RECIPE - Easy Thai Prawn Red/Green Curry (& brands I use)
- Mr T
- May 28, 2019
- 5 min read
This is my ultimate lazy recipe, it's the one I do when I haven't got a lot of time/energy to be standing in the kitchen. This is a super tasty, authentic Thai curry, but shock horror, it uses a pre-made paste! This usually goes against all my principles, but read on to find out why I use it. The paste also contains shrimp paste, so as it is already not vegan, I decided to make this a prawn curry, with fat, succulent juicy prawns!....
Shopping list (makes approx 8 portions)
'Chaokoh' coconut milk, can x1
Size LL frozen prawns, 800g bag x1
Mixed sliced frozen peppers, 500g bag x1
Mushrooms, x2 or 3 'packs' (your choice - I used a combo of enoki & oyster this time, but I often use eringi, shitake etc.)
Aubergine x3
White onion, large x1
Bamboo shoot, shredded 150g pack x2
Carrots x2-4
Broccoli, head x2
'Mae Ploy' green/red curry paste, coconut oil, almond milk, rice - these are all things I have in my cupboard permanently, so don't obviously shop for them every time, but you need all these items. The almond milk is not 'essential' you can substitute with a bit of water/another nut milk if you need more liquid and you can use your favourite cooking oil rather than coconut oil. This week I just fancied a bit of rice, but if you are keeping 100% paleo you can obviously substitute as you see fit. I will often add some steamed daikon and of course sweet potatoes as a base.
This lot cost me just under 4000yen (the prawns are half of that cost, so if you remove them you will save a lot!) from 'Niku no Hanamasa' in Sangenjaya and will feed me (lunch and dinner) for most of the working-week (8 meals). That's around 500yen per tasty, nutrient dense, hearty, filling meal:
A quick word about brands and pre-made products....
So, as a rule I don't usually buy pre-made products such as sauces, but this thai curry paste I have found has a very 'clean' ingredient list. Nothing in it is artificial, so I feel 'safe' using it. Also, the ingredients required, as well as the time and effort to source them, to make a similar paste would be way more money and effort than I would be willing to spend. On top of that this paste just makes a super tasty, authentic curry!
Brands: So I usually go for the cheapest available in the store when it comes to most things, but I have found some large discrepancies in quality and taste, especially with Thai products. The 'Mae Ploy' paste I recommend above is one example of this, but I have also found wide variations in Coconut milk. The brand I always go for now is 'Chaokoh' coconut milk. It is sometimes double the price of the cheapest one available, but usually falls around 200yen so is not a big deal breaker. However, I have used other brands (naming no names, but one in a bright blue can!) which have completely ruined a curry for me, to the point where I have had to throw it away because it tasted so bad. I have since learned my lesson and now always buy this:
I have mentioned a few times that I use almond milk in my cooking. It is something I always have in the house and use for a variety of things. I love the taste and again, have spent a long time (and lots of trial and error) finding the right brand at the right price. The 'cleanest' (with minimum ingredients/additives and without sweeteners etc.) and cheapest organic brand I have found comes in at under 500yen per litre and I have sourced it in packs of six from Amazon, so gets delivered straight to my door! :)
Okay! With all that said, on to today's recipe!....
Method:
Steam your broccoli and carrots and put to the side.
Wash 3 cups of rice, put into your rice cooker with 4 cups of water and set it cooking.
Add coconut oil to a large wok and put on a medium-high heat.
Chop the onions, add to the oil and fry until they begin to become translucent.
Add the aubergine (chopped into chunks) and your mushrooms of choice and fry until they just begin to absorb the oil (not too long that they start to become mushy).
Add your desired amount of either red or green curry paste. I like my curries with a lot of flavour, so I will usually add 2/2.5 heaped table spoons of paste.
Continue to fry the veg and paste together, until the paste softens and begins to coat the veg and starts to become fragrant.
Add your frozen prawns and cook until they defrost (become soft) but are not 'cooked' yet (they should still be translucent).
Add the frozen peppers and cook for a minute or two until they soften.
Add your can of coconut milk and stir everything together to dissolve the curry paste into the milk.
Drain, rinse and add your shredded bamboo shoots.
If it seems like you do not have enough liquid for the ingredients in the pan, you can add more coconut milk if you have it, a little almond milk, another nut milk or water.
Simmer the curry until the prawns just begin to stop being translucent. You do not want to over cook prawns to the point they become completely white/opaque, mushy and fall apart. If you cook just passed translucent, they should still have some 'pop' when you bite them.
Serving your Thai Prawn Curry
Completely up to you how you serve this/what you serve it with. Like I said, I fancied a bit of rice this week, but I never have a full 'base' of rice, I always make sure a lot of the space is taken up by more veg, so I'm not just filling up on nutrient free grains. This week I chose to have a base of steamed broccoli and carrots and then filled the other 'gaps' with rice. On other weeks when I am being 100% paleo, I will often use steamed broccoli, carrots, daikon and sweet potato as a base.
When you are finished putting together your curry, it may look something like this (I chose to do a red curry and put some fresh spring onions and coriander on top):
Doesn't it just MAKESENSE to give yourself something easy to do occasionally? Meal prep is a big commitment to standing in your kitchen for many hours, I would guess, usually on your weekend. Sometimes you need to give yourself a bit of a break and cook a meal which can be prepped, served up and stored for the week in under an hour, giving you more time to enjoy your weekend!
Comments