2 tbsp vegetable oil
500g chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced
¾ cup coconut milk
1½ tbsp fish sauce
1½ tbsp finely shaved palm sugar
2 tbsp coconut cream
finely sliced makrut lime leaves, to serve
sliced fresh red chilli, to serve
Panang curry paste:
10 dried long red chillies
3cm piece galangal, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, pale part bruised, finely chopped
3 Asian red shallots, roughly chopped
2 coriander roots
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 makrut lime leaves, destemmed and sliced.
zest of ½ makrut lime, finely chopped
2 tsp shrimp paste
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp roasted peanuts
To make the curry paste, soak the dried chillies in hot water for 10-15 minutes or until softened. Remove the chillies from the water (it doesn’t matter if you don’t drain them completely as some water is fine). Reserve the chilli soaking water. Roughly chop the chillies and then place them into the bowl of a food processor. Then add the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth, adding some of the chilli soaking water a tablespoon at a time if the ingredients aren’t blending smoothly.
Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add half the curry paste and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Then add the chicken and stir-fry until the chicken starts to colour. Stir through the coconut milk. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Taste the finished curry for seasoning. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar and taste again to see if you would like to add more. Transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with coconut cream and top with makrut lime leaves and slices of red chilli.
House Favourite
Been cooking this recipe for over a year now and its always a dish my family and friends look forward to enjoying! I don’t have a food processor but its easy enough to make with a mortal and pestle, I just skip adding the chill water as its not needed. The paste last two meals and I love making a Prawn Panang with the leftover paste!
Our Favourite Curry
This curry packs a punch! The homemade paste is intensely flavourful and fresh, and makes enough for 2 batches of curry. If, like us, you can’t handle spicy food very well, then halve the amount of chillies and garnish your portion with a generous amount of coconut cream.