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Seriously Asian: Thai Curries, Part Three

Posted by Chichi Wang, November 20, 2009 at 1:30 PM

[Photographs: Chichi Wang]

This week concludes our three-part installment of Thai curry pastes. Red, green, and yellow curries are common offerings in restaurants, yet these colors are merely part of the Thai curry range. Two of the lesser-known curry pastes—Penang and Mussaman—are variations on the red and yellow pastes, though with distinctive attributes of their own. Penang curry paste, most similar to red, includes a sizable dose of roasted peanuts. Mussaman curry paste is comprised of the same spices as those of yellow, except the spices must be toasted whole, then freshly ground before being added to the paste.

Just about every guest passing through my apartment this month has been subject to my collection of curry pastes.

"Would you like some red curry with shrimp?" I ask. "No? Well, how about some curry fritters? Curry fried rice? Noodles with curry sauce?"

Eventually the target will succumb to my entreaties. Last night I wooed a friend with pork shoulder stewed in Penang curry. Claiming that eating Thai curry usually leaves her with "stuff pouring from every facial orifice," my friend was pleased to discover that Thai curries don't have to be painfully spicy.

Penang Curry Paste

Roasted peanuts impart a subtly sweet flavor to Penang curry paste. Sauces made with the paste have a noticeably peanut-y depth. In lieu of roasted peanuts, I often use freshly made peanut butter of the sort that oozes from those machines in the grocery store.

Though I frequently pair Thai curry pastes with seafood for a quick and easy meal, the pastes are just as suited for meat. Choose fatty cuts with some amount of tendon marbled throughout, such as pork shoulder or even hanger steak. Stewed for forty or so minutes, the pork or beef absorbs the flavors of the curry paste and the sauce will have gained some body from being stewed with meat.

Mussaman Curry Paste

Musalman—the Indian word for Muslim—gives this curry paste its name and distinctive taste. Instead of using ground spices, the recipe begins with toasting whole spices in a cast-iron pan. Whole peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and a stick of cinnamon are browned slightly in the skillet. Then the spices are finely ground, which is best accomplished with a spice or coffee grinder. Such a preparation is akin to that of some Indian curries for which whole spices are toasted and freshly ground.

A sauce made with Mussaman curry paste bears notes of its toasted past, with a deeper, darker flavor. The paste is often used with beef and potatoes, but it is just as suited for richly textured seafood such as jumbo shrimp.

Applications of Curry Pastes

Once you've managed to store just one curry paste in your freezer, you'll find yourself reaching for it with inordinate frequency. A curry paste is an automatic way of introducing bold flavors into your dishes. Generally, complexity takes a while to build; with a curry paste you'll have already done the bulk of the work ahead of time.

The options for incorporating a curry paste into your meal are limitless; the more you employ the paste in a recipe, the more uses you'll likely discover. Here are two of its applications that have been keeping me fed for the past month.

Curry Paste in Tempura Batter

Tempura with a dashi-based dipping sauce is a peerless combination, but having freshly made dashi on hand is not always realistic. Adding a dollop of curry paste to a tempura batter, on the other hand, is easily accomplished. Just as the recipe for classic Japanese tempura dictates, the batter should be somewhat lumpy to achieve a light, crispy coating when fried. In place of using only water, I like to add an ice cube to the batter to keep the mixture from growing tepid as I deep-fry.

When fried in a curry-based batter, the vegetables are savory and flavorful on their own without needing an accompanying sauce. Just about any vegetable pairs well with the curry, though I am partial to eggplants. Whenever I have stewed kale on hand, I dip large sections into the batter and deep-fry until the leaves are irresistibly crisp.

Curry Paste in Stir-Fried Rice

Stir-fried rice, that stalwart of a dish, could always use a new twist or pick-me-up. With your day-old rice in hand, crack the coconut to form the base of the sauce. Then add the curry paste as well as the eggs and your choice of vegetables. As usual, just a few tablespoons of the curry paste suffices to flavor the entire dish, yet the presence of lemongrass and galangal will come through.

About the author: Chichi Wang took her degree in philosophy, but decided that writing about food would be much more fun than writing about Plato. She firmly believes in all things offal, the importance of reading great books, and the necessity of three-hour meals. If she were ever to get a tattoo, it would say "Fat is flavor." Visit her blog, My Chalkboard Fridge.

Penang Curry Paste

- makes enough paste for 6 to 8 servings -

Adapted from The Big Book of Thai Curries by Vatcharin Bhumichitr.

