My love affair with seafood is an undeniable obsession which is why I simply love beach holidays where seafood is plenty and delightfully fresh after long swims and lazing on the warm sand. It is either the salty sea air or the holiday foodie anticipation that has my tummy rumbling an hour after an enormously gigantic and indulgent breakfast. I blatantly admit a weakness for the Far Eastern cuisine… and this is my all time favorite curry - Thai Green Curry Prawns.
While Red Curry has a subtle sweet and delicate undertone, green curry coming packed with a punch. And I like it hot hot hot topped with some Bird's Eye Chilies to make it hotter and yes… lots of water!
While the basic green curry recipe remains the same, you can always replace the prawns with chicken, beef or Tofu. The curry itself is absolutely delightful as it teases the palette with the mellow coconut creaminess and fragrance till the heat kicks in – with oomph!
Try it!
Wash the prawns and let them drain in a sieve. Make sure to check that they are deveined otherwise you be chewing some gritty prawns!
Dice the onion. Slice the red Bird's Eye Chilies. These are super hot so be careful while handling them. If you are cooking for children then better leave them out as they can be sprinkled later on individual helpings.
Slice the galangal into ½ inch pieces. You can substitute this with ginger but I can tell you very certainly that the flavors are absolutely different. Ginger is a rather sad substitute that completely misses the spot as far as Thai food is concerned and so add it only if it make you feel better.
Remove the top layer of the lemongrass stalk and cut into 1 inch pieces.
If using coconut milk powder, mix with warm water and whisk hard till it dissolved completely. If your water is cold the coconut milk powder will not dissolve and if it’s too hot it will become lumpy. So remember you need tepid water. You can also use a can of coconut milk instead.
Keffir Leaves. When I started cooking Thai food, I purchased a rather large bag of dried Keffir leaves that sadly lasted forever. While the food turned out great for homemade Thai, that restaurant quality was missing. Since I had long discovered the pleasure of using fresh garden herbs I knew it was because I was using dried galangal and Keffir lime leaves. My 2 year long quest to acquire and nurture a Keffir lime tree, galangal rhizome and lemongrass has proved to be very flavorful adventure. The real zing is there!
If you can find fresh leaves at some local oriental grocery store you are very lucky! If not you can settle for the dried version or lime zest at best.
You either love water chestnuts or you hate them! I love them but Gadget Guy grimaces every time he finds one in his mouth! So I happily get to fish them all out of the curry. I hardly ever manage to find Thai green eggplants that typically go in this curry so I add chestnuts instead. Slice these or add halves or whole.
This is my preferred brand of fish sauce- it’s salty and rather pungent and keeps fermenting over time.
Add half the peanut oil to the wok followed by the galangal and some bird's eye chilies and wait till they both start to splutter indignantly.
Add the prawns. Toss them in the wok continuously for no more then 30-40 seconds.
When the prawns curl slightly and only begin to turn white, transfer them onto a cold platter. You want them to lose heat quickly and stop cooking. Make sure they are not piled on top of each other on the platter trapping heat.
Add the remaining oil, onions, lemongrass, fish sauce, salt and Thai green curry paste into the wok and fry till its fragrant and you are sneezing. I love the Mao Ploy Brand when it comes to choosing curry pastes unless I'm using homemade green curry paste.
Add the chicken stock, half the coconut milk and bring to boil and reduce the curry to half.
Next in goes the palm sugar. If you don’t have palm sugar just use brown sugar instead, even white sugar would suffice. The sugar brings out the natural sweetness of the coconut milk. Keep in mind that white sugar is sweeter the palm sugar.
Now stop. Stop here if you do not plan on serving this immediately. Dramatic, aren’t I? Well better still that I be the drama queen then you having to serve overcooked and chewy prawns.
Now are we ready to serve? Heat the curry to a boil and add the remaining coconut milk.
Add the shredded Keffir leave, water chestnuts and the prawns. Let them simmer releasing their flavor and juices into the green curry. Do not let the curry cook for more than a minute or you will find that your lovely prawns have be overcooked and stubbornly curled up tightly with a chewy and dry texture. This is why it is crucial to reduce the curry initially and to make sure that the green curry is the right consistency before adding the prawns. If you prefer a thicker curry, you can use coconut cream instead of coconut milk.
Dish out in a bowl and garnish with coriander and the remaining bird's eye chilies.
Serve with Thai Jasmine Rice or noodles. If entertaining, you can add Thai Cashew Chicken-'Gai Pad Med Mamuang Himaphan' to the menu.
Preparation Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 30 min
Ingredients
250 g/ ½ lb Large Prawns (deveined)
1 Onion (Medium- Diced)
2 Bird eyed chilies – Sliced Thinly
1 Tablespoon Galangal – Chopped
1 Large Keffir Lime Leaf - Shredded
6-8 Water Chestnuts or Thai Eggplant (optional)
1 Stalk Lemongrass – (1 inch pieces)
8 Tablespoons Coconut Milk Powder
2 Tablespoons Green Curry Paste
1 Cup Water - Warm
¾ Cup Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Palm Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
4 Tablespoons Peanut oil (or any vegetable oil)
Method
Devein and wash the prawns. Let them drain well in a sieve.
Dice the onion very finely.
Julienne the Bird’s Eye Chilies
Peel and slice the galangal.
Shred the Keffir Leaf into long stripes or slightly crush it whole in your palm to release the flavor.
If using fresh water chestnuts, prepare them. If using canned water chestnuts, drain them.
If you are using Thai Eggplants, leave them whole or cut them into halves diagonally.
Remove the top layer of the lemongrass stalk and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Combine the coconut milk powder with the cup of warm water and whisk well till no lumps remain.
Add half the oil to the wok followed by the galangal and half the Bird's Eye Chilies.
Add the prawns and toss for 30 seconds and remove into a plate. Leave uncovered.
Add remaining oil to the wok.
Toss in the onions, lemongrass, fish sauce, salt and the green curry paste. Stir-fry for a minute.
Add the chicken stock and half the coconut milk.
Bring to a boil and reduce the green curry to half.
Add palm sugar.
Pour in remaining coconut milk reducing the flame to simmer.
Add the Keffir leaf, water chestnuts and the prawns and let simmer for 4-6 minutes.
Your curry should have a soup like consistency and the prawns should be well curled but not tightly curled.
Serve in a deep bowl garnished with the coriander leaves and the remaining chilies.
Enjoy Gaeng Kiew Wan Goong with Thai Jasmine rice or noodles.
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