry for a few minutes until cooked down. Add in the water, fish sauce, sugar and chicken and let it cook for at least ten minutes, more if you like a thicker sauce.

While the curry is cooking, boil water for the noodles, cooking for as long as needed. In another small pan, heat the oil until hot. Take a few strands of cooked and well drained noodles at a time and gently drop them into the hot oil. They will fizzle and puff up instantly. Scoop them out, and drain on kitchen paper. 

Assembly time- place the drained noodles in the bottom of a serving bowl. Spoon over a ladle of the curry. Place some of the crispy deep fried noodles on top and finally squeeze over the lime juice.

Gaeng Phed Gai (Red chicken curry)

I tend not to make too many coconut based curries, partly just because there’s so many other Thai dishes to make and red/ green curries crop up just about everywhere but since I was in the mood for one, and I hadn’t covered the recipe for it to date, saw no reason not to include it; there’s a reason it’s one of the most well known Thai dishes! I’ve mentioned it before in the post I did for Green curry http://iwishiwasinthailand.tumblr.com/day/2014/07/27/  but I prefer to use a thinner, less sweet sauce so use half coconut milk half water. By all means if you prefer a thicker, sweeter sauce, use all coconut milk.


For 4 small portions/ 3 big, use:

• 2 small chicken breasts/ 4 skinless thighs, chopped into small cubes


• 50g of red Thai curry paste- use a good one without unnecessary fillers such as Maesri or Mae Ploy


• 200ml coconut milk (freeze the other half if using a tin)


• 200ml water


• mixed crunchy vegetables- I used a packet of pea aubergines, 8 baby corn, halved, a small tin of bamboo shoots and a small handful of green beans, trimmed and halved


• 5 red chillies, chopped


• a nobble of galangal, peeled and finely shredded


• a big splash of fish sauce


• a big pinch of sugar


• 4/5 kaffir lime leaves, rolled into a cigar and finely shredded


• half a packet of Bai Horapha leaves (Thai sweet basil)


• small splash of vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil in a wok and throw in the curry paste- many kudos if you’ve decided to make your own version (I’m just too lazy and I think the Thai branded versions are excellent). Stir fry the paste for about 30 seconds, making sure it doesn’t burn before adding the coconut milk. Keep stirring, and you should start to see some of the red oils on the top. After 5 minutes of so, add in the raw chicken- stir, and cook for about 5 minutes before adding in the water and tougher vegetables such as the pea aubergines and green beans. Give it another 5 minutes or so before adding in the rest of the veggies, fish sauce, galangal and sugar and cook for a final 5 minutes. When cooked, lightly stir through the sweet basil leaves, they don’t need any cooking as such and sprinkle over the shredded lime leaves and red chilli.

Gaeng Massaman Gai (Muslim Curry with Chicken)

The name reflects this curry’s historic roots. Massaman or Matsaman is a deviation of the word Muslim and this dish borrows it’s flavours from southern Thailand and Malaysian cuisine where the local population is of a majority Muslim faith. That said, you won’t find pork in this curry, unlike many other Thai dishes from central or Northern Thailand where the majority faith is Buddhism and pork is widely eaten. Massaman curries are easy to make, have very few ingredients, are creamy, salty, a little sweet and are very mild due to the lack of chillies.

For 3 big or 4 smaller portions, use:

• 2 big chicken breasts, cubed


• 2 big potatoes, cut in large chunks


• 1 onion, cut into large pieces


• a small handful of peanuts (lightly salted or unsalted)


• 50g Massaman curry paste (I’ve used Aroy- D brand but some supermarkets sell their own Massaman pastes)


• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk


• 1 cup water (maybe more, maybe less depending how thin you want your curry to be)


• a big pinch sugar


• a big splash of tamarind concentrate (use more lime juice if you don’t have access to an Asian supermarket for this) 


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• a lime for squeezing over

Boil a pan of water, when boiling add the cubed potatoes and par boil for just 5 minutes. Drain and save them for later. In the now empty pan, heat on high and add the coconut cream- the thick part of the contents of the tin, throw in the curry paste and stir to mix through, you should start to see the red oils separate. When this happens, add the chicken and stir for a moment before adding the thin coconut milk, stir and turn the heat down to a simmer. Add the water. I prefer a thinner curry so use almost equal amounts of water and coconut milk. If you prefer a thicker curry, use less or even no water. Let this cook for 10 minutes before adding the onions and potatoes. Add in the fish sauce, sugar and if you have it, the tamarind (or lime juice). After another 5 minutes it should be ready. Stir half the peanuts through and sprinkle the other half over the top of the curry when you dish it out. Squeeze more lime over and serve with hot fluffy white rice.

