Chicken Curry with Tomatoes (Gaeng Ped Gai Gup Makeuataet)
Suggested Use:
De Arbol is a hot chile and a staple in Southwest kitchens. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish. Be adventurous and add them to your next stew or chili along with the other spices. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish.
Ingredients:
1 tsp. shrimp paste
1 tsp. lemon grass
3 medium shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
7 medium dried chiles de arbol, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. fresh galangal
2 cups coconut milk
3 pounds chicken, cubed
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. tamarind paste, dissolved in 2 Tbsp. of hot water
1 Tbsp. sugar
Instructions:
In a food processor, grind the shrimp paste, lemon grass, shallots, garlic, chiles, cilantro, cumin, pepper and galangal into a smooth paste. Add 1/2 cup of coconut milk to the paste and transfer to a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and simmer until the liquid evaporates and the paste begins to change color. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat them, then add the remaining coconut milk and stir until the mixture starts to thicken.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Now add the fish sauce, tamarind liquid and sugar. Stir and simmer the saucepan ingredients for 5 minutes, then pour into a serving bowl. Serve with basmati rice.
Yields 6 servings.
Recipe adapted from “The Original Thai Cookbook” by Jennifer Brennan.