Chilli Paste
Preparation info
Difficulty
Easy
Appears in
Balance and Harmony
By Neil Perry
Published 2008
This Thai paste is easy to make and is terrific added to water to make a Tom Yum base, or to coconut milk to make a great sauce for seafood. It also makes a nice salad dressing when thinned with
Chilli paste is, after green and red curry, the most prolific and flexible ingredient in Thai cooking. I remember eating a stir-fry of king prawns and sator beans (a bit like a cross between a broad bean and an almond in flavour) with chilli paste, down by the river in Bangkok with my old mate David Thompson. I don’t think I shall ever forget it. So if you do go to the trouble of making this paste, make sure you use it in all sorts of dishes.
Ingredients
500 ml 17 fl oz 2 cups 320 g 11¼ oz 1½ cups 200 g 7 oz 1¼ cups 60 g 2¼ oz 150 g 5½ oz 1 cup 125 ml 4 fl oz ½ cup 1½ tablespoons 375 ml 13 fl oz 1½ cups
Method
Heat a wok until smoking. Add the peanut oil and, when hot, add the onion and fry until deep golden. Remove with a slotted spoon (very quickly so as not to let it burn) and drain. Add the garlic and fry until golden, then remove and drain. Next add the dried shrimp and fry until golden, remove and drain. Return the onion, garlic and shrimp to the wok, then add the palm sugar and cook until dark brown and caramelised. Add the fish sauce, chilli powder and tamarind water and boil for 30 seconds. Pour the paste into a blender and process until smooth. Store in a screw-top jar in the refrigerator, where it will keep for several weeks — although it generally doesn’t last that long!
© 2008 All rights reserved. Published by Murdoch Books.