James Peterson

Improvising Thai Curries Without Curry Pastes

Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Yield: 3 to 4 cups ; 1 quart if the tomatoes are used; enough for

    6 to 8

    Servings

Appears in

top 1000Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making

Sauces

By James Peterson

Published 1991

  • About

Curry pastes offer an easy method for quickly incorporating a complex mixture of ingredients into stew-like curries. But these same ingredients can be finely chopped or even left whole and then be simmered directly in broth or even water to make a sauce.

Here is a broth-like sauce that’s quick to make and can be served around pieces of cooked meat and fish. Adjust, add, or omit ingredients to taste.

Ingredients

chicken, fish, or meat broth, cooking liquid from meat stew, or water 1 cup 250 ml
coconut milk 1 (14-oz) can 425 ml
tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped (optional) 1 cup 250 ml
garlic cloves, crushed to a paste 4 4
shallots, finely chopped 2 2
thai chiles, seeded, finely chopped or serrano chiles, seeded, finely chopped 2 to 8 or 1 to 4 2 to 8 or 1 to 4
lemongrass, outer sheath removed and discarded, 3 inches (8 cm) of root end thinly sliced 2 stalks 2 stalks
makrut lime leaves 6 6
sliced peeled galangal (¼-inch/5 mm thick) 6 6
lime juice or tamarind extract (see note) 2 to 4 tbsp 30 to 60 ml
thai fish sauce 2 to 4 tbsp 30 to 60 ml
sugar ½ to 2 tbsp 7.5 to 30 ml
cilantro, mint, or thai basil leaves 3 tbsp 45 ml

Method

  1. Bring the broth, coconut milk, and tomatoes, if using, to a slow simmer in a medium pot.
  2. Stir in the garlic, shallots, chiles, lemongrass, lime leaves, and galangal, the minimum amounts of lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Adjust the acidity with lime juice or tamarind, the saltiness with fish sauce, and the sweetness with sugar.
  3. Stir in the cilantro, mint, or basil, simmer for 30 seconds, and serve.

Copyright © 2017 by James Peterson. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.