Gaeng Daeng Goong -Thai Red Curry with Prawns

Gaeng Daeng Goong or Red Curry with Prawns is yet another staple of Thai curries. When I was first introduced to Thai cuisine I was told that it was the closest I can get to Indian curry (apart from an Indian restaurant). Of course sometimes even Indian restaurants (outside India) don't get close to what actual curries are meant to taste like. If you look at the ingredients used to make the Red Curry, it is no surprise that it tastes like an Indian (South Indian to be precise) curry. Especially the ones such as coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, garlic. Of course there are a few ingredients that can make any dish Thai - lemon grass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. You sure can buy the  paste in a store, as with any packaged food, it's just not the same if not made at home. Once done the curry paste can be stored frozen for months and used for a variety of dishes.

Ingredients:

Red Curry Paste

1. Dry Red Chillies - 20 chillies
2. Lemon Grass - just the bottom white section finely chopped. - 8 stalks
3. Coriander stems - 15-20 stems finely diced
4. Kaffir Lime leaves - 1/2 cup - ensure the middle stalk is removed
5. Galanga - 200 gms - remove the skin and finely chopped
6. Garlic - 1 bulb
7. Ground Coriander, Cumin and Pepper seeds - 1 tablespoon each

Curry

1. Prawn (or Shrimp if you are in the USA) - 500 gms
2. Baby corn - 200 gms
3. Bamboo shoots - 1 can
4. Curry paste - 4-5 tablespoons
5. Coconut cream - 1 can
6. Sugar - 2-3 tea spoons
7. Fish sauce - 4-5 tablespoons (vegetarians might replace this with salt)
8. Thai basil leaves - 1/2 cup

The Method

Curry Paste

1. Soak the dry red chillies in hot water for about 30 minutes. Once soaked  remove the seeds and stalks from the chillies. Make sure you wear gloves for this step.
2. Blend the ingredients above for the curry paste. I first smashed them in a mortar before transferring the content to a blender. Use minimum water just enough to get the blender going.
3. Once blended heat a wide sauce pan and pour about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and sautee the blended paste for about 20-30 minutes until the paste is cooked and oil separates.
4. You can then freeze the paste (once it has cooled down to room temperature) and store it for a few months.

Prawn Curry

1. If the curry paste is frozen - first thaw it to room temperature.
2. Wash the bamboo shoots (from the can) with cold running water to remove the salt content in the can.
3. In a large wok heat about 4-5 tablespoons  of vegetable oil and saute the curry paste until oil separates.
4. Add about half of the coconut cream and mix well and bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Add the baby corn and bamboo shoots and cook for about 5 minutes until the bamboo shoots become tender.
6. Add the prawns and cook for a few minutes until they curl up and turn pink.
7. Add the sugar, fish sauce and basil leaves, mix well and simmer for a few minutes.
8.  Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.

Happy Cooking !!

C