Panang curry with chicken (Gaeng Panang Gai)
I have to apologise for this pic. It is a crop of another pic. I have no idea why I didn’t take another shot but… I didn’t. Live and learn.
| 50g | Chicken, sliced |
| 3 Tab | Panang curry paste (red curry with peanuts) |
| ½ Cup | Coconut cream |
| 1 Cup | Coconut milk |
| 5-8 | Pea eggplants |
| 1-2 | Kaffir Leaves, thinly sliced |
| 5-10 Leaves | Sweet basil |
| ½ Tab | Palm sugar |
| 1 Tab | Fish sauce |
| 1 | Large Read chilli pepper (garnish) |
| 2 tab | Vegetable oil |
Extra coconut cream to wet chicken if required
- Put oil in wok and add curry paste, cook until paste has started to integrate with oil
- Add coconut cream. Stir until fat separates (oil on top around bubbles. You may need to stop stirring for this to show up)
- Add chicken and stir until completely cooked. If mix becomes too dry add more coconut cream
- Add coconut milk and eggplants. Season with fish sauce and sugar; bring to boil on medium heat. Taste and season to taste.
- Stir in sweet basil leaves, kaffir leaves and red chillies for about 1 minute. Taste and season to taste
- Remove from heat and serve with Jasmine rice
NOTES:
To cut the Kaffir leaves tear off the stalk carefully so most of the leaf is still intact. Tightly roll the leaf like (I imagine) a cigar and then thinly slice the cigar rolls, don’t slice any further.
Thai eggplants are a green ball about the same size as a large lime. The fresher the plant the longer the leaves extend down from the stalk. The fresh fruit should have white seeds however brown seeds are not a disaster. Once cut put the eggplant in water until needed otherwise it will turn brown.
Coconut cream is the first squeeze of the coconut once it has been ‘torn’ from the husk. The milk is just the cream with chicken stock (preferred) or water added.