Ragout of Shellfish with Sweet Scented Basil

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups fresh mussels in their shells, cleaned
8 oz medium cuttle fish or squid
12 oz monkfish, hokey, or red snapper, skinned
5 oz fresh or cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
14 oz coconut milk
1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 oz French beans, trimmed and cooked
2 oz canned bamboo shoots, drained
1 ripe tomato, skinned, seeded and roughly chopped

Green Curry Paste:
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp caraway or cumin seeds
3-4 medium green chiles (such as jalapeno), finely chopped
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 piece lemon grass, 3 inch long
1 piece galingal or fresh ginger, 3/4 inch long, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 shallots or 1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 piece shrimp paste, 3/4 inch square
2 oz coriander leaves, finely chopped
3 Tbsp fresh mint or basil, finely chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 sprigs large leaf basil, torn, for garnish

Instructions:

Place the mussels in a stainless steel or enamel saucepan, add 4 Tbsp water, cover, steam open and cook for 6-8 minutes. Take 3/4 of the mussels out of their shells (discard any which don’t open), strain the cooking liquid and set aside.

To prepare the cuttle fish or squid, trim of the tentacles beneath the eye. Rinse under cold running water, discarding the gut. Remove the cuttle shell from inside the body and rub off the paper-thin skin. Cut the body open and score, criss-cross, with a sharp knife. Cut into strips and set aside.
To make the green curry paste, dry-fry the coriander and caraway or cumin seeds in a wok to release their flavor. Grind the chiles with the sugar and salt using a pestle and mortar or food processor to make a smooth paste. Combine the seeds from the wok with the chiles, add the lemon grass, galingal or ginger, garlic, and shallots or onion, then grind smoothly. Add the shrimp paste, coriander, mint or basil, nutmeg and vegetable oil. Combine well. There may seem to be a lot of coriander and mint at this stage, but their volume will reduce considerably when ground with the other spices.

Pour the coconut milk into a sieve. Pour the thin part of the milk together with the chicken or vegetable stock into a wok. The thick part of the coconut milk is added later. Add 4-5 Tbsp of the green curry paste according to taste. You can add more paste later if you need to. Boil rapidly until the liquid has reduced completely.

Add the thick part of the coconut milk, then add the cuttle fish or squid and monkfish, hokey, or red snapper. Simmer uncovered from 15-20 minutes. Then add the shrimp, scallops, and cooked mussels with the beans, bamboo shoots and tomato. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, transfer to a bowl, and garnish with the basil and chiles.

Serves 4-6.

From “Fire and Spice” by Hsiung, Fernandez, and Wheeler.