Panang Curry

I frequently go to the huge Korean supermarket near my house.  A few weeks ago, my husband found out about Great Wall, a nearby Chinese supermarket.  We both love dumplings, and he was told that Great Wall had some of the best.  Like any good little compulsive shopper, I went in looking for dumplings and came out with all kinds of extra stuff, including some panang curry paste.  I love ordering panang curry in Thai restaurants and wanted to try making it myself.  The result was so good that it's in my regular rotation now!

Yes, I know that's more than one standard service of rice.  

The sauce is very creamy but not too thick as you can see from the picture.  The paste I used was spicy, but not kill you spicy.  The red pepper in my picture is a fresno pepper, which was actually pretty mild because I seeded it to make sure it wasn't too spicy.  For extra spice, don't seed the pepper.  My main criticism of some panang curries I've had in restaurants is that they were too heavy on the peanuts.  The amount of peanuts in this recipe seemed just right.  The basil is from my herb garden, which I managed not to kill this year!  I served it on a plate because that's how it was in the recipe I followed.  I think a shallow bowl may have been better to keep the sauce more concentrated.  I'm way too lazy to make my own curry paste, I buy the stuff in the plastic tub that lasts forever in the fridge.  The recipe calls for kaffir lime leaves.  I didn't find this recipe until after I got home from Great Wall, so I didn't buy any of the fresh ones they sell.  I had some dried ones, which I finely shredded without the stems and added to the sauce.  I didn't use any as garnish because they were dried and I didn't want to have sharp leaves sticking me.

I didn't include it in the picture but I love S&B crunchy garlic with chili oil.  I bought it on a whim and it is SO GOOD.  I'm not a plain rice fan but now I want rice all the time because of this crunchy garlic topping.  Seriously, try it.

Panang Curry
serves 2
from Temple of Thai 

Ingredients
3/4 cup thinly sliced pork (the recipe doesn't suggest it, but I've also made this with chicken and it's equally good)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (the recipe suggests reserving 1 Tbsp for garnish but I didn't do this)
2 Tbsp panang curry paste (or a little extra if you want, I used 2 heaping Tbsp)
1 Tbsp raw sugar (the recipe called for palm sugar but I don't have any)
1-1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
4 kaffir lime leaves, 2 torn into pieces, discarding the stem and 2 finely shredded.  (Or dried leaves, finely shreded)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 red chili, sliced
2 Tbsp ground peanuts

Instructions

1) Put half of the coconut milk in a wok and fry for 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously until the coconut oil begins to separate out.  Then add the panang curry paste and fry for 1-2 minutes.

2) Add the meat and cook until the outside is cooked.

3) Add the remaining coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Simmer and then add the sugar along the sides of the wok and wait for it to melt into the sauce (I helped it along with a spatula).  Then add the fish sauce and kaffir lime leaves.

4) Stir everything to combine well and then add half the basil leaves and let them wilt.

5) Serve garnished with the red chili, peanuts, and remaining basil leaves.  (And shredded kaffir lime leaves if using fresh).