Curries of the World with Chorchaba – Recipes
Our cookery classes are as much about learning to cook as they are a sociable experience. We hope you enjoyed your fine dining evening and are ready to recreate the meals at home.
We Cooked:
- Thai Green Curry
- Malaysian Beef Rendang
- Vietnamese Curry
Thai Green Curry – with fish
Ingredients – Serves 2:
- 300g white firm fish or Lotus root and pre soaked bean curd sticks. You could also use chicken thighs
- 25g Green curry paste
- 1 tin 400ml Coconut milk
- Small bunch sweet Thai basil
- Optional 2 teaspoon sugar
- Garnish
- 1-2 Red green chilli cut diagonally
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or vegan fish sauce or mushroom sauce.
Method:
- Heat ½ of the coconut milk in a pan and cook for 1 minute on low heat.
- Add the curry paste and cook until you can see the oil forming on the surface of the paste, stirring all the time.
- Add the fish or meat.
- Add the remaining coconut milk (and lotus root/bean curd if using), cook for a few minutes seasoning with fish sauce and optional sugar.
- To serve, sprinkle the chilli and sweet basil leaf as a garnish.
Thai Green Curry Paste – Chochaba pre made this for you
This makes about 120g of paste. This is certainly enough to make two curries. Chorchaba’s tip is to cook it off in a little vegetable oil, put it in a sterile jar and it will keep for 3 months.
Ingredients:
- 20 green chilli
- 1 tsp lemon grass
- 1 tsp coriander root
- 1 tsp galangal
- 1 tablespoon shallot
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp coriander root
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp shrimp paste or miso paste (V)
Method
- Add the chilli, lemon grass, coriander root and galangal to the food mixer or nutribullet.
- Then add garlic and shallots. Blend until very smooth
- Add coriander powder cumin powder shrimp past and salt. Blend for the third time until all mixed to a very smooth paste.
TIP: You can actually add the stage 3 ingredients to the mortar and pestle and blend manually rather than returning to the blender which will save a bit of mess.
Beef Rendang
Ingredients: Serves 6
- 600g diced beef
- 5 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 stick cinnamon, about 2-inch length
- 3 cloves
- 3 star anise
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 lemongrass, cut into 4-inch length and pounded
- 1 cup coconut milk, coconut cream
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons tamarind pulp, soaked in some warm water for the juice and discard the seeds
- 6 kaffir lime leaves, very finely sliced
- 6 tablespoons kerisik, toasted coconut
- 1 tablespoon sugar or palm sugar to taste
- salt to taste
Spice Paste
- 5 shallots
- 1 inch galangal
- 3 lemongrass (white part only)
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 10-12 dried chilies, soaked in warm water and seeded
Method
- Chop the spice paste ingredients and then blend it in a food processor until fine.
- Heat the oil in a stew pot, add the spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry until aromatic. Add the beef and the pounded lemongrass and stir for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the meat is almost cooked. Add the kaffir lime leaves, kerisik (toasted coconut), sugar or palm sugar, stirring to blend well with the meat.
- Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is really tender and the gravy has dried up. Add more salt and sugar to taste. Serve immediately with steamed rice and save some for overnight.
Notes
To prepare the kerisik or toasted coconut, just add the grated coconut to a dry wok and stir continuously until they turn golden brown.
Vietnamese Chicken Curry
Ingredients: Serves 2
- 300g chicken thighs cut into pieces or dried beancurd sticks
- One medium size potato
- 1 medium sized carrot
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 1 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 stalk lemongrass cut into 5″ pieces then split lengthwise, smashed to expose more leaves
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- oil for frying
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)
- Water if needed to dilute coconut milk
Marinade:
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp. Vietnamese curry powder – see below.
Method:
- Cut chicken into large 2-3″ pieces. Follow packet instructions for bean curd sticks to soften.
- Add salt, onion powder & curry powder to chicken. Marinate for 2-4 hours.
- Cut onions, potatoes and carrots into 1.5-2″ chunks.
- Deep fry potatoes and carrots until lightly browned so they hold their shape.
- Marinade the chicken or beancurd for a few hours
- Brown chicken on all sides, drain fat and clean off any burned residue in the pan, set aside.
- Add some oil to the pan on low heat sweat onion until soft, then add garlic until lightly brown.
- Return chicken or add beancurd to the pan with lemongrass, bay leaves, sugar and water until all ingredients are fully submerged.
- Heat on high until boiling, reduce to medium-high heat to maintain a low boil.
- After 5 minutes of low boil, taste the broth and adjust with salt, sugar, and curry powder to taste if needed.
- Add potatoes and carrots, and more water if needed.
- Return to high heat until it hits a boil, then reduce to a low simmer until the chicken is fully cooked, and the potatoes and carrots until cooked.
- Add coconut milk, stir and raise the heat to high until it hits a boil, then turn off the heat.
- Serve with bread, rice and chow mein as a side.
Chorchaba’s Vietnamese Curry Powder
Ingredients: Makes plenty to save for later
- 4 bay leaves
- 8 whole cloves
- 1 tsp coriander seeds or 1/2 tsp of ground coriander
- 2 tsp cumin seeds or 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 4 star anise
- 1tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp tumeric
Method:
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Toast whole spices for 30-45 seconds by placing them in the hot pan and occasionally shake the pan or stir the spices with a wooden spoon or chopsticks to prevent them from burning.
- Place whole spices in an electric spice/coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Alternatively you can use a mortal and pestle.
- Add the powdered spices to the grinder and pulse for a few seconds to mix well.
- Store in airtight container away from direct sunlight.
Chorchaba’s Favourite brands for her dishes
Available in Asian supermarkets such as W.H.Lungs or Wing Yip
We hope you enjoyed the class!
If you have any feedback about the class or questions for chef get in touch. Email: lovetocook@foodsorcery.co.uk
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