The Big Book of Curry Recipes (72 page)

100g (3 1/2 oz) beansprouts

a few fresh mint leaves

2 tbsp crisp-fried shallots (to garnish)

Method:

Either fry or poach the chicken until cooked. Once done, remove from the pan and set aside.

Now heat a little oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the laksa paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes (or until the mixture turns fragrant). At this point stir in the coconut milk and the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to a brisk simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes.

Add the prawns and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for a further 2 minutes, or until the prawns start to turn pink. Immediately add the cooked chicken and continue simmering for 2 minutes more, or until the chicken has heated through.

Whilst the laska is cooking place the noodles in a large heat-proof bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside for about 4 minutes to soften. Once the noodles are soft, drain and divide between your serving bowls. Top with a few beansprouts then ladle the laksa over the top. Garnish with a little deep-fried shallots and a few mint leaves then serve.

Sambal Belacan

Sambal Belacan is a traditional Malaysian recipe for a classic spice paste or condiment made from a blend of hot chillies and toasted shrimp paste pounded in a mortar and mixed with lime juice, salt and palm sugar.

This is a classic Malaysian condiment or spice paste made from a base of belacan, the local shrimp paste, with lots of chillies.

Ingredients:

3 large, dried, red chillies (eg cayenne), broken into 3 pieces

1 large green chilli, cut into 3 pieces

10 cili padi (birds’ eye chillies)

1 tbsp toasted belacan (shrimp paste)

juice of 3 limes

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp palm sugar

Method:

Add the dried chillies to a stone mortar and pound hard, until broken into small pieces. Now add the fresh chillies and pound to a paste. As the chillies are mashed up, add the toasted belacan and pound this in (add a little water if the mixture seems too dry).

Once you have a smooth paste, work in the lime juice, salt and palm sugar. Continue working the mixture until the salt and sugar have dissolved.

Turn the mixture into a small bowl and use as a dipping sauce or condiment with rice, fried fish, noodle and fried rice dishes.

Malay Gravy Chicken Curry with White Pumpkin

Malay Gravy Chicken Curry with White Pumpkin is a traditional Malaysian recipe for a classic gravy-based curry of chicken and white pumpkin in a richly-spiced coconut milk base.

Ingredients:

1 oven-ready chicken

1/4 medium-sized white pumpkin

60g (2 oz) ghee or butter

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp onions, ground to a paste in a mortar

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp fresh chillies, ground to a paste in a mortar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp garlic, ground to a paste in a mortar

250ml (1 cup) coconut cream

2 stalks of lemongrass

4 cloves, ground to a powder

seeds from 4 cardamom pods, ground to a powder

10cm (4 in) length of cinnamon stick, ground to a powder

Method:

Peel the pumpkin and remove any seeds then cut into sixteen pieces. Place in a bowl, cover with water and set aside to soak for fifteen minutes.

Melt the ghee or butter in a pan, add all the ground ingredients and fry until browned. Add the chicken and salt and fry the chicken until nicely browned all over. Drain the pumpkin pieces and add to the pan then pour over the coconut milk and add the lemongrass. Bring to a simmer, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook gently for two hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and very tender.

Remove the lemongrass, turn into a serving dish and bring to the table.

Ayam Masak Lemak (Chicken in Creamy Coconut)

Ayam Masak Lemak (Chicken in Creamy Coconut) is a traditional Malaysian recipe for a classic curry-style dish of chicken in a spiced coconut milk and cow’s milk base.

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

1 whole chicken (about 1.5kg [3 1/3 lb]), cut into serving-sized pieces

440ml (14.5 oz) tin of coconut milk

250ml (1 cup) whole milk

oil for frying

For the Spice Blend:

1 stalk of lemongrass, outer layers removed and soft inner core, chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled

5 birds’ eye chillies, chopped

5 tbsp groundnut oil

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp chicken stock powder (or cube, crumbled)

salt, to taste

2 tbsp ground turmeric

Method:

For the spice paste, combine the lemongrass, garlic, chillies and oil in a blender and process until smooth.

Heat oil in a wok and when smoking add the spice paste and fry until tender. At this point, add the chicken, ground turmeric and the coconut milk. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, cover the pan and cook gently for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. During this time, if the sauce is becoming too dry, add the milk, as needed.

Now stir in the chicken stock powder and sugar. Season to taste with salt, bring back to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes more, or until the chicken is completely tender.

Adjust the seasonings to taste and serve hot with rice or noodles.

Udang Masak Lemak Nenas (Pineapple Prawn Curry)

Udang Masak Lemak Nenas (Pineapple Prawn Curry) is a traditional Malaysian recipe for a classic curry-prawns and pineapple cooked in a spiced coconut milk base.

Ingredients:

For the Spice Paste:

16 dried red chillies, ends trimmed and soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes

12 shallots

4 garlic cloves

2 candlenuts

2 stalks of lemongrass (remove the outer skins and use the soft inner cores only)

3cm (1 in) length of fresh turmeric

1.5cm (1/2 in) length of fresh galangal

1 tbsp belacan (shrimp paste)

200ml (4/5 cup) groundnut oil

1/2 ripe pineapple, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes

250ml (1 cup) thick coconut milk

12 king prawns (in their shells)

Method:

In a blender, combine all the spice paste ingredients (drain the chillies before adding). Process until smooth (add a little water, if necessary).

Heat the oil in a wok and when hot, add the spice paste and fry until fragrant. Transfer the fried spice paste to a flame-proof casserole and stir in the pineapple chunks and 1l (4 cups) water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes (Add a little water if it looks too thick during this cooking process).

Now stir in the coconut milk, bring back to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes more before adding the prawns. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the prawns are pink and cooked through.

Take off the heat, turn into a warmed serving dish and serve immediately accompanied by rice.

Masak Lemak (Cabbage in Coconut Milk Gravy)

Masak Lemak (Cabbage in Coconut Milk Gravy) is a traditional Malaysian recipe for a classic curry of cabbage cooked in a spiced coconut milk base with shrimp paste and dried prawns.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped

5 red chillies (preferably birds’ eye), slit down the centre

1 tbsp dried prawns

1 small cabbage, washed and chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

250ml (1 cup) coconut milk

1 tbsp balachong (shrimp paste)

Method:

Pound the dried prawns in a mortar then work to a smooth paste with the balachong (shrimp paste).

Pour the coconut milk into a pan and add 250ml water. Stir in the shrimp mixture along with the onion and garlic. Bring the resultant mixture to a boil and when boiling briskly add the cabbage. Continue boiling hard for 10 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender but still crisp.

Turn into a serving dish and serve as an accompaniment to curried fish.

Kari Ikan (Fish Curry)

Kari Ikan (Fish Curry) is a traditional Malaysian recipe for a classic curry of fish cooked in a spiced gravy base and which, unusually, is made without coconut milk.

Ingredients:

750g (1 2/3 lbs) fish, cleaned, scaled and cut into steaks

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 red chilli, sliced into long strips

1 spring onion, cut into 3cm (1 in) lengths

600ml (2 1/2 cups) water

2 garlic cloves, pounded to a paste

10 shallots, peeled and pounded to a paste

1 tbsp (heaped) belacan (shrimp paste)

3cm (1 in) length of ginger, peeled and pounded to a paste

5 red chillies, pounded to a paste

2 stalks of lemongrass, soft cores pounded to a paste

5cm (2 in) length of galangal, peeled and pounded to a paste

2 tsp tamarind juice

salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok and when hot use to fry all the pounded ingredients for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. At this pint stir in the water and bring to a boil.

Now add the fish and tamarind juice then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 8 minutes, or until the fish is tender and cooked through.

Turn into a warmed serving dish, garnish with shredded chillies and spring onions and serve accompanied by rice.

Chicken with Spices and Soy Sauce

Chicken with Spices and Soy Sauce is a traditional Malaysian recipe that is a classic example of Nonya cuisine, a blend of Chinese cooking styles with Malay ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 chicken (about 1.5kg [3 lbs]), jointed and cut into 16 serving pieces

3 onions, sliced

1l (4 cups) water

3 garlic cloves, crushed

4 fresh red chillies, sliced thinly (remove the seeds and membranes for less heat)

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg

6 whole cloves

1 tsp tamarind pulp, soaked in 3 tbsp warm water

3 tbsp dark soy sauce

fresh green and red chillies, shredded, to garnish

salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Arrange the chicken pieces and 1 onion in a pan. Pour over the water (enough to just cover) and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover the pan and cook gently for 20 minutes.

In a mortar or food processor, grind or pound the remaining onion, garlic and red chilies to a fine paste. Heat a little of the oil in a wok and cook the paste for about 90 seconds to bring out its flavour.

When the chicken has cooked, remove from the stock (reserve 300ml [1 1/4 cups] of the chicken stock) and add to the spice mixture. Toss well to coat in the spice blend then stir in the nutmeg and cloves. Strain the tamarind juice and add this to the chicken with the soy sauce. Cook the mixture for about 3 minutes more then add the reserved chicken stock.

Adjust the seasonings to taste then bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes more, or until the chicken pieces are very tender and cooked through.

Serve the chicken in a ring of rice and garnish with the chilli shreds before bringing to the table.

^[1]
  ki lek represents the leaves and flower buds of the kassod tree (
Cassia siamea
).

East Asian Curries.

Surprisingly, curry never really penetrated as far as the countries of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea). Indeed, it was the British who introduced curry to Japan during the in the Meiji era. As a result, curry was categorized in Japan as a ‘western’ dish. Its spread across the country is commonly attributed to its use in the Japanese Army and Navy which adopted it extensively as convenient field and naval canteen cooking, allowing even conscripts from the remotest countryside to experience the dish. As a result, the base of Japanese curry spice blends is garam masala, but with the unique Japanese addition of allspice, dried oregano and cocoa.

It was the Japanese who brought curries to Korea, so Korean curries are almost identical to their Japanese counterparts.

Curry came into Cantonese Chinese cookery via Malaysia and tends to be quite mild and heavily based on turmeric. Though they may not be ‘curries’ in the strict sense the hottest recipes in China come from the Sichuan province and are spiced with chillies and Sichuan peppers. In this respect they resemble the dishes of Nepal and Bhutan.

China

In terms of native curry-like dishes China has the cuisine of Sichuan, with its use of Sichuan peppercorns and chillies. Curries of the Indian style were brought to Hong Kong via Malaysia and Singapore and are a feature of Cantonese cookery, which is familiar to anyone who has frequented a Chinese restaurant or take away. Below I include recipes for restaurant-style and traditional curries as well as a few of the spicier dishes of Sichuan.

Gali Ji Huifan (Chinese Chicken Curry on Rice)

Gali Ji Huifan (Chinese Chicken Curry on Rice) is a traditional Chinese recipe (from Canton) for a classic curry of chicken and vegetables in a slightly spiced stock base thickened with cornflour that’s typically served on a bed of rice. This is a classic Cantonese recipe for a mild Chinese-style curry. The curry powder used is dominated by turmeric, which gives the curry its characteristic yellow colour. It was the Cantonese who introduced curry to China, via Malaysia which is why the name,
gā lĭ
is based on the English word, ‘curry’.