Panang curry

Panang curry is a type of Thai curry that is milder than other Thai curries. Panang curry is often made as a vegetarian curry as well (simply make it without meat or fish). 

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Panang curry is not red curry - Panang, when made according to Thai tradition, is made using the cream of the coconut milk, and provides a thicker, pastier curry than the red curry, which is more of a soup curry. Furthermore, Panang curry is fried in coconut milk, as opposed to red curry, which is boiled. It is possible, however, to make a "soup" version of this curry, and that is actually our favorite.

Panang Curry Paste ingredients

• Chili peppers (5 large dried red chili peppers, seeded and soaked - prig kee nu chili is the most authentic choice)
• Galangal (a root) (1 tsp, sliced)
• Lemongrass (fresh, yellow section only - 1 tsp, thinly sliced using a very sharp knife)
• Coriander (1 tsp)
• Cilantro (root or stem - 1 tsp, sliced)
• Ground Cumin (1 tsp)
• Garlic (1 clove, pressed)
• Shallots (5, sliced)
• Peanuts (optional, 1/4 cup)
• Kaffir Lime (the rind - 12 leaves, sliced)
• Shrimp paste (optional, 1 Tbsp)
• Sea Salt (1 tsp)
• Pepper (white or black - 2 tsp)

To make the panang curry paste, simply combine all the ingredients and pound with a mortar and pestle. You can also blend it all together in a food processor or blender.

Panang Ingredients

• Protein: Chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, or, since we eat mostly vegetarian, we use extra firm tofu sauteed in a couple Tbsp of olive or canola oil until browned (it is important to brown the tofu before you add it to the curry)
• Rice (2 cups)
• Coconut milk (use light coconut milk if you prefer) (2 cans)
• Panang curry paste (1.5 Tbsp)
• Brown sugar (3 Tbsp)
• Fish sauce (2 Tbsp)
• Green Peas or Sugar Snap Peas (1/2 cup)
• Kaffir lime leaves (4-6)
• Sweet basil leaves (for garnish)
• Some water (to thin out and make more soupy, less thick)

Cooking

• Mix the coconut milk, curry paste, sugar, and fish sauce together in a pot, bring to a boil and let it boil for 5 minutes.
• Add your meat, seafood or pre-cooked tofu (optional), peas and kaffir lime leaves and simmer for an additional ten minutes. 
• Before you remove from heat, make sure the meat or seafood is cooked all the way! 
• Take the thickest piece, cut it in half, and verify that it's cooked all the way through. 
• If you find that you've boiled down your curry too much - and it tastes too thick, salty and concentrated, add some water to thin it out.

• **Serve with white rice.