Hailing from southern Thailand, Thai Tumeric Chicken (Gai Yang Khamin) is lip-smackingly delicious street food that’s sweet, sticky and savoury. The marinade is unbelievably simple: garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, turmeric powder and sugar. The turmeric really makes it!

Southern Thai Turmeric Chicken (Gai Yang Khamin)

This is a great one to marinade tonight and bake tomorrow, to bring authentic Thai flavours to your dinner table! It’s sweet but has layers of savoury, and is incredibly delicious for something so simple.

With the excellent street food in Thailand, it will come to no surprise that I found this during my travels. It’s a street food that hails from the south called Gai Yang Khamin, and is one of those recipes that tastes like it has way more ingredients in it than it does.

At the time I tried it, I didn’t know what it was called, though the mystery was solved through furious Googling for “yellow Thai grilled chicken” in my determination to replicate it back at home.

Street vendors grill this over smokey coals and use butterflied whole chicken. I bake it in the oven and use chicken thighs instead to make it Monday-night-friendly. This does not, however, compromise flavour – it is still ridiculously delicious!

Ingredients in Thai Turmeric Chicken

This is one of those recipes that tastes like it’s got way more ingredients in it that it does. I get a secret thrill out of finding recipes like this!!

For the juiciest, stickiest chicken with the best glaze, bone-in thighs are best. But I’ve provided directions for breast and other cuts.

• Chicken – As noted above, skin-on, bone-in thighs are best because the time it takes for the skin to go sticky and golden is the same time it takes for the inside to cook through to juicy perfection. Leaner, boneless cuts, like breast and boneless thigh, cook through faster, before the surface has a chance to caramelise. However, I’ve provided directions for these – and you could always pan fry instead! Drumsticks are also an excellent, economical option – these work perfectly as a direct substitute.

• Turmeric powder – Key flavour and colour for this dish. This is what makes this Thai Turmeric chicken!!

• Fish sauce – Secret ingredient! Adds salt with extra layers of flavour so this otherwise simple marinade isn’t bland.

• Oyster sauce – Second secret ingredient! Adds sweetness with savoury undertones.

• Sugar – For extra sweetness.

• Garlic – Quite a decent wack!

• Pepper – I like the flavour white pepper brings to this but you can substitute with black pepper.

How to make Thai Turmeric Chicken

Pop this in the marinade tonight then bake it tomorrow! Marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Then bake and baste until golden and sticky (45 minutes).

1. Mix the marinade in a bowl – garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and turmeric.

2. Marinade the chicken for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

3. Bake on a lined tray for 50 minutes until the surface is sticky and delicious.

4. Baste using the tray juices at the 30 minute mark….

5. Then baste again at the 40 minute mark and pop it back in for a final 10 minutes to caramelise the surface.

6. Garnish with fresh coriander/cilantro leave if you want (it’s just for looks), then serve using the pan juices as a sauce!

What to serve with Thai Turmeric Chicken

Serve this with a pile of steaming jasmine or coconut rice and plain chunks of cucumber and tomato, something you commonly see served as a vegetable side all over Thailand. The fresh crunch of cucumber and juiciness of tomato is a nice contrast to the sweet-savoury-meatiness of the chicken, with the added bonus that you don’t have to bother with a dressing. I’m not going to argue with that!

Though, if you are a better person than me and would like to make more of an effort for your side salad, you could toss any fresh or steamed greens with Asian Sesame Dressing (for a quick option). For a more substantial side salad, try Thai Chicken Salad minus the chicken, or Thai Beef Salad minus the beef (I love the dressing of these salads).

And here are some more options for things to serve on the side:

Suggestions for sides

Coconut Rice (fluffy, not gluey!)

Green Papaya Salad

Thai Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice (Thai)

Thai Prawn, Mango and Avocado Noodle Salad

Supreme Soy Noodles (NEW recipe – finally!)

Garlic rice

Or, eat it street food style – just grab the chicken with your hands and munch it on the go. You know I did! (Though the vision is slightly different – in my kitchen at home in my scruffy apron, rather than the bustling streets of Thailand.😂)

– Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Back to the old-style hands only video for this one! Ran out of time to do the new style with me and Dozer in it.

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Thai Turmeric Chicken (Gai Yang Khamin)

Recipe video. This is based on a popular southern Thailand street food that's typically made with a butterflied chicken grilled over smokey coals. It's sweet but has complexity owing to the simple but clever marinade.

Here, I'm making a home version using the marinade for bone-in chicken thighs instead and baked it in my boring oven. I miss the charcoal flavour but it's still lip smackingly delicious! The tumeric powder really makes it.

Course BBQ/Grilling, Dinner

Cuisine Thai

Keyword Thai chicken, thai marinade, turmeric chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Marinade 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Calories 505cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

• 5 large chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in (~1.2kg/2.4lb) (Note 1)

Marinade

• 4 garlic cloves , finely minced or crushed using garlic press
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp white pepper , ground (sub black)
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (tightly packed cup)

Instructions

• Marinade chicken – Mix Marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinade for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
• Prepare – Line a tray with baking paper/parchment paper. Place chicken on the tray, skin side up. Scrape all Marinade out of th bowl and dab onto chicken.
• Bake for 40 minutes, basting at the 30 minute and 40 minute mark using the tray juices to make it golden brown and sticky, and rotate the tray as needed for even colour.
• Increase the oven temperature to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced). Pop the chicken back in for a final 10 minutes to caramelise the skin.
• Rest for 3 minutes before serving with jasmine or coconut rice, and plain chunks of tomato and cucumber the Thai way!

