Panang Curry

Panang curry is a type of Thai curry. It is much different than the ordinary red, yellow, green, and brown curries. It is both spicy and sweet...and absolutely mouthwatering. You can either buy panang curry paste from the store or you can make it from scratch. I have included a recipe for the paste and a recipe for the dish. Feel free to add any type of meat or vegetables.

Panang Curry
 
Panang Curry Paste

• 5 large Chilly peppers (red, dried, seeded and soaked)
• 1 teaspoon Galangal (a root), sliced
• 1 teaspoon fresh Lemongrass, sliced
• 1 teaspoon Coriander
• 1 teaspoon Cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 clove Garlic, chopped
• 5 Shallots, sliced
• 1/4 cup Peanuts (optional)
• 12 tablespoons Kaffir Lime (the rind), sliced
• 1 tablespoon Shrimp paste (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Salt (sea salt)
• 2 teaspoons Pepper (white)

Preparation:

 To make the panang curry paste, simply combine all the ingredients and blend them together in a food processor or blender.

The ingredients for the Panang curry recipe are as follows:

 

Panang Curry (Main Dish)

• Your choice of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, or any other meat (or none)
• Your choice of vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, onion, eggplant, carrot, etc.)
• 1-2 cans Coconut milk (use light coconut milk if you prefer)
• 1-2 tablespoons Panang Curry Paste
• 1 tablespoon Brown sugar (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Fish sauce (optional)
• 1/2 cup Peas
• 4-6 Kaffir lime leaves
• Sweet basil leaves (for garnish)
• Some water (to thin out and make more soupy, less thick)

Making your Panang Curry:

Making the curry: Bring the coconut milk, curry paste, sugar, and fish sauce together in a pot, bring to a boil. Next, add your meat and/or vegetables. When almost cooked, add kaffir lime leaves and simmer for an additional ten minutes. Before you remove from heat, make sure the meat or fish is cooked all the way! If you find that you've boiled down your curry too much - and it tastes too thick, salty and concentrated, add some water to thin it out.

Serving the curry: When you're all done, remove everything from the heat, and fill a bowl about halfway with rice, then top with curry. Or, for a more traditional approach, stuff all the rice in a small bowl, then turn the bowl upside down on a plate and tap it until the rice ball falls out (this is an easy way to make a fancy looking rice ball, like the ones you're served in Thai restaurants). Next, pour a good portion of curry into a medium sized bowl, and place it next to the rice ball and serve. You may want to garnish it with sweet basil leaves before serving.