Once you have basic Thai red curry pasten (Kaeng Kua), you can easily turn it into an ‘advanced’ curry paste such as Kaeng Panang, which is enriched with peanuts and spices. Kaeng Panang is eaten with meat and poultry, and is supposed to be a thick curry rather than a soup-like curry. Check out The High Heel Gourmet for more about advanced curry paste.

I tried my first Kaeng Panang curry with chicken, and really liked it. I served it with pad thai noodles on the side, which is probably not traditional but it was a good combination.

Ingredients

For 2 servings

225 grams (.5 lb) boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced

250 ml (1 cup) coconut milk

2 Tbsp kaeng kua basic thai red curry paste

1/4 tsp white pepper corns

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 Tbsp minced shallots

2 Tbsp roasted peanuts

salt, to taste

palm sugar, to taste

fish sauce, to taste

Preparation

Roast the white pepper, cumin, and coriander for 5 minutes at 180ºC/350ºF.

Put the seeds into a mortar…

…and grind them into a pouder with the pestle.

Add the shallots and pound them into pulp.

Add 1 Tbsp of the peanuts…

…and pound them into a coarse puree as well.

Next add the curry paste (which is supposed to be more red than mine turned out to be)…

…and mix it in. Your Kaeng Panang red curry paste is ready!

The coconut milk should have the thick white layer of coconut cream on top (with the coconut water underneath).

Heat up just the thick white coconut cream until it starts to separate.

Next add the curry paste…

…and the chicken.

Stir the chicken for a minute until you see no more pink and it is coated with the curry.

Now add the remaining coconut milk (mostly coconut water).

Here you can see how watery it is.

Stir and bring to a boil.

Then lower the heat and simmer until the curry has thickened and the chicken is tender.

Serve with the remaining peanuts, crushed, or chiffonaded kaffir lime leaves.

Flashback

Two years ago, I blogged about spaghetti alla carbonara. This delicious dish from Rome has a low number of ingredients and is quick to prepare, but does require some practice to cook just right. Carbonara should not be made with cream, which is a giveaway for Italian restaurants that are not really Italian.