Food By Suwannee
Thai Seafood Curry – Suwannee’s Kitchen
If you enjoy seafood, you’ll love this sumptuous curry. The recipe starts with a healthy homemade, rather tart curry sauce that marries beautifully with fish & seafood. The sauce is heated in a wok or deep frying pan, to which an assortment of seafood and nutritious vegetables are added, plus cubes of pineapple. It’s a healthy, one-pot gourmet delight that will impress your friends and family. Make it as the main course for your next potluck or dinner party!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- SERVES 4
- An assortment of fish & seafood – see my suggestion below recipe*
- 2 whole kaffir lime leaves (available fresh or frozen at Asian grocers)
- 1 small Japanese eggplant, or 1/2 Chinese eggplant, cut into bite-size chunks (be sure to leave nutritious skin on)
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, OR 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 can pineapple chunks, drained (OR 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into cubes)
- approx. 1/2 cup fresh basil
- THAI CURRY SAUCE:
- 1 can good-quality coconut milk
- 1 tsp. tamarind paste (OR substitute juice of 3/4 lime)
- 1 shallot OR 1/4 cup purple onion, sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass (available at Asian grocers), OR 1 stalk fresh lemongrass (instructions below)
- 1-2 green chilies (jalapeno work fine)
- 1/2 tsp. fenugreek (seeds)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
Preparation:
For fresh lemongrass tips, see: All About Lemongrass: Your Guide to Buying, Preparing, and Cooking with Lemongrass.
- Make the curry sauce by placing all curry sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process well to create a fragrant Thai green curry sauce.
- Pour sauce into a wok or deep frying pan and add the kaffir lime leaves. Set over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sauce begins to bubble.
- Add all the vegetables except the basil, and stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low (so curry is gently simmering). Simmer 5-7 minutes, or until the eggplant has softened. Stir occasionally.
- While vegetables are simmering, rinse and cut the fish into smaller segments (e.g. 2-3 inches long). Rinse the shellfish in cold water, and remove shells from prawns. Scrub and remove beards from mussels if necessary.
- Add the segments of fish, stirring well to incorporate into the sauce. Cook approximately 2 minutes.
- Add remaining seafood plus the pineapple, stirring gently to incorporate. Cover and continue simmering until the seafood finishes cooking (about 2 more minutes, or until prawns have turned pink and plump and the shellfish have opened).
- Do a taste-test. Note that Thai curries usually require more fish sauce (instead of salt) to arrive at their peak of flavor. Add 1-3 more Tbsp. fish sauce according to your taste. If it turns out too salty, add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. Add more sugar if too tart, or more fresh green chili (or a sprinkling of dried crushed red chili) if not spicy enough.
- Ladle the curry into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the fresh basil over, and serve with plenty of jasmine rice. Enjoy!
*Suggested Assortment of Seafood for this Recipe (note that this recipe is very flexible – add the types of seafood you prefer, or what is available to you):
- 1 fresh or frozen fillet of salmon
- 1 fresh or frozen fillet of red snapper, or other white-fleshed fish
- 6-8 large sea scallops, OR 1+1/2 cups small bay scallops
- 8-10 medium to large shrimp/prawns
- several handfuls mussels or clams
The cooking class at Suwannee is an ideal home-style learning environment that is different from most of the opportunities in the hotels and restaurants in Thailand. Not will you be only watch and participate in the cooking of a number of traditional Thai dishes; also as part of our course we visit a local market to learn about local exotic fruits and vegetables, there is always an abundance of new things to see……and taste!
Suwannee Thai Cooking Class Chiangrai Thailand
Suwannee Kwan Cheablam – suwanneekwan@hotmail.com – Food by Suwannee