Mains · By James
Thai Red Curry (with Fruit)
This curry ties into the same background as the green curry. We had a number of red curries in Thailand, and although we hadn't been taught how to make this one, the cookbook I was given at the end of our Bangkok cooking day included this very festive curry with fruit. It has traditionally been made with grilled duck breast (hard to find for us), and so this recipe uses grilled chicken thighs as a dark meat replacement for duck breast (a grilled steak would be closer in flavor and consistency to the duck, but given the price of steak we don't want to submerge a grilled steak in sauce, so we use thighs). The dish is exotic in appearance and flavor, with the orange curry offset by green herbal leaves and tri-color sweet fruits that are a built-in chutney.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Jasmine rice — carefully rinsed until water runs clear (start cooking rice toward the end of curry making)
- 11 or 12 large deboned chicken thighs — salted and grilled lightly, leave underdone
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (I use olive)
- One full jar of Thai Kitchen red curry paste (112 g jar)
- 3 tbsp red pepperoncini chilies in oil (with oil) — very finely pulverized into a mush (mortar/pestle). I use this to augment the chile intensity of the paste — you might find the paste hot enough on its own. To be authentically Thai, use 1 or 2 small Thai red chilies, crushed, without seeds.
- Lots of shredded fresh ginger — ¼ cup (frozen ginger root grates really easily on a microplane)
- 5 toes garlic — minced or crushed
- 15–20 cilantro stems — very finely pulverized, basically a mush (mortar/pestle). If you can get bunches with the root balls attached, add 3 or 4 of these roots and reduce the stems — in Thailand they always use the root balls for their intense flavor.
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1½ cups good chicken stock
- 2 cans coconut milk (Aroy-D from Thailand is the best we have found — rich with lots of the thick cream)
- Zest and juice of 1 medium-large lime (a substitute for Thai kaffir lime leaves — suggested by Thai chefs)
- Lemongrass water: 2 lemongrass stalks chopped into fine rings, then pour enough boiling water over them to cover, and muddle them around — steep for at least 10 minutes (can substitute the zest of 1 big lemon)
- 5 tbsp good fish sauce (add more if the final dish is not salty enough)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 10 spears of asparagus, cut into 2–3 cm chunks
- 15–20 red grapes
- 2 cups of small pineapple chunks (fresh is the way to go)
- 15–20 cherry or grape tomatoes
- 20–30 leaves of Thai basil (or regular Italian basil) — use a couple of leaves on top of each bowl for garnish
- 15 or so cilantro leaves for garnishing bowls
Method
- 1
Salt, then oil your chicken thighs, and lightly grill them (leave underdone — pink in middle). When cool enough, cut into 2–3 cm pieces.
- 2
Add oil to a wok or large non-stick pan. Add the elements of your flavor base: red curry paste, crushed pepperoncini chilies (along with the nice red oil from the chilies), shredded ginger, crushed garlic, crushed cilantro stems, ground coriander and cumin.
- 3
Stir fry this mixture for 4 or 5 minutes.
- 4
At this point start your Jasmine rice (takes about 8–9 minutes, then leave covered for an additional 5 minutes).
- 5
Add your chicken stock to the flavor base, and simmer for a few minutes to reduce slightly.
- 6
Slowly whisk in your 2 cans of coconut milk, then add your lime zest/juice and lemon zest. Continue simmering for 10 minutes to combine flavors and reduce slightly.
- 7
Add your last flavoring ingredients, the fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir to combine and taste for flavor balance (salty, slightly sweet, deep umami, evident spiciness, tart citrus notes). Adjust as necessary.
- 8
Add your asparagus pieces and the diced chicken, and continue to simmer a few minutes more.
- 9
Now add the 3 fruits: grapes, pineapple, and cherry tomatoes (technically a fruit). Continue to simmer for a few minutes to warm through (do not overcook the fruits).
- 10
Add the Thai basil leaves in now, just before the plating — we want them to remain bright green and freshly flavored.
- 11
Plate the meal — this is a dish best plated by the cook. Scoop the cooked Jasmine rice into the middle of your bowls (just over one loose cup per dish). Use wet fingers to mold rice into a nice dome in the middle of each dish. As you ladle the curry around each dish, try to evenly distribute the meat chunks, the 3 fruits, and the asparagus. Garnish each dish with the remaining basil and cilantro leaves.
A note from James
Thai Kitchen curry paste is readily available, and is rich in the Thai seasonings that make this red curry memorable (also, no additives or preservatives). Drink/wine pairing: an off-dry Riesling or Gewurztraminer are great! Any more acidic white or white-blend will do very well (the LaFrenz Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend, "Ensemble Reserve," is magical with it). And of course, a good bubbly goes very, very well!
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