Gaeng Khiao Wan Gai (Sweet green chicken curry)

It’s a toss up between this and Pad Thai as to the most widely eaten dish found in Thai restaurants worldwide. It’s just as popular in Thailand, particularly with tourists and it’s a recognisable and very tasty dish. Strangely though, despite it being the Thai dish I’ve been cooking the longest, it’s also the one that has taken me the longest to get right. Like any Thai recipe, there’s a lot of personal preferences involved but I like my green curry with a thin sauce, not too sweet, pretty hot and with an equal balance of salty and sour.


For three portions, use:

• a small amount of vegetable oil, for frying


• two medium chicken breast, finely sliced


• a handful of bamboo shoots, cut into matchsticks


• a handful of green beans, trimmed and cut into two


• your choice of extra veggies- I’ve used carrots cut into rounds, some pea aubergines and some water chestnuts that were leftover


• a big handful of Thai basil, or use tarragon


• 200ml of coconut milk (it freezes well if you end up buying a 400ml can)


• 50g of Thai green curry paste (If you can get it, use Mae Ploy brand which is excellent)


• 100ml- 200ml of water


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla) all supermarkets have it


• a big pinch of sugar


• 3 or 4 red chillies,cut into slivers


• 4 or 5 kaffir lime leaves (bigger Sainsburys sell them fresh and most other supermarkets sell them dried) rolled up in a cigar, and finely shredded 


• a wedge of lime

Heat the oil in a wok and when it’s hot, add in the green curry paste, stir fry for just 30 seconds, otherwise it’ll burn before adding in the coconut milk. Stir and after a few minutes you start to see the oil separating from the sauce- this is a good thing! Add in half of the water, the fish sauce and sugar and the chicken. Stir and cook for 5 minutes or so until fully cooked before adding in the veggies. Cook these for five minutes more before having a taste; if you think it needs it, add more water, sugar and/or fish sauce. Once the curry is cooked, turn off the heat and stir through the kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil for a few seconds. Turn the curry out into a serving dish, top with the chilli slivers and squeeze over the wedge of lime.

Gaeng Pha Neua (Jungle curry with Beef)

I guess for most of us when we imagine a Thai curry we think of a rich coconut based red or green sauce. This is one of several Thai curries that doesn’t use any coconut milk- without the mitigation of cooling coconut milk, it’s also the hottest. It’s a northern dish- and the name, jungle curry is a nod to the ingredients traditionally using meats, herbs and vegetables that could be found wild. I’ve used beef but this is a great curry to use all vegetables or other meats; in Thailand, frog is a popular choice.

For 2 people (or double up for 4) use

• a beef steak (frying steak is fine) cut into thin strips


• your choice of crunchy vegetables cut into small pieces- I’ve used green beans, mange tout, carrots and Thai pea aubergines


• a heaped tablespoon of Red curry paste, Mae Ploy brand is my choice but all supermarkets will sell red curry paste


• ½ pint/ 300ml chicken/vegetable stock


• a good splash of Thai fish sauce (nam pla)


• finely chopped birds eye chillies- I used 6- this is a hot curry, be brave!


• 4 kaffir lime leaves, rolled and finely shredded


• finely chop a peeled finger of krachai (optional) but very authentic if you can get it- Thai or Chinese supermarkets stock it, it’s also called lesser ginger or galingale (not to be confused with galangal)


• a handful of Thai basil (holy or sweet) substitute tarragon if you can’t get Thai basil.


• vegetable/sunflower oil for frying

Start off by heating some oil in a wok or frying pan. When it’s hot, add in the red curry paste and stir fry it for around 30 seconds before adding in your vegetables. Fry these in the paste for a couple of minutes before adding your meat and fry for a further two minutes. Now add in the liquids (stock and fish sauce) and the krachai (if you have it) can go in too. Let this cook down a bit- around 5 minutes on a medium heat, then turn the heat off and stir your Thai basil through. Serve with boiled rice and sprinkle the chillies and kaffir lime leaf over the top.