Notes

1. Chicken cuts – For the oven, bone-in thighs are best because they remain juicy with the oven time needed to caramelise the skin nicely. Drumsticks run a close second (use around the same weight).

Next best is boneless thighs, then bringing up the rear is tenderloin and breast (recommend adding 1 tbsp oil into the marinade). Use around 750g/1.5lb for any of these cuts.

2. Cooking methods – This recipe can be cooked on the BBQ, stove or baked. Take care on the stove and BBQ as the sugar burns, so use medium heat.

• Stove – Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place skin side down and cover with a lid. Cook for 5 minutes or until the skin is dark golden. Then turn and cover with a lid again. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through, basting the skin with the residual marinade in the bowl. 
• BBQ – use medium heat and cook for around 15 minutes in total, basting the skin with the marinade in the bowl).
• Other cuts:
  – Drumsticks: Bake 50 minutes.
  – Skinless boneless thighs: Bake 20 – 25 minutes, or stove/BBQ for 5 minutes each side on medium.
  – Breast: Bake for 20 minutes, or stove/BBQ for around 5 minutes on each side on medium.

3. Recipe source: Slightly adapted from this Tumeric Chicken recipe from Real Thai Recipes.

Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings. This does not take into account the fat that is rendered out when cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 260g | Calories: 505cal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 200mg | Sodium: 972mg | Potassium: 504mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 160IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg

Originally published November 2015. Updated with sparkling new photos with a recipe video added and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!SaveSaveSaveSave

Life of Dozer

When Dozer sings.

(Aka annoying, persistent bark that he quickly realised is a highly effective way to get me to play with him, on command. #sucker)

The post Thai Turmeric Chicken appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This Golden Coconut Chicken Curry blows me away every time I make it – and I’ve been making it a lot lately! Such a beautiful spice blend, with turmeric making the coconut curry sauce a warm yellow colour. Thai vibes. Easy. Swoon-worthy!

A really great but easy coconut chicken curry

Regular readers know I love my curries. Especially Thai and Indian ones – though the good ole’ retro chicken curry and curried sausages will always have a place in my heart!

But on days when I have a hankering for a really good from-scratch curry but don’t have the time for blitzing fresh curry pastes, this is what I’m making on repeat. It’s got Thai vibes with a hint of Indian undertones, like a less shrimpy version of Thai Yellow Curry with a whisper of Massaman Curry.

It’s very, very good. And though not a traditional Thai curry recipe (as far as I know), it tastes very authentic. (You know what I mean!)

-> If you’re after something similar (ie. still easy) but with more Indian vibes, head straight to my Easy Pumpkin Lentil Coconut Curry!

Ingredients in Golden Coconut Chicken Curry

Don’t skip the star anise and cinnamon stick, and really try to use fresh turmeric rather than dried – for maximum flavour.

aromatics and spices

First up, the sauce flavourings:

• Turmeric – Been a bit of a trendy ingredient in recent years, revered for its nutritional benefits, most notably arthritis relief. It looks like and has the same texture as ginger but is bright orange inside. When cooked, it turns things bright yellow! Stains like buggery so don’t wear white when using it, and grate onto non-porous things (like a plate).

  Turmeric powder – While fresh turmeric will give the best flavour and colour, dried can be used as an easier alternative. I’ve made it with dried turmeric and it’s still delicious!

• Ginger and garlic – Fresh is the only way! The jarred stuff is sour and tastes nothing like the real thing. As with the turmeric, we finely grate them, for maximum flavour extraction.

• Garam masala – Indian spice mix that’s common these days, in the spice aisle of normal grocery stores. It’s got more flavour than basic curry powders. But – your everyday curry powder will be an adequate substitute!

• Fennel powder – I know this one isn’t a staple so don’t make a special trip if you don’t have it. Just use more garam masala!

• Cumin and coriander – Staple spices!

Add-ins and sauce

• Chicken – Thigh is best because it stays juicy. Breast and tenderloin will work but won’t be quite as juicy. Prawns/shrimp and fish pieces are GREAT in this curry – plonk them in in the last 3 minutes.

• Broccoli – Cut them into little florets so they are spoon-eating-size. You can also use the stem – just peel and dice.

• Coconut cream is thicker so makes the sauce thicker. Also has stronger coconut flavour. Both good things! If using coconut milk, suggest thickening the sauce slightly. Mix 2 teaspoons cornflour/cornstarch with a small splash of water, then mix in towards the end.

• Chicken stock/broth – Gives the sauce more flavour. If using just water, it’s just a little lacking.

• Onion – For sautéing at the beginning.

Garnishes

I just realised, the coriander / cilantro is not just a garnish. A good handful is mixed into the sauce. Great finishing touch.

• Coriander / cilantro – As mentioned above, a good handful to mix into the sauce plus extra for sprinkling on top.

  If you’re in the I Hate Coriander club, feel free to skip this. I’d just sprinkle with green onion slices instead.

• Crispy Shallots – Crispy, salty, oily pops of goodness. Find them in the Asian aisle, cheaper at Asian stores. I love them so much and use them so frequently I even wrote about them here.

