Ingredients

Serves 6

Khao Soi
200 g fresh thin egg noodles
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
¼ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cardamom
4 cups coconut milk
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp white sugar
300 g chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced


Noodle Condiments:
150 g deep-fried egg noodles, gently broken into large chunks
3 red shallots, thinly sliced
100 g pickled mustard greens, drained, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 cup roughly chopped coriander leaves

Thai Red Curry Paste
10 dried long red chillies
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp uncooked rice
3 red or golden (French) shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
10-cm piece fresh ginger, unpeeled, roughly chopped
1 lemongrass stem, white part only, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp shrimp paste

 


Pineapple Fritters with Fish Sauce Butterscotch
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 cup self-raising fl our, sifted
½ cup rice flour, sifted
½ tsp sea salt
1 tbsp white sugar
6 slices pineapple
Vanilla ice cream, to serve


Fish Sauce Butterscotch
150 g palm sugar, shaved with a knife
50 g unsalted butter
½ cup pouring (single) cream
2 tsp fish sauce

 


Method

Khao Soi

If making your own Thai Red Curry Paste:
Soak the dried chillies in warm water for about 20 minutes to soften. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over medium heat, add the coriander and cumin seeds and toast, keeping the spices moving in the hot pan, for a couple of minutes, or until you can just smell their lovely aroma. Transfer to a mortar and use a pestle to grind to a powder. Add the rice, shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and salt and pound for as long as our arms will let you. Scoop everything into a food processor, add the dried and fresh chillies and the shrimp paste, and give it a whizz until you get a smooth paste. Open the lid, step back, smell those heady chilli-spice aromas and pat yourself on the back – homemade curry paste!
Makes about 1 cup. Store the leftover curry paste in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two weeks. The flavour will diminish the longer you leave it.

Cook the fresh noodles in boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes, or until just cooked. Drain, refresh under cold running water. Drain again well and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the curry paste, turmeric and cardamom and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant and steaming. Add 1 cup of the coconut milk and simmer for 2 minutes to let the flavours infuse. Add the remaining coconut milk, the fish sauce, sugar and 2 cups of water. Toss in the chicken and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through.
Arrange small handfuls of the cooked fresh noodles in serving bowls and ladle over the soup. Place a chunk of the deep-fried egg noodles on top. Scatter over a couple of slices of shallots, a pinch of sliced mustard greens and a small handful of coriander leaves. Finish with a squeeze of lime.

NOTE: Wander the aisles of an Asian grocer to find fresh thin egg noodles, deep-fried egg noodles (which come in ready-made packets) and pickled mustard greens. You’ll find red shallots in the fresh fruit and veg section. If you can’t find them, you could substitute golden (French) shallots or even half a small, very thinly sliced red onion.


Pineapple Fritters with Fish Sauce Butterscotch
It may seem just a little bit odd, but the addition of traditionally savoury condiments such as soy and fish sauce make for incredibly interesting desserts. Fish sauce, in particular, adds a deep yet subtle salty accent to a sweet dish. I think it works wonders in a butterscotch sauce. If you’ve got leftover butterscotch sauce, you can keep it in the fridge for up to a week. Just take it out and bring it to room temperature again before you serve it.

For the fish sauce butterscotch, place all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer, reduce the heat to low and stir for about 5 minutes, or until it’s the consistency of double (thick) cream. Remove from the heat and set aside while you make the pineapple fritters.

Heat 10 cm of oil in a wok or large saucepan to 180°C. You can tell if the oil is hot enough by dipping a wooden spoon into it – if furious little bubbles form around the spoon, then the oil’s ready to go.
While you’re waiting for the oil to heat up, place both the flours, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add 1½ cups of water and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Throw in the slices of pineapple and gently mix to coat each piece.

Gently drop the pineapple slices into the hot oil. Deep-fry for 1–2 minutes, or until golden, making sure you flip the pineapple every so often so they get an even tan.
Drain on paper towel.
Serve the pineapple fritters hot with a huge scoop of ice cream and drizzle the whole lot with fish sauce butterscotch.

Note: Bananas can be substituted for the pineapple.

Marion: Recipes and stories from a hungry cook, Pan Macmillan, RRP: $49.99 (Hardback)