Ingredients

5 large red dried chilies
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher)
1/2 cup shallots, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1-inch piece of galangal, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, the bottom 7 inches thinly sliced
1-inch slice of kaffir lime peel, finely chopped
3 tablespoon cilantro roots, or 10 cilantro stalks
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, or 3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon shrimp paste

Procedure

1. Place the chilies in a small bowl with approximately 1/4 cup of hot water. Microwave the chilies in the water for 2 to 3 minutes, then let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or a food processor. Purée, adding a few tablespoons of water if needed to get the mixture properly blended. Pause to push down the ingredients with a spatula. Use immediately or freeze in plastic bags.

Mussaman Curry Paste

- makes enough paste for 6 to 8 servings -

Adapted from From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail by Madhur Jaffrey.

Ingredients

7 large red dried chilies
1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1-inch piece of cinnamon
1 cup shallots, choppped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemongrass, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon shrimp paste

Procedure

1. Place the chilies in a small bowl with approximately 1/4 cup of hot water. Microwave the chilies in the water for 2 to 3 minutes, then let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Put the peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and cinnamon in a small, cast-iron frying pan and set over medium heat. Stir the spices around until they turn a slight shade darker and emit a faintly toasted aroma. Empty them into your coffee or spice grinder and allow them to cool for a minute or so.

3. Grind the spices as finely as possible in the coffee or spice grinder.

4. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or a food processor. Purée, adding a few tablespoons of water if needed to get the mixture properly blended. Pause to push down the ingredients with a spatula. Use immediately or freeze in plastic bags.

Pork in Penang Curry Sauce

- serves 4 to 5 -

Adapted from From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail by Madhur Jaffrey.

Ingredients

14-ounce can of coconut milk, left undisturbed for several hours
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 to 6 tablespoons Penang curry paste
8 fresh kaffir lime leaves, cut into fine slivers (optional)
1 pound pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes with the fat and skin left intact
2 tablespoons fish sauce, or to taste
1 teaspoon brown sugar, or to taste

Procedure

1. To form the sauce: Open the can of coconut milk and skim off the top layer of thick cream, about 4 tablespoons worth. Stir the remaining milk to reincorporate the coconut cream.

2. Pour the oil into a large, nonstick lidded pan and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the coconut cream and the curry paste. Stir the paste around until it is lightly browned and the oil has separated from the coconut in the cream. You have just cracked the coconut. Now, add 6 lime leaves and stir a few times.

3. Add the rest of the seasonings: the coconut milk, about 1/2 cup of water to thin out the mixture, the fish sauce, and then sugar. You can add more or less water, depending on your preference for the consistency. Stir and bring to a simmer.

4. Add the cubes of pork and gently simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, until the pork is tender and the sauce has reduced by two-third to one-half of its original volume. Garnish with the rest of the kaffir lime leaves. Serve immediately with rice. Leftovers reheat well, simmered gently for a few minutes to re-warm the pork.

Shrimp in Mussaman Curry Sauce

- serves 4 to 5 -

Ingredients

14-ounce can of coconut milk, left undisturbed for several hours
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 to 6 tablespoons Mussaman curry paste
1 bay leaf
1 pound of shrimp, preferably unshelled
2 tablespoons fish sauce, or to taste
1 teaspoon brown sugar, or to taste

Procedure

1. To form the sauce: Open the can of coconut milk and skim off the top layer of thick cream, about 4 tablespoons worth. Stir the remaining milk to reincorporate the coconut cream.

2. Pour the oil into a large, nonstick lidded pan and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the coconut cream and the curry paste. Stir the paste around until it is lightly browned and the oil has separated from the coconut in the cream. You have just cracked the coconut.

3. Add the rest of the seasonings: the coconut milk, about 1/2 cup of water to thin out the mixture, the fish sauce, and then sugar. You can add more or less water, depending on your preference for the consistency. Stir and bring to a simmer.

4. Add the shrimp of pork and gently simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp is barely cooked through. Serve immediately with rice.

Curried Vegetable Tempura

- serves 4 to 5 -

Ingredients

1 egg
1 1/2 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water plus one ice cube
1 or 2 zucchinis, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 or 2 eggplants, depending on size, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
A dozen or so button mushrooms, halved
4 tablespoons curry paste

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
additional flour, about 1/2 cup, for dredging

Procedure

1. Sprinkle the slices of eggplants with 1/2 teaspoon of salt; set aside for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, with a paper towel, pat dry the moisture from the slices.

2. Place the curry paste in a bowl along with 1/4 cup of water. Mix well. Then add the egg and flour to the bowl, and mix lightly. The batter should be somewhat lumpy. Add the ice cube to the batter just before use.

3. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet to 350°F.

4. Pick up one vegetable slice and lightly dredge with flour. Then dip the slice in the batter, and add it to the hot oil. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on the vegetable, until the batter is golden brown and the vegetable is cooked through. The mushrooms will take longer (about 4 minutes). Transfer the fried vegetables to a rack to prevent the coating from becoming soggy. Eat as soon as possible for optimal crispiness.

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