Ingredients

The following ingredients have 7 Servings
  • 40 gm lard or sunflower oil
  • 425 ml canned coconut cream, unshaken
  • 250 ml (1 cup) coconut milk
  • 1 whole chicken (1-1.5kg), cut into 12 pieces
  • 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock
  • 75 ml fish sauce (or to taste)
  • 2 tbsp soft palm sugar
  • 10 apple eggplant (see note), quartered and placed in acidulated water
  • 3 long green silken Thai eggplant (see note), cut into 4cm chunks and placed in acidulated water
  • 1½ cups pea eggplant (see note), trimmed and placed in acidulated water
  • 15 makrut lime leaves, deveined and torn
  • 4 long red chillies, whole or thinly sliced (optional)
  • 2½ cups (loosely packed) Thai basil, with flowering tops
  • Steamed jasmine rice or fermented rice noodles (see note), to serve
  • 10 white peppercorns, dry-roasted
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds, dry-roasted
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds, dry-roasted
  • 6 gm (1cm piece) galangal, thinly sliced
  • Peeled zest of 1 makrut lime, coarsely chopped
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, thinly sliced
  • 4 red shallots, coarsely chopped
  • 10 long green chillies, coarsely chopped
  • 15 green birdseye chillies, coarsely chopped
  • 1 head of garlic, cloves coarsely chopped
  • 5 coriander roots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tsp shrimp paste
  • ½ cup birdseye chilli leaves (optional; see note)

Instruction

  • For curry paste, finely grind spices with a mortar and pestle. Add remaining ingredients in order of toughness with ½ tsp salt, pounding them to a paste (alternatively, blend in a food processor until smooth, but the mortar and pestle will give you better colour and fragrance).
  • Heat lard in a large wok or saucepan over medium heat. Add curry paste and the head of coconut cream skimmed from top of can, and stir until fragrant and oil separates (12-15 minutes). Add coconut milk and simmer over low heat until thickened (30 minutes). Increase heat to high, add chicken and stock, cover with a lid and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked and flavour deepens (30 minutes). Add fish sauce, seasoning to taste, and stir in palm sugar and remaining coconut cream.
  • Increase heat to medium, then drain eggplant, add to wok, and simmer until tender (5 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in lime leaf, chilli and basil, and serve with rice.