Reddit' Best Panang Curry

Updated at: Tue, 13 Aug 2024 01:16:46 GMT

Step 1

Stuff you need: 1 can of unsweetened coconut milk (for cooking, not dessert)

Step 2

1 can of Maesri panang curry paste - get real thai shit, whatever brand it is (making your own curry paste, something we did in the class, is a PAIN IN THE ASS if you want to do it correctly requiring a huge mortar and pestle and the equivalent of 10 jack-off sessions of pestle-pounding fury, tons of ingredients, and a good hour for something you can buy better from a can for ~1$)

Step 3

Onion

Step 4

Red pepper

Step 5

The tenderest pork you can find, cut into strips (beef is decent as well, and for an interesting non-traditional twist that is AWESOME try smoked pork butt)

Step 6

Palm sugar

Step 7

Small thai not peppers, the 1-inch long ones from a thai grocer. You will know you have the right ones when you lose a friendship over betting someone to eat one they are that hot. Use at least 5 of these for actual Thai hotness. Most Americans think the curry paste by itself is too hot.

Step 8

Keffir lime leaves (***ABSOLUTE KEY. . . do not make this dish-NO-do not THINK you have made this dish without these. This takes it to its actual level. If you do not have fresh ones, you can use frozen ones but use more. There is no substitute. NONE. Get these first, they are hard to find for various reasons and your best bet may be an internet source. Here in Chicago, they are harder to come by than weed.)

Step 9

Thai Basil -again, get it at a Thai grocer. Mediterranean basil not same.

Step 10

A real fucking wok, that is actually seasoned with the taste of hundreds of past curries, top and bottom, and the most powerful gas burner you can find.

Step 11

All amounts are approximate and you will have to tweak it to your taste.

Step 12

I usually precook the veggies for just a bit to brown and caramelize them a bit-allow some crispiness to remain in the final state. I set them aside then.

Step 13

Take half your coconut milk, do not shake it up, and saute it, stirring in the wok, until it thickens. Just coconut milk, nothing else at this point. This is key to providing some sweetness as some of the sugar starts to caramelize in the milk and it gets a really nice background palette going. If you have ever had coconut candy from Vietnam, this is the same thing but not to that extent--just want to get a little thickening, a little caramelization. You will have to do this a number of times to get it right, and it will definitely vary heavily between woks/stoves/coconut milk. Do not put the watery part of the can of coconut milk in until the end if you want a soupier curry.

Step 14

Then dissolve the curry paste in the milk. The earlier you add the thai peppers, the hotter it will be. The best way to dumb down the spice for the wussier factions of curry lovers, is to increase the milk to curry ratio. Add the vegetables, then the meat. Stir for 5 minutes over pretty high heat to cook everything down a bit. Then melt the palm sugar on the bottom of the wok (get it wet to break it into smaller chunks). Letting this caramelize a tad as well is good. It is okay if you end up with chunks, these taste amazing when you bite it them in the curry, but technically you should work to melt it entirely.

Step 15

Now add the second half of the solids of the coconut milk and any of the water portion to taste (to make it soupier, like I mentioned earlier). Add the basil, chopped or ripped, whatever you prefer. Rip the middle vein out of the Keffir lime leaves and rip them into small 1/4 pieces. Any larger and they are annoying to chew. Add these and stir but down overcook them, and letting it simmer for an extended period cooks out much of their light airy ethereal citrusness.

Step 16

Variably, recipes will call for fish paste or fish sauce. I'm all for this but again, it depends on the brand of sauce/origin and personal taste. I wouldn't say it's wrong to use or right to use, I'd have to taste it to know. This is something to experiment with.

Step 17

Serve with white rice. Do a shredded papaya salad (tamarind-chili caramelized peanuts, lime juice, galangal, etc) for starters. Saffron (for color) and cinnamon coconut creme-brulee for dessert. BEST SHIT EVER. And this is about as real as it gets for Panang curry, I guarantee it to be much better than 90% of the ones you'd find through google (though I am open to suggestions/corrections). You are welcome. I am going to resume sleeping off my hangover now.

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