How to make it

OK! The making part. Nice and straightforward. Just a specific order in which things are toasted / sautéed / simmered / added into the pot. There’s reasons!

1. Toast the cinnamon stick and star anise for 2 minutes. This really brings out lovely flavour that is then imparted into the sauce, so don’t skip this step!

2. Cook chicken – Next, sauté the onion for 2 minutes to soften, then add the chicken. Cook for 3 minutes or until the outside turns white and you can no longer see pink. The inside will still be raw which is what we want – this ensures the chicken is not overcooked by the time the sauce is finished simmering.

3. Toast spices – Add the grated garlic, ginger and turmeric, and stir for 1 minute. Then add the spice mix and stir for 30 seconds. Toasting the fresh and dried spices is a key step, like with the star anise and cinnamon, to bring out and improve the flavour. So much more flavoursome than just dumpling spices into liquid!

4. Simmer 12 minutes – Stir in the coconut cream and chicken stock/broth, then simmer for 12 minutes. Simmer energetically, not a slow simmer like when making stocks and stew, because we want the sauce to reduce to concentrate the flavour and thicken slightly. And we want this to happen quick – before the chicken is overcooked!

5. Broccoli 3 minutes – Next, stir in the broccoli and cook for 3 minutes. That’s all it will take to soften, because you cut the florets into small spoon-size, just as the recipe asks you to do. Right?!

6. Finish the coconut curry off by stirring in the fresh coriander. Let it cool for 5 minutes or so – there will be a LOT of heat in that pot! Cooling slightly also allows the sauce to thicken a bit.

   Now, the best step – EATING time!

How to serve this curry

Serve over rice with a sprinkle of my favourite crispy fried shallots and some more fresh coriander/cilantro. Jasmine or basmati rice are on point. Otherwise, any other plain rice of choice. Or even cauliflower rice for the low-carbers out there!

Love to know what you think if you make this. Curious to see if it’s just Team RecipeTin that’s madly obsessed with this coconut curry, or if it’s a universal thing. I’m banking on the latter, obviously, which is why I’m sharing this recipe!! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Golden coconut chicken curry

Recipe video above. This Golden Coconut Chicken Curry blows me away every time I make it – and I've been making it a lot lately! Such a beautiful spice blend, Thai vibes with a whisper of Indian, like a less shrimpy version of Thai Yellow Curry with a hint of Massaman.

Don't skip the star anise and cinnamon stick, and really try to use fresh turmeric rather than dried, for max flavour and yellow colour. All credit to JB for this one, his invention.

*UPDATE: If you skip fresh turmeric and sub other spices and you're using rather old spices (which lose flavour), the recipe won't be as good as the rave reviews below and will make me sad*

Course Mains

Cuisine Asian, Indian

Keyword Coconut Curry, turmeric recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5 people

Calories 517cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp coconut oil , vegetable or canola oil (Note 1)
• 3 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 onion , finely diced
• 500g / 1lb chicken thigh fillets , cut into small 1cm / 1/3" slices (Note 2 options!)
• 1 tsp garlic , finely grated
• 1 tsp ginger , finely grated
• 3 tsp turmeric , finely grated (sub 1 1/2 tsp powder, Note 3)
• 2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium
• 400g / 14 oz coconut cream , unsweetened (sub coconut milk, Note 4)
• 1 large head broccoli , florets cut small (can use stem too – peel & dice), or other veg (4 heaped cups)
• 1 cup coriander/cilantro leaves , lightly packed, plus extra for garnish (I'd still make without this)

Spice mix:

• 1 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala (Note 5)
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp fennel powder (sub more garam masala)

Serving

• Crispy fried shallots , store bought, for garnish (Note 6)
• Rice – jasmine or basmati recommended, or other plain rice

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Spice mix – Mix the spices in a small bowl.
• Toast – Heat the oil in a large heavy based pot over medium high heat. Toast the star anise and cinnamon for 2 minutes.
• Add onion, cook for 2 minutes.
• Add chicken, cook for 3 minutes or it's no longer pink on the outside (still raw inside).
• Add aromatics – Add garlic, ginger and turmeric. Cook for 1 minute.
• Add spice mix and stir for 30 seconds.
• Simmer 12 minutes – Add stock and coconut cream. Stir and bring to an energetic simmer. Cook for 12 minutes (no need to stir) so the sauce thickens slightly.
• Add broccoli florets. Bring back to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes or until softened.
• Serve – Cool for 5 minutes, this will allow the sauce to thicken slightly. Then stir in coriander and serve with rice (basmati or jasmine especially nice). Garnish with extra coriander and crispy fried shallots.

Notes

1. Coconut oil (the unrefined one that is firm like butter) will add extra coconut flavour into the sauce, if you have it. Recommended! I was out so I didn’t use it in the video.

2. Chicken – Thigh is best because it stays juicy. Breast and tenderloin will work but won’t be quite as juicy. Prawns/shrimp and fish pieces are GREAT in this curry – plonk them in in the last 3 minutes.

3. Turmeric looks like ginger but is bright orange inside, and when cooked it turns things bright yellow. Stains like buggery so don’t wear white when using it, and grate onto non-porous things (like a plate).

4. Coconut cream is thicker so makes the sauce thicker. Also has stronger coconut flavour. Both good things! If using milk, suggest thickening slightly. Mix 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch with a small splash of water, mix in towards the end.

5. Garam masala – Indian spice mix that’s common these days, in the spice aisle of normal grocery stores. It’s got more flavour than basic curry powders. But – your everyday curry powder will be an adequate substitute!

6. Crispy Shallots – Crispy, salty, oily pops of goodness. Find them in the Asian aisle, cheaper at Asian stores. I love them so much and use them so frequently I even wrote about them here.

7. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, or freezer for 3 months.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings, curry only (not rice).

Nutrition

Calories: 517cal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 33g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 846mg | Potassium: 919mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 686IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 5mg

Life of Dozer

Look who was in the paper on the weekend! And they stuck me in it too. 😂 In case you want to read it, the online version of the article is here.

The post Golden coconut chicken curry appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup is what you make when you want something exotic tasting with very little effort! Think – classic pumpkin soup with Thai Red Curry vibes. Love the beautiful coconut undertones. It’s so good!

Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Everybody loves pumpkin soup. It’s comforting, it’s thick, it’s creamy, and it’s easy to make.

But sometimes, we want to make dinner a little more interesting! Enter – Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup. Use coconut instead of cream. Add red curry paste. Fish sauce instead of salt. Thai toppings.

And boom! Our reliable pumpkin soup has had a sexy makeover – and we love it!

Ingredients in Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

We’re using a store bought curry paste today which makes things nice and easy. For the small amount we need (just 3 tablespoons), it’s a convenient option. If using homemade – I applaud you! The flavour in this will be even better, with the beautiful fresh Thai flavours coming through.

The soup

• Pumpkin or butternut – Recipe works as written for both pumpkin and butternut squash (we call it butternut pumpkin here in Australia). Use one that is around 1.8 kg / 3.6 lb with the skin on and seeds in. After peeling and deseeding it will be around ~1.3 kg/2.6 lb.

  Cutting and peeling – Watch the video for a safe, easy cutting technique for butternut (potato peeler for skin!), and see the Pumpkin Soup video for how I cut pumpkin (cut in wedges then cut skin off).

• Thai Red Curry paste – My position on the best store-bought Thai red curry that’s readily available is fairly well documented on this website! Maesri is the best – there is just no question – and it’s the best value. $2.10 for a 115g/4 oz. You’ll need 1/2 a can – so you can make this Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup twice!

  Find it at Woolies, Harris Farms and Coles (I’m in Australia), or Asian stores and online. As for other brands – they tend to have less authentic flavour and usually weirdly, overly sweet. However, for a recipe like this where the curry paste is a background rather than key flavour, any curry paste will suffice.

• Homemade Thai Red Curry Paste – Recipe here. I generally make then use the whole batch in one go so I rarely have leftovers to use for things like this soup. But it’s an excellent one for freezing, and will really take this to another level.

• Onion and garlic – Essential flavour base. Don’t skip these, they add great flavour.

• Coconut milk – Not all coconut milk is created equal! Good ones are made with 85%+ coconut so have better flavour. Economical ones are diluted with water and have less coconut flavour. Ayam is my default (89% coconut).

  Please use full fat. Fat is where the coconut flavour is! Low fat has little coconut flavour.

• Fish sauce will give this soup a more authentic Thai red curry flavour than using just salt. Soy sauce can be used as a substitute.

• Vegetable stock – Or chicken stock. This is the liquid the pumpkin is simmered in. Tastier than water! Use low sodium, else your soup will be on the salty side.

Garnishes

This is a great soup to have fun with toppings! Adds visual and textural interest as well as extra flavour.

• Crispy fried shallot pieces – salty and oily, these are sold in jars and packets at large grocery stores these days, but cheaper at Asian stores! Terrific garnish for all things Asian. I use it liberally – it’s a frequent player in my recipes.

• Red cayenne pepper – Use the large ones which are not spicy. Small chillies are spicier!

• Coriander / cilantro – Lovely fresh herb used frequently in Thai dishes

How to make Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Fabulously straight forward, you’ll have this on the table in 20 minutes once you start cooking. Don’t shortcut sautéing the curry paste. This really intensifies and improves the flavour. Essential step for almost every curry – most especially curry paste out of a jar!

1. Sauté curry paste – Get the onion and garlic started first, then add the curry paste and cook it for a good couple of minutes. This caramelises it and intensifies as well as improves the flavour. Key step when using any curry paste out of a jar!

2. Coat the pumpkin in the tasty curry paste flavour. Give it a good couple of minutes to toast the pumpkin a bit!

   Tip: See video for how I peel and cut butternut (potato peeler for skin!), and see the Pumpkin Soup video for how I cut pumpkin (cut in wedges then cut skin off).

3. Simmer 8 minutes – Set aside a little coconut milk to use as a drizzle for serving. Then add the rest of the coconut milk, stock and fish sauce into the pot and simmer for just 8 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft. It really does not take long.

4. Blitz with my favourite appliance (stick blender) until smooth. Ladle into bowls, swirl with reserved coconut milk then finish with as many or as little toppings as you’d like!

Roti for dunking

I served this Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup with roti for dunking. That flaky, buttery flatbread of Indian origin, roti stalls are a local and tourist attraction all across Thailand though most Australian’s would associate roti as a menu favourite at Malaysian restaurants.

Not to be confused with the non-flaky roti flatbread that is a staple in Indian cooking, roti is a brilliant store-bought freezer standby that you cook from frozen in a fry pan, and takes just minutes. (Though homemade just got added to my Must Try list!), fairly easily found these days in everyday grocery stores – here’s the one I used from Woolworths.

Enjoy! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Recipe video above. This is a brilliant way to turn a classic pumpkin soup into something that tastes more exotic – with very little effort. Think – pumpkin soup with Thai Red Curry vibes. It's so good!

See separate tutorial for how I cut butternut pumpkin and the Pumpkin Soup recipe for how I cut pumpkin.

Course Mains, Soups

Cuisine Asian, Thai

Keyword coconut pumpkin soup, Thai coconut pumpkin soup

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Calories 302cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or other oil)
• 1 brown onion , diced
• 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste , Maesri recommended (Note 1)
• 1.8kg/ 3.6 lb pumpkin or butternut squash – peeled, deseeded then chopped into 3cm / 1.2" chunks (~1.3 kg/2.6 lb) (Note 2)
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock , salt reduced (or chicken stock)
• 400ml/ 14 oz (1 can) coconut milk, full fat, best quality (Note 3)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (sub light or regular soy sauce, Note 4)

Garnishes (optional):

• Crispy Asian shallots , highly recommended (Note 5)
• Red cayenne pepper , finely sliced
• Fresh coriander leaves
• Roti (the flaky kind), frozen, pan fried – for dunking (SO GOOD!) – Note 6

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Sauté – Heat oil in a large heavy based pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes until soft.
• Add curry paste and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add pumpkin and stir to coat in the flavours for around 2 minutes.
• Simmer 8 minutes – Set aside 1/4 cup coconut milk for garnish. Add stock, remaining coconut milk and fish sauce. Bring to simmer then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 8 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.
• Blitz using stick blender until smooth.
• Serve topped with garnishes. Dunk in roti. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Thai Red Curry paste – My position on the best Thai red curry is fairly well documented on this website! Maesri is the best – there is just no question – and it’s the best value ($2.10 for a 115g/4 oz). You’ll need ~1/2 a can.

Find it at Woolies, Harris Farms, Asian stores and online. (Overseas Amazon – US, Canada, UK).

2. Pumpkin – Recipe works as written for both pumpkin and butternut squash. Use one that is around 1.8 kg / 3.6 lb with the skin on and seeds in. After peeling and deseeding it will be around ~1.3 kg/2.6 lb. Watch video for safe, easy cutting technique.

See separate tutorial for how I cut butternut pumpkin and the Pumpkin Soup recipe for how I cut pumpkin.

3. Coconut milk – Not all coconut milk is created equal! Good ones are made with 85%+ coconut so have better flavour. Economical ones are diluted with water. Ayam is my default (89% coconut).

4. Fish sauce will give this soup a more authentic Thai red curry flavour, but soy sauce makes a fine substitute.

5. Crispy fried shallot pieces – salty, oily, terrific garnish for all things Asian. I use it liberally – it’s a frequent player in my recipes. Found in the Asian section of supermarket but cheaper at Asian stores!

6. Roti canai – The flaky flatbread of Indian origin that’s now common across South East Asia. Find it in the freezer section of large supermarkets, cook from frozen on the stove in just a couple of minutes. Cheap, tasty, if you’ve never tried it, it’s a game changer! Excellent for dunking in this soup.

7. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4 days or freezer for 3 months.

8. Nutrition per serving, excluding toppings.

Nutrition

Calories: 302cal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 767mg | Potassium: 1106mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 23803IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 5mg

More things to make with pumpkin and butternut squash

Pumpkin Soup

Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto

Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad

Easy Coconut Curry Sauce

Roasted Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts

Honey-Cinnamon Pumpkin Lentil Salad

Easy Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter Sauce

Maple Roasted Pumpkin with Chili and Feta

Stuffed Butternut Pumpkin

Life of Dozer

Dozer going for his first weigh in at his new vet! Who do you think taught him that trick of hanging half off the scales…..

The post Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This is a real Panang Curry recipe for curry connoisseurs who adore authentic Thai food! It’s made using a homemade Panang Curry paste which is easy to make but will likely call for a trip to the Asian store. But if you truly want the best, it’s worth it. You can’t get good Panang curry in jars!

Make this creamy coconut Panang curry with either prawns/shrimp or chicken. Both are great!

I only make Panang curry from scratch

This is a recipe for Thai Panang curry that is entirely made from scratch, including a homemade Panang curry paste. While I’ll happily make Thai Red and Green curry using my favourite curry paste from a jar, nothing compares to a Panang Curry paste when you make it yourself from fresh ingredients!

Even the Panang curry paste by my favourite Maesri brand falls too short compared to homemade. Well, maybe that’s going too far. It makes a tasty enough curry. But not a real deal Panang curry!

What Panang curry tastes like

Panang Curry tastes like a more intense version of Thai Red Curry. While it has similar ingredients, Panang curry is a bit stronger, richer, sweeter and thicker than Red Curry, as well as slightly nutty thanks to the addition of ground peanuts in the paste.

Panang curry is spicy. Deal with it!

Panang curry is spicy. But unlike most other curry recipes, you cannot reduce the spiciness without losing flavour because chillies are the key ingredient for Penang curry sauce.

How spicy, you ask? Thais would class this Panang curry as medium or “not so spicy”. For Westerners, it’s probably getting up towards hot. But not volcanic. General consensus amongst my team is that it’s a 7 out of 10 on the spicy scale. The only other curry on my website that hits this level of spiciness is Vindaloo, if that’s a useful comparable for you.

So if you can’t handle spicy food, I suggest you give Panang Curry a miss and make a milder Thai Yellow Curry or Massaman Curry instead!

* Spiciness testing: My team and I worked on this Panang curry recipe a LOT. We did so many variations to stress test the spiciness and we are all in agreement that if you reduce the chillis to reduce spiciness, you lose flavour and it’s not Panang curry. We ended up creating a recipe using milder Chinese chillies rather than spicy Thai ones, to get enough sauce flavour without blowing our heads off.

OK, due warning on the topic of spiciness given. On to the recipe!

Panang curry ingredients

First, I’ll run through the beautiful fresh ingredients for the homemade Panang curry paste. Then all the good stuff that goes in the curry!

Panang curry paste ingredients

There’s a fair few Asian specific ingredients here, but familiar ingredients to those who have made other homemade Thai curries. In particular, Thai Red Curry – because the ingredients are virtually the same!

It will require a trip to the Asian store, though you can actually get everything at Harris Farms and the larger grocery stores in Australia, with the exception of shrimp paste (but there’s a substitute for that).

• Dried chilli – Key ingredient, so discussed below. Don’t get this wrong – you will regret it! 🔥

• Lemongrass – Fresh is best but if you can’t get it, use 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste instead.

• Galangal – looks like ginger but is more citrusy and harder. It’s pretty tough so best to grate to ensure your curry paste is smooth, otherwise you risk lumps in your sauce. You can find it in Asian stores + some grocery stores in Australia (Harris Farms and some Woolworths sell it). Substitute: use the same amount of ginger + 1/4 tsp lime zest.

• Shrimp paste in bean oil – I use Por Kwan Shrimp Paste in Bean Oil, pictured below, the most popular one sold at Asian grocery stores here in Australia. Substitute with 1 1/2 tsp belacan dried shrimp paste, roughly chopped (even sold at Woolies in Australia!) + 1 tsp oil + 1 tsp fish sauce + 1 garlic clove + 1 tsp miso, if you can – any type). Use in place of shrimp paste in recipe.

• Kaffir lime leaves – Earthy lime flavour unlike anything else! Sold at Asian stores, Harris Farms & large grocery stores in Australia. Freezes 100% perfectly – used in Thai red curry, coconut rice, Thai meatballs.

• Eschalot (US: Shallot) – Also known as French onions and called “shallots” in the US. They are like baby onions, but with purple-skinned flesh. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots”, ie. the long green onions. Substitute with half a red onion.

• Garlic – 5 whole cloves!

• Peanuts – This is what gives the Panang curry the signature peanut-y flavour. Beats using a scoop of peanut butter any day!

• Dried spices – Cumin, coriander and nutmeg.

Dried chilli for Panang curry paste

Dried chilli is the key ingredient in Panang curry, for both sauce flavour and colour. It is also what makes Panang curry spicy. But if you reduce the chilli, you will lose sauce flavour. So as recommended above, if you can’t handle spicy food, it is best to give this a miss.

Chilli type matters!! Use Chinese dried chillies, not Thai or Indian! I know it sounds strange to tell you not to use Thai dried chillies but they are SUPER spicy and unlike Chinese chillis, they don’t reduce in spiciness much when cooked. Same with some Indian chillies, like kashmiri. Let’s just say my team and I put our bodies on the line to figure this out!!

* Check label for country of origin.* You want chillies from China. And even though the spiciness of Chinese chilli types and brands will vary, we found that the cooking process in this curry reduces the spiciness of the chillies so they end up being the same level of spiciness – even using Chinese chillies labelled hot and extra hot.

The brand I use is pictured above. It’s a very common brand here in Australia and not that expensive (~$3), sold in Asian stores and even some large grocery stores.

Amount to use – We need 1/2 cup chillies once chopped, so start with about 2/3 cup whole chillies. Dried chillies vary in length so the number you need will vary, from (say) 12 very large ones to 40 small ones. Get large ones if you can because we need to deseed them and it’s much faster to deal with 12 large ones than 40 small ones.

Be sure to deseed thoroughly – the seeds are where most of the spiciness is!

The protein – chicken or prawns/shrimp

The base recipe calls for fresh, whole prawns/shrimp. This is because I like to add my own touch by repurposing the heads to make an easy prawn stock for use in the sauce. This underlines the sweet, prawn-y flavours of this curry and catapults it into wow territory. However, we’ve also made it with chicken and it’s extremely good too!

If you can’t get / don’t have / really can’t bear the thought of peeling your own prawns, it’s ok, you can use peeled prawns and skip making the prawn stock.

Chicken stock? Yes! Store bought fish/seafood stock is really not good. But chicken stock is much better, and gets infused with prawn flavour from the prawn heads (which is where most of the prawn flavour is!).

Panang curry sauce

Here’s what you need for the sauce and other add-ins for the curry.

• Coconut cream – More intense coconut flavour than using coconut milk, and thickens the sauce too. Full fat essential! No point using low-fat because fat is where all the flavour is.

• Fish sauce – Provides most of the salt in the curry, but with more savoury flavour. We do add some salt too because if we only use fish sauce, it gets a bit too…well, fishy.

• Sugar – Just a touch, because Thai food is all about balancing the sweet-salty-savoury!

• Thai basil leaves – Fresh herb used in Thai cooking that tastes like Italian basil with a slight aniseed flavour. Substitute with Italian basil.

How to make Panang Curry

The making part is very straight forward and quite quick actually. The step that takes the longest is soaking the dried chillies!

Make prawn stock – if using prawns/shrimp

If you’re making Panang curry with prawns/shrimp, get the prawn stock going first. If you’re using chicken, you can skip this step.

1. 15 minute simmer – Place chicken stock, prawn heads and shells in a saucepan. Simmer for 15 minutes, crushing the heads every now and then with a potato masher to extract as much flavour as you can.

2. Strain the stock and discard the prawn heads. We started with 1 1/2 cups of stock, you should end up with around 1 1/4 cups. Top up if you are short.

   Then set the stock aside for 5 minutes to let the sediment settle to the bottom. We will avoid pouring that bottom layer into our sauce.

Curry paste

1. De-seed chillis – Cut the chillis in half then twist / tap / use chopsticks to remove all the seeds. Be thorough here – the seeds is where most of the spiciness is! I got slack one day and let’s just say I seriously regretted it.

2. Soak 30 minutes – Roughly chop the chillis then soak in boiling water for 30 minutes.

3. Drain and reserve the chilli soaking liquid. We will be using some for the curry paste.

4. Blitz – Put the peanuts into a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Cover the jar with your hand to stop the peanuts from flying everywhere and blitz into a rough paste. Then add all the remaining curry paste ingredients and blitz until smooth. It only takes around 20 seconds or so.

   Note: You can also use a small food processor. You’ll struggle to make this in a large food processor as there is not enough curry paste.

Making Panang curry

This part is nice and quick – about 10 minutes from start to finish!

1. Sauté curry paste – Cook the Panang Curry paste for around 5 minutes until it darkens in colour and is not wet and sloppy. This intensifies the flavour.

2. Sauce – Add the prawn stock, being careful to pour off just the clearer liquid and leaving the sediment behind. If using chicken as your protein, just add plain chicken stock/broth.

3. Add coconut cream, sugar, fish sauce and salt.

4. Add the beans then simmer for 2 minutes until the beans are half cooked.

5. Add prawns, stir, then simmer for another 2 minutes until the prawns are cooked. They cook quickly – and will keep cooking as we finish it!

6. Serve – Then finally, stir in the Thai basil leaves. Serve over jasmine rice garnished with chopped peanuts, chilli and more Thai basil leaves!

So, with the big blue box of thanks done, I hope those of you on the fence about trying this can have the confidence to make it knowing it’s been subject to extra thorough testing! We really do think this is an exceptional Panang Curry. You’d be hard pressed to find one as good other than at the really top tier Thai restaurants. In Sydney, I’d only recommend Long Chim and Spice I Am.

Remember – be brave with the chillies! Go on, you can do it! 😉 – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Panang Curry – real, from scratch

Recipe video above. This is a stunning Panang Curry made entirely from scratch. It's for people who adore real Thai food, can handle the heat and understand that you just can't replicate the fresh flavour of a real Penang Curry using paste from a jar! Not even using my favourite Maesri curry paste that I'll happily use for Thai Red and Green Curry.

It calls for a trip to the Asian store but once you have the ingredients, it's straightforward to make. See SPICINESS note in notes section below – yep, it's spicy, and it can't be avoided!

Course curries, Main

Cuisine Thai

Keyword panang curry, thai curry

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Dried chilli soaking 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Protein – choose ONE:

• 700g/ 1.4 lb whole raw prawns/shrimp (ie shell on), medium ~8cm / 3″long – Note 1
• 350g / 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs , cut into 7mm/ 1/3" slices

For prawn stock (shrimp):

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth , low-sodium (not fish/seafood – Note 2)

Curry paste:

• 2/3 cup dried Chinese chillies (not Thai!) (24 x 6cm/2.5" long, 1/2 cup (15g) once deseeded chopped) – Note 3
• 3 tbsp roasted peanuts unsalted
• 2 lemongrass stems , finely grated (2 x 20cm/8" lengths) – Note 4
• 2 eschalots , roughly chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 tbsp galangal, finely grated (~1.5cm / 0.6" piece) – Note 5
• 5 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp shrimp paste in bean oil – Note 6
• 1/2 tsp each ground coriander, cumin, nutmeg
• 1 tbsp (packed) finely sliced kaffir lime leaves (~ 6 leaves) – Note 7

Curry:

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/4 cups coconut cream , full-fat (standard Aus 270ml small can ok)
• 3 1/2 tsp white sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 200g/7oz green beans , trimmed, cut in half (~1 1/2 cups)
• 12 Thai basil leaves – Note 8

SERVING and GARNISHES

• Jasmin rice
• 2 tbsp unsalted peanuts , finely chopped
• Red cayenne peppers , finely sliced (optional)
• Thai basil leaves , 3 leaves per serving – Note 8

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Prawn stock:

• Simmer – Peel and devein prawns, reserving heads and shells. Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a small pot on high heat. Add prawn heads & shells, bring back to a simmer, then reduce to low heat. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, periodically crushing the heads lightly with a potato masher and skimming off any orange scum.
• Strain into a jug, discarding heads. You should have just over 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) of stock. Leave undisturbed to let the sediment settle (~ 5min+).

Curry paste:

• Cut chillies in half then tap / squeeze out seeds (use a chopstick if needed for stubborn seeds). Discard seeds (spicy!). Chop chilli.
• Soak dried chillis in 2 cups of boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserve soaking liquid.
• Peanuts – Put peanuts in a tall jar that comfortably fits the head of a stick blender (or use a small blender). Cover the jar opening with your hand and pulse until finely ground.
• Blitz paste – Add drained chillis and remaining Curry Paste ingredients, along with 1/4 cup of the reserved chilli soaking liquid. Blend, scraping down the sides as you go, for about 30 seconds until smooth, using extra chilli water only if needed to help blend.

Cooking:

• Cook curry paste – Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook curry paste for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. The paste should be drier, darker, smelling aromatic and no longer raw.
• Sauce – Add 1 cup (250 ml) prawn stock, being careful to pour off just the clearer liquid and leaving the sediment behind. Stir in the coconut cream, sugar, fish sauce and salt. Mix in the green beans.
• Simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce thickens and the beans are half cooked.
• Add prawns, stir, then simmer for another 2 minutes until the prawns are cooked. Stir in the Thai basil leaves. The final taste should lean mostly savoury and sweet, and medium spiciness.
• Serve over jasmine rice garnished with chopped peanuts, chilli and more Thai basil leaves!

Notes

SPICE NOTE! This is an authentic Panang curry, so it’s spicy. Thai’s would class it as medium or “not so spicy”. For Westerners, it’s probably getting up towards hot. But not volcanic. Because the sauce relies on the chilli for colour and flavour, if you can’t handle spicy food, give this one a miss and make Thai Yellow Curry or Massaman Curry instead!

---

1. Proteins – I think juicy prawns go particularly well with panang curry, plus you get to re-purpose the heads to get free, bonus flavour into the stock which makes this really special. If using pre-peeled prawns, using 350g/12 oz and skip the stock making steps.

Chicken – Recipe works perfectly with chicken too! Use 350g/12oz, thinly sliced. Skip the stock making steps, cook chicken as per recipe does with prawns.

2. Chicken stock? Yes! Store bought fish/seafood stock is really not good. But chicken stock is much better, and gets infused with prawn flavour from the prawn heads (which is where most of the prawn flavour is!).

3. Use Chinese dried chillies, not Thai or Indian! I know it sounds strange to tell you to avoid Thai dried chillies but they are SUPER spicy and don’t reduce in spiciness much when cooked. Same with some Indian ones are too (like kashmiri). My team and I did a lot of testing around chilli types for this curry re: excessive spiciness.

Check label for country of origin, use Chinese chillies. Though the spiciness of Chinese chilli types and brands will vary, I found that the cooking process in this curry reduces the spiciness of the chillies so they end up being the same level of spiciness. Be brave! Try not to reduce the chilli too much because they are also a key flavouring for the sauce. If you can’t handle spicy food, I suggest skipping this recipe!

Quantity – Dried chillies vary in length so the number you need will vary, from (say) 12 very large ones to 40 small ones for 2/3 cup when whole (20g, with seeds in). You need enough so you have 1/2 cup (15 g) chillies once chopped / deseeded. Be sure to deseed thoroughly – the seeds are where most of the spiciness is!

4. Lemongrass prep – cut the reedy end off, we’re only using the white and pale green part, around the bottom 20cm/8″. Trim root off, peel off reedy outer layer. Then grate using a microplane, discard stringy bits left. Sub: Fresh is best here but if you can’t get it, use 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste instead.

5. Galangal – looks like ginger but is more citrusy and harder. It’s pretty tough so best to grate to ensure your curry paste is smooth. You can find it in Asian stores + some grocery stores in Australia (Harris Farms and some Woolworths sell it). Sub: use the same amount of ginger + 1/4 tsp lime zest.

6. Shrimp paste in bean oil – I use Por Kwan Shrimp Paste in Bean Oil, the most popular one sold at Asian grocery stores here in Australia. Substitute with 1 1/2 tsp belacan dried shrimp paste, roughly chopped (even sold at Woolies in Australia!) + 1 tsp oil + 1 tsp fish sauce + 1 garlic clove + 1 tsp miso, if you can – any type). Use in place of shrimp paste in recipe.

7. Kaffir lime leaves – Earthy lime flavour unlike anything else! Sold at Asian stores, Harris Farms & large grocery stores in Australia. Freezes 100% perfectly – used in Thai red curry, coconut rice, Thai meatballs.

8. Thai basil leaves – Fresh herb used in Thai cooking that tastes like Italian basil with a slight aniseed flavour. Sub with Italian basil.

9. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Keep basil separate – it degrades once stirred in.

Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings, excluding rice.

I adore Thai curries

See?

Thai Red Curry with Chicken

Thai Green Curry

Massaman Curry

Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry

Thai Yellow Curry

Jasmine Rice

Thai Recipes

Life of Dozer

Getting fitted for a special reader dinner coming up next week at the Four Seasons hotel in Sydney! YES, Dozer will be waddling around a ballroom in his tux. 😂 There’s still some tickets available – see below for information!

Tickets here for a dinner hosted by Dymocks book store at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney on Thursday 10th August. Ticket price includes a 3 course meal developed with the Chef at the hotel in collaboration with our very own Chef JB, as well as all beverages!

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