Recipes
Thai
Phanaeng

Phanaeng

Name: Phanaeng
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 4 dried long red chillies; 1 tsp galangal; 1 stalk lemongrass; 0.5 tsp kaffir lime zest; 2 coriander roots; 1 tsp coriander seeds; 0.25 tsp cumin seeds; 2 cloves garlic; 1 shallot; 0.5 tsp shrimp paste (kapi); 0.25 tsp salt; 2 tbsp roasted peanuts; 150 g beef sirloin or rump; 100 ml coconut cream; 1.5 tsp palm sugar; 2 tsp fish sauce; 3 kaffir lime leaves; 1 red spur chilli; 60 g jasmine rice

A thick, dry-style southern Thai red curry: a hand-pounded paste of soaked dried chillies, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime and roasted peanuts fried in cracked coconut cream until the oil breaks out, then simmered with beef and finished salty-sweet with palm sugar, fish sauce and shredded lime leaf.

Mains 25g+ protein 8g+ fibre

50 min30 prep · 20 cookMedium1128 kcalper serving

Instructions

Snap the tops off 4 dried long red chillies, shake out the seeds and soak them in warm water for 15 minutes until fully soft. Drain, squeeze dry and chop roughly. Meanwhile rinse 60 g jasmine rice and cook it in a small pan or rice cooker so it is ready and hot when the curry is done.
Dry-toast 1 tsp coriander seeds and 0.25 tsp cumin seeds in a small dry pan over low heat for 1-2 minutes, shaking constantly, until they smell nutty; grind to a fine powder in a mortar and set aside. Pound 1 tbsp roasted peanuts to a coarse paste in the same mortar and set aside.
Pound the paste in a granite mortar in this order, working each ingredient smooth before adding the next: 0.25 tsp salt with the soaked chillies, then 1 stalk sliced lemongrass, 1 tsp chopped galangal, 0.5 tsp kaffir lime zest and 2 coriander roots, then 2 cloves garlic and 1 chopped shallot. Finally work in 0.5 tsp shrimp paste, the ground coriander and cumin and the pounded peanuts. Expect 10-15 minutes of pounding for a smooth, glossy paste.