Thai Jungle Curry or Kaeng Pa
October 03, 2021
6 Comments
This is as fiery as it gets for a Thai curry, it is way more spicy than most people can handle. It is also one of the simplest Thai curries to prepare, Jungle curries, or more accurately, forest curries, were traditionally made with whatever was to hand so your choice of meats and vegetables comes down to whatever you want in your curry. Although this was a dish most often cooked with wild boar it is far more common these days to see it cooked with pork or sometimes chicken. Of all the ingredients you might use I think it's worth getting some Thai basil which is sold in most supermarkets these days, fresh green peppercorns on the stalk are great but you would need to find those in an Asian shop. This curry is also cooked without coconut milk but I don't doubt that someone is going to try it with coconut milk:-) Update.( I've been told by quite a few customers this is what they are doing! )
I'll wait to see customer feedback on this one, it's certainly possible to make it even spicier but no point in doing so if only a few people are able to take it.
A note of caution. Although this is already a cooked curry paste it's still capable of inducing a sneezing attack or worse when the paste is being heated. For that reason, the paste is added to water and cooked rather than cooked directly as with most curry pastes. A cooker hood is also advisable. I just had someone* post a comment " Terrible methodology You're supposed to fry the spice paste first for starters." Nope, not unless you have a restaurant extractor fan at full blast, this is a real Jungle curry paste not one of those pretend ones.
*( I could think of terms more suitable than "someone" but best not!)
Suggested ingredients for Thai Jungle curry. Use around 500g of meat as well as vegetables. Note I have used aubergine below and after a few tests I think it tends to make the curry milder than it would be without it, probably due to the high water content. Personal preferences again, spice levels are so subjective. I would also add fish sauce and sugar to it but that is to my own taste.
This is how I have prepped my ingredients.
Add a spoonful of oil to a pan and cook the meat whilst stirring.
Add 300 ml of water to the pan.
Add the Jungle Curry paste to the pan.
Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer and cook for a few minutes.
Add vegetables to pan and cook for a few minutes more. This paste has a low salt content as it allows me to judge the heat better when making it, so you might want to test and adjust salt content to your own taste, fish sauce would be ideal. A quick read of this article can elevate your Thai cooking to a totally different level.
Crafting the Perfect Bowl: The Art of Thai Flavor Balancing
Garnish with Thai basil if available and serve with rice.
Enjoy:-)
If you like this recipe please click the star rating or add a comment below! Kop Khun Kha, Nitsa.x
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