Green curry of prawns

Chef: Neil Perry
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Green curry of prawns
A beautiful curry rich in flavour and easy to prepare;.
 

For the curry paste
5 coriander seeds
5 cumin seeds
5 white peppercorns
6 wild green (bird's eye) chillies, chopped
3 fresh long green chillies, seeded and chopped
2 lemongrass stems, pale part only, tough outer leaves removed, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh galangal
10 red Asian shallots, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
3 coriander roots, scraped and chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh turmeric
Finely grated zest of 1 makrut lime
1 tsp Thai shrimp paste, wrapped in foil and roasted until fragrant

For the prawn curry
250 ml coconut cream
3 tbsp vegetable oil
6 makrut lime leaves
80ml fish sauce
1 tbsp grated palm sugar (jaggery)
500ml coconut milk
8 raw large king prawns, peeled and deveined
4 wild green (bird's eye) chillies, lightly crushed
3 fresh long red chillies, halved lengthways and seeded
10 Thai pea aubergines
5 apple aubergines, quartered
12 sweet Thai basil leaves

For the green curry paste, lightly roast the coriander and cumin seeds and the peppercorns in a dry, heavy-based frying pan, then grind to a powder in a coffee or spice grinder.

Pound the chillies, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, garlic, coriander roots, turmeric, lime zest and shrimp paste in a mortar with a pestle.

Pass all the ground and pounded ingredients through a mincer twice, or use a blender to process until smooth, adding a little water or oil if necessary.

You can also just keep pounding with the pestle to produce a fine paste. Set aside 130g of paste for the curry. (Any leftover paste will freeze until next time.)

To make the curry, place the coconut cream and oil in a heavy-based frying pan over high heat and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.

When the coconut cream splits (the oil and solids separate), add the curry paste.

Crush the lime leaves in your hand, add them to the pan and fry for 10–15 minutes or until the mixture is sizzling and aromatic (use your nose).

Add the fish sauce and cook for one minute.

Add the palm sugar and coconut milk and bring to the boil.

Add the prawns, chillies and eggplants and simmer gently for four minutes or until the prawns are just cooked and the pea and apple eggplants are still a little crunchy.

Stir in the basil just before serving.

Serves
4 or 8 as part of shared Asian banquet

Preparation Time
20 minutes

Cooking Time
25 minutes

Main ingredients
Fish, Vegetables, Spice

Recipe Type
Dinner, Family Dinners

Level of Difficulty
Easy

You can also use this cury as a base for a stir fry. Just add the paste, palm sugar and fish sauce after stir-frying your meat or fish and you have an amazingly flavoured dish.
 

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