Amok with Shrimp

Ah, well, it has been a while... This traveling business takes up too much of my time somehow and I have to actually take some time "off" and sit down to type up some more recipes.

Thailand seems a long way away now and hence I decided to skip most of the recipes from there (the best ones will come later, promise) and catch up with a recipe from Cambodia. Undoubtedly the most famous dish from that country is Amok: a paste that can be used for different kinds of meat. Here, I post the version with shrimp, but you can substitute that with fish, tofu, beef or chicken

Ingredients (serves 4):

For the Amok paste:

4 lemongrass stems

4 fresh turmeric roots (you can substitute a root with 1 tbsp of turmeric powder)

2 finger roots (lesser ginger) - use ginger instead if you can't find finger roots, but reduce the amount as ginger is a lot stronger in  taste

2 small shallots

4 garlic cloves

4 Ngor or broccoli leaves

200g white mushrooms

1 onion

300g fresh shrimp

200ml coconut milk

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp chicken stock

Steamed rice

Preparation:

First, finely chop the ingredients for the Amok paste then pound them in a mortar until you obtain a smooth paste. Heat half of the coconut milk in a pan and add the amok paste, sugar, salt and fish sauce. Cook the sauce and add the shrimp, mushroom, onion and ngor leave. Add the rest of the coconut milk and season with chicken stock. Let the sauce thicken a bit and then place it, if available, in a banana leave and serve with steamed rice.

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Red Curry with Chicken

Today's recipe comes to you more or less directly from the kitchen of the Blue Elephant Cooking 

School in Bangkok... It's what I prepared for lunch today!

Another classic staple in the Thai kitchen, this red curry with chicken is prepared with homemade red curry paste. Once you have tried the fresh version, I promise you'll never want to use the pre-made one again!! The ingredients are relatively easy to obtain and you can store the paste easily in the fridge (see below). So let's get started!

Ingredients for the red curry paste:

1 coriander root

5 garlic cloves

4 very small shallots (or 2 bigger ones)

1/2 tbsp galangal

1 1/2 tbsp lemongrass (= 1-2 stems)

5 dried big red chillies (Serrano chilli)

1/2 tbsp kaffir lime zest (you can use kaffir lime leaves instead, if you can't find the fruit)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground roasted coriander seeds

1/2 tsp white pepper powder

1/2 tsp shrimp paste

Preparation:

Soak the dried chilli in water for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the water and chop. 

Peel and crush the garlic cloves and shallots and put them in a mortar. Chop the coriander root and add to the mortar. Start pounding. Slice the galangal and lemongrass finely and cut off the zest of the kaffir lime (the white of the lime is bitter, so don't use it!). Add to the mix together with the chilli and pound. Then add the salt, cumin, coriander and pepper powder and the shrimp paste. Pound until you obtain a smooth paste. You can also use a blender to do this, but the aroma are not the same (and you need to add some water to blend better). You can "refresh" a pre-made curry paste by adding pounded garlic cloves, coriander root and white pepper powder. 

Storage:

The paste can be kept in an airtight container (or plastic bag) in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or one month in the freezer. For longer periods, add more salt.

Ingredients for the chicken curry (serves 4):

8 tbsp red curry paste

8 tbsp vegetable oil (don't use olive oil for Thai cooking)

350g chicken breast

300g (fresh) bamboo shots

600 ml coconut milk

200 ml water

8 kaffir lime leaves (fresh if possible, otherwise soak dry ones in water)

1 bundle of Thai basil

6 big red chillies (Serrano chillies) - cut out the seeds to make it less spicy

2 tbsp palm sugar

4 tbsp fish sauce

Jasmine rice

Preparation:

Cut the chicken breast into thin pieces and the bamboo shots (if fresh) into slices. Tear the kaffir lime leaves into small pieces (first remove the stem by folding them in half). Slice the Serrano chilli (use only 4 and keep the rest for decoration).

Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the curry paste and stir fry until an aroma develops. Laddle in a spoonful of coconut milk. Stir continuously until the oil separates from the liquid. Add another laddle and repeat. Add a third laddle and once the coconut milk is boiling, add the sliced chicken and simmer until it is half cooked. Add the bamboo shots and then the seasoning (palm sugar and fish sauce) and kaffir lime leaves. Stir until the palm sugar is dissolved. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and later the water. Add the chilli and sweet basil leaves. Continue cooking for about a mnute, then pour the curry into a serving bowl. Decorate with basil leaves and thinly chopped chilli and serve with rice.

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