Thai is one of my favourite cuisines – it is fresh, tasty and quick to make. And while there are a couple of good Thai restaurants around you just can’t beat making your own! I always stop by a local Asian store such as Asia Mekong to pick up plenty of fresh coriander and sweet basil. My cupboards are full of various spices which means this dish can be quick to prepare.
The Panang curry sauce is made with plenty of spices and lemongrass. I make this with juicy and crispy pork meatballs but you can also make this with chicken, fish or tofu.
Ingredients:
For the pork:
500g minced pork
2 stalks lemongrass (outer layer removed and finely chopped)
Small handful of fresh coriander (finely chopped)
1 tspn cumin
50g dried breadcrumbs
For the paste:
1 tbpsn red paprika
1 tspn turmeric
Small bunch fresh Thai basil
Small bunch fresh coriander
1 stalk lemongrass (outerlayer removed and finely chopped)
1 tbpsn size fresh galangal (peeled and roughly chopped)
Juice of 1 lime
1 tspn sunflower oil
1 red chilli (roughly chopped)
For the curry:
1 red pepper (cut into thin slices)
1 onion (peeled and cut into thin slices)
1 tin coconut milk
2 tbpsn tomato puree
fresh red chillies and coriander
Plain rice to serve
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Add the ingredients for the pork to a large mixing bowl and combine all the ingredients together. Mix into small balls (around 1 tbpsn size) and put to one side.
Heat a large frying pan with 1 tbpsn sunflower oil and once hot add the pork balls. Cook on each side for around 5 minutes or until cooked through. Drain the pork onto some kitchen paper and leave to one side.
In the same frying pan add a tiny amount of sunflower oil (you can use the juices leftover from the pork) and add the onions and red pepper. Add a pinch of salt and cook for around 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.
While the onions and peppers are cooking add all the ingredients for the paste to a blender. Mix until it forms a paste. Add the paste to the frying pan and cook with the onions.
Gently mix the tomato puree in the frying pan and once mixed with the other ingredients pour in the coconut milk. Give everything a good stir so that the coconut milk is mixed in with everything. Add the pork to the pan and cook on a gentle heat for around 5 -6 minutes.
Plate up the curry and garnish with fresh chillies and coriander. Serve with some plain rice or rice noodles on the side.
For more great recipes check out A Modern Rose blog!
