Panang chicken curry (kaeng panang gai)
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Serves 2
Ingredients
- 400ml can coconut milk (don’t shake to combine)
- 1-2 tbsp panang curry paste (see below)
- 200g chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 100g French beans, halved
- 2-3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1-2 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
- 2 makrut lime leaves, central woody stem removed, finely shredded
- handful of Thai basil leaves
- cooked jasmine rice, to serve
- ½ large red chilli, thinly sliced, to serve
For the panang curry paste (makes 225g)
- 4 large dried red chillies, sliced
- 6 large fresh red chillies, sliced
- 1 tsp shrimp paste (or miso paste)
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp galangal, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp lemongrass, finely sliced
- 2 limes zested (around 1 tsp zest)
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tbsp peanuts
Method
- STEP 1
First, make the curry paste. Use a pestle and mortar to pound together the dried and fresh chillies, shrimp paste, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, lime zest, white pepper, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and peanuts, plus 1 tsp salt. You should have a rough paste. Alternatively, add all the ingredients to a food processor along with 2-3 tbsp of coconut milk and pulse until you have a paste. Store in a lidded jar in the fridge. Will keep for up to two weeks.
- STEP 2
Add 2-3 tbsp of the thick part of the coconut milk into a saucepan over a medium-high heat. When the coconut milk starts bubbling, add 1-2 tbsp of the curry paste and stir well for about 1 min, until fragrant.
- STEP 3
Stir in the chicken and let it cook for about 3-4 mins until beginning to brown all over. Follow with the French beans and stir well.
- STEP 4
Season with the fish sauce and sugar, then add the rest of coconut milk. Mix well, add half the makrut lime leaves and simmer for 3-5 mins until the chicken is cooked through. Taste and add more sugar or fish sauce if necessary – it should be salty and nutty, and the sweetness should come through. Add the Thai basil leaves, give it a quick mix and take off the heat. Serve with steamed jasmine rice, garnished with the sliced chilli and the rest of the makrut lime leaves.
