Thai Red Curry

• 1 large sweet potato, washed, peeled and diced into large chunks (1inch)
• 300g King prawns, peeled and deveined
• 100g Baby corn, cut into bite size pieces
• 100g sugar snaps
• 100g pea aubergines
• 1 can of coconut milk, 400ml
• 4 kaffir lime leaf (tear off the stem)
• 50g coriander, leaves picked/roughly chopped
• 10 leaves Thai basil, torn
• 1 x red chilli, sliced
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• Oil for frying

Curry Paste

• 5 fresh red chillies
• 5 dried red chillies, soaked in hot water and drained when soft
• 4 Thai Shallots, finely chopped
• 1cm piece of fresh turmeric
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 30g chopped galangal, finely chopped
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, finely chopped
• 30g of lesser ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
• 50g coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp of paprika, for a deep red colour

PREPARATION

1. Crush the cumin & coriander seeds in a pestle & mortar until finely ground

2. Add garlic, fresh & dried red chillies into the mortar and pound well

3. Add lemongrass, galangal, coriander, kaffir lime peel, and pound well

4. Add shallot, and lesser ginger and pound well

5. Add shrimp paste and pound until smooth. Add the paprika

COOKING

6. Put the oil into a saucepan over low heat

7. Add the red curry paste and stir continuously until fragrant

8. Add sweet potato, pour the top 1/3rd of a can of coconut milk and stir constantly until simmering point is reached.

9. Add the remaining coconut milk and bring to the boil

10. Add the kaffir lime leaves, aubergines, sugar snaps, and baby corn stirring occasionally

11. Add the prawns and cook until they change from opaque to pink, usually 2-3 minutes.

12. Season to taste with fish sauce and sugar,

13. Add the coriander or Thai basil

14. Pour into a bowl and decorate with red chillies