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Fresh turmeric and peppercorn curry with prawns

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This fresh and zingy curry uses the Thai method of ‘cracking', where spice paste is simmered in coconut cream until the oil separates.

Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh have used this technique to create a rich base for their deeply aromatic prawn dish.

Ingredients

For the cucumber and ginger relish

  • 125ml/4fl oz rice vinegar, or other white vinegar
  • 80²µ/2¾´Ç³ú caster sugar
  • ½ cucumber, quartered lengthways, deseeded and thinly sliced (200g/7oz)
  • 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú fresh root ginger, peeled and julienned
  • 1 red chilli (or 2 bird's-eye chillies, if you like the heat), halved, deseeded and thinly sliced lengthways
  • 10²µ/â…“o³ú fresh coriander, stems finely chopped, leaves roughly torn
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
  • pinch salt

For the spice paste

For the curry

To serve

Method

  1. To make the relish, put the vinegar and sugar into a small saucepan, along with 60ml/4 tbsp of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a minute, stirring once or twice, until the sugar has dissolved.

  2. Remove from the heat and, once cool, add the cucumber, ginger, chilli and coriander stems. Transfer to a sealed container and keep in the fridge.

  3. To make the spice paste, place the dried chillies in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside for a few minutes.

  4. Put the ground white peppercorns and coriander seeds into the small bowl of a food processor, along with the shallots, garlic, coriander stems, turmeric, coconut cream, soaked chillies and 1 tablespoon of the chilli-soaking liquid. Blend to form a smooth purée, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times.

  5. To make the curry, put the coconut cream into a medium saucepan and place on a medium-high heat. When it begins to simmer, add the spice paste and cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring frequently until thick, clotted and oily. Add the coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

  6. Stir gently, then bring to a simmer. Add the green beans, cook for 4 minutes, then add the prawns. Cook for another 3–5 minutes, until the prawns are just cooked through. Serve with jasmine rice.

Recipe Tips

Swap the prawns for chicken or tofu, or make a vegetarian version with your favourite vegetables, omitting the fish sauce.

The relish is best made a day ahead of serving and kept refrigerated. Hold back on the coriander leaves, though, stirring these through just before serving.