my first stab at Gai pad prik khing

[memesuze]

I'm trying to add more quick Thai dishes to my after-work repertoire, and thought of this, as it's one of my faves. I used Colonel Ian Khuntilanont-Philpott's wife's recipe [her recipes] that calls for cooking 3 TBS curry paste briefly in oil before adding a little bit over a cup of chicken and then a little bit over a cup of green beans [i didn't have long beans, as might be more proper], along with 4 TBS fish sauce and 1 TBS sugar, garnished with kaffir and basil leaves.

I didn't prepare the curry paste from scratch - used the Maesri brand, as I do for many other quick curries. However, I found the final dish to be a bit salty, and am unsure whether it comes solely from the canned curry paste or if the 4 TBS fish sauce might have put it over the edge.

Short of making my own prik khing curry paste from scratch, how would you revise it?

[trillium]

I'm trying to add more quick Thai dishes to my after-work repertoire, and thought of this, as it's one of my faves. I used Colonel Ian Khuntilanont-Philpott's wife's recipe [her recipes] that calls for cooking 3 TBS curry paste briefly in oil before adding a little bit over a cup of chicken and then a little bit over a cup of green beans [i didn't have long beans, as might be more proper], along with 4 TBS fish sauce and 1 TBS sugar, garnished with kaffir and basil leaves.

I didn't prepare the curry paste from scratch - used the Maesri brand, as I do for many other quick curries. However, I found the final dish to be a bit salty, and am unsure whether it comes solely from the canned curry paste or if the 4 TBS fish sauce might have put it over the edge.

Short of making my own prik khing curry paste from scratch, how would you revise it?

←

Prepared curry pastes vary in their saltiness and so do fish sauces. Experiment until you like it! I'd start with less fish sauce.

regards,

trillium

[snowangel]

This is one of my favorite dishes (I usually use pork, tho). Never add that much nam pla.

Yes, long beans are more "authentic," but they can be hard to find, and they don't seem to have nearly as long a "shelf" or plant life as do slender green beans, so unless the long beans at the farmer's market look pristine, I use green beans. The season for long beans, at least here, seems really short, but I suppose, in order to get that long, it does take quite a bit of time.

[memesuze]

I tried it again tonight - keeping the same ratio of ingredients, but adding a half-cup water as snowangel reported using in her blog and as directed by the can - guess next time I'll read the instructions - or as a friend of mine says, "the corrections"! It turned out fine - I will drop the fish sauce amount next time, though, to tweak. Next up, Panang curry....

[hzrt8w]

Next up, Panang curry....

←

Is Penang curry the same as Thai red curry? Many Thai restaurants describe their curry dishes just as red curry, green curry and yellow curry. I have seen the name Penang Beef used, and the dish is red. Not sure if I can tie the two together.

[memesuze]

I've experienced Panang curry as listed differently from the red curries in Thai restaurants - a good one has multiple layers of flavor I don't note in the reds....but I defer to those more expert in Thai cuisine