Prawn Thai red curry

I have to admit that the last few times I've made Thai curry, I've bought the curry paste rather than making it. However, I would keep thinking of the time when I did make the paste at home and how much more I had enjoyed the taste. It had also given me a great sense of accomplishment to have made something so tasty completely from scratch! So I made a list of the ingredients and got everything I needed to make the paste. The tricky part is making sure you have all the ingredients as some of these just aren't the same if substituted - e.g galangal - so do try to find authentic Thai ingredients if possible. These should be available in most supermarkets these days. 

I made a prawn curry because I absolutely love love love prawns but you could use chicken, fish or make a vegetarian curry using courgette, baby corn, snow peas, aubergine etc.

Ingredients

200 gms raw prawns, shelled and cleaned
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 400g can of coconut milk
1/2 tsp sugar

6 tbsp of the red Thai paste (See below for recipe)

Salt to taste

Coriander to garnish

For the red Thai paste

8-10 dry red chillies 
1 tbsp white peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin 
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp galangal paste
2 tsp lemongrass paste
4 small shallots 
3-4 keffir lime leaves
5 to 6 sprigs of coriander (leaves with stems)
1/2 tsp fish sauce (you can skip this if you're making a pure vegetarian version)  

10 – 12 cloves of garlic

The paste can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

Method

Grind all the paste ingredients together until combined, to form a paste. Keep aside.

In a pan, heat the coconut oil and fry the paste for a couple of minutes until the divine aroma starts wafting about.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat, add the salt and sugar and simmer for 3-4 minutes until you see the oil separate.

Add the prawns and cook for 2-3 minutes until the prawns turn pink and are cooked.

 
Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.