Malaysian Lemongrass Prawn Curry Recipe

Hi Friends,

Greetings!  I am back again with another Malaysian curry recipe.  You must be wondering for a while that why do I always bring in recipes either Malaysian or Thai, well to be frank since these are my roots and I just can’t forget it.  Since I love to eat this food so I also hope you will enjoy it too.  Next time I hope I can bring in something better for you to try and taste which may not be Malaysian or Thai hopefully if I can resist it.

Take care and Cheers!

Malaysian Lemongrass Prawn Curry

Malaysian Lemongrass curry is a combination of Chinese and Malaysian spices and cooking techniques to create a distinct Peranakan (Chinese immigrants who came to British Malaya) style curry dish. With a unique blend of spices, tamarind and lemongrass, this fragrant curry is a favourite among Malaysian community.  It is a main course to be served with hot plain rice.

Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small brown onion, sliced

½ jar Malaysian lemongrass Curry Paste (Recipe