Red Thai Curry

Red Thai Curry

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes (4-5 hours if using slow cooker)
Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken (or beef, pork, fish, peeled prawns) and vegetables about 500g in total; cut the meat and fish into bite-sized pieces and vegetables into smaller pieces or slices so it all cooks through quickly.
1 x 400g tin coconut milk
3 x tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)
Olive oil for frying
Garnish - Chopped coriander leaves (if suitable for the dysphagic patient)

For the red Thai curry paste

1 x medium onion or shallot, peeled and chopped
2 x cloves garlic, crushed
1 x stalk lemongrass, chopped
½ x tsp chilli powder or 1-2 red chillies, deseeded if less heat required and chopped
½ x tsp of ginger or 1" piece fresh root ginger, sliced
2 x tbsp tomato purée
1 x tsp sugar
½ x tsp ground cumin
½ x tsp ground coriander
2 x tbsp lime juice (or zest and juice of 1 lime)
2 x Kaffir lime leaves (optional)
3 x tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce
Enough (sesame) oil to keep the blades turning
Salt

Method

  1. To make the paste, put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz really well until you have a smooth paste.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large wok or frying pan, fry the paste for a few minutes until it becomes fragrant then add the meat and vegetables of your choice and fry for a few minutes, stirring all the time.
  3. Add the coconut milk (and desiccated coconut if used), bring to the boil and simmer. Chicken, beef or pork will take 8-10 minutes; prawns and fish about 4-5 minutes; vegetables such as squash or pumpkin, courgettes, peppers, baby corn, green beans, aubergine or carrots will take about 5 minutes; and spring onions, mange tout or spinach will need only a minute.
  4. Serve on a bed of jasmine rice, garnished with coriander leaves, if used.

Notes

  • The paste will keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks and it is fine to freeze for 2 months, too. If you make a smaller quantity, it might not blend in the food processor.
  • If you don’t have a can of coconut milk you can make your own by combining equal parts of unsweetened desiccated coconut and boiling water in a blender for 30 seconds. Sieve through a cheesecloth, squeezing the liquid out. It will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
  • For Green Thai Curry substitute red for green chillies, omit tomato purée and add fresh coriander and kaffir lime leaves.