Ingredients
THAI YELLOW CURRY PASTE:
- 10 dried red chillis ~6cm/2.5" long, chopped into 1cm / 0.5" pieces (Note 1)
- 1 – 4 fresh birds eye chillis deseeded, roughly (1 for extremely mild, 4 for fairly spicy, Note 2)
- 2 lemongrass stems Note 3
- 1 large or 2 small eschalots roughly chopped (~ 1/2 cup) (Note 4)
- 2 tbsp fresh turmeric finely grated (about 2cm / 0.8" piece) (Note 5)
- 2 tbsp galangal finely grated (about 2cm / 0.8" piece) (Note 6)
- 8 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 ½ tbsp Thai shrimp paste in bean oil Note 7
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp fenugreek powder Note 8
- ⅛ tsp white pepper sub black
CURRY:
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil or canola or peanut oil
- 1 medium potato peeled, cut into 2.5cm / 1″ pieces x 1cm/ 0.4″ thick (Note 9)
- 1 small carrot peeled, sliced into 5mm / 0.2″ slices on the diagonal
- 1 cup chicken stock low sodium
- 300 ml / 10oz coconut cream Note 10
- 4 tsp fish sauce plus more to taste (Note 11)
- 5 tsp white sugar
- 2 tsp tamarind puree Note 12
- 350 g / 12oz prawns/shrimp medium, peeled, tail on optional (700g/1.4lb unpeeled) (Note 13)
- ½ cup bamboo shoots canned, drained, loosely packed (Note 14)
GARNISHES & SERVING:
- 16 Thai basil leaves highly recommended, Note 15
- 1 Red chilli finely sliced (optional, use large for not spicy)
- 2 tbsp Crispy fried shallots optional, store bought, Note 16
- Jasmine rice
Instructions
CURRY PASTE:
- Soak dried chillis: Roughly chop chillies and transfer to bowl, leaving behind seeds. Cover with boiling water and soak for 30 minutes then drain (reserve soaking water).
- Check spiciness: Have a nibble of soaked chilli, should not be that spicy. If it is spicy, only use 1/3 to 1/2 of the amount (Note 1).
- Prepare lemongrass: Remove woody top half and outer layers of lemongrass. Grate with microplane. (See in post or video for preparation demo)
- Make curry paste: Place chillis, lemongrass and all remaining curry paste ingredients in a jar just wide enough to fit a stick blender. Add 3 tablespoons chilli soaking water. Blitz with stick blender until smooth so there's no hard grit – rub between your fingers to check – about 15 seconds on high. (Or use small food processor or Nutribullet, scraping down sides well).
CURRY:
- Cook off curry paste: Heat oil in a medium heavy based skillet over medium heat. (Mine is a 26cm / 10.5" Lodget cast iron) Add curry paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it dries out a bit a smells fragrant.
- Reduce stock: Add chicken stock, stir to dissolve paste, then simmer for 1 minute.
- Add remaining curry sauce ingredients: Reduce heat to medium low. Add tamarind, fish sauce and sugar. Stir until tamarind is dissolved. Then stir in coconut, carrot and potato.
- Simmer: Bring to simmer, then simmer gently for 15 minutes or until potato is almost fully soft. Pierce with knife to check, it might take 20 minutes.
- Prawns and bamboo shoots: Add prawns and bamboo shoots. Stir, then cook for 3 minutes until prawns are just cooked.
- ADJUST sauce: Taste and adjust the curry sauce at this point. Thin sauce with stock or water, add salt, fish sauce or sugar if needed. See Note 17.
- Serve! Transfer curry to serving bowl. Garnish with Thai Basil, fresh chilli and crispy shallots. Serve with jasmine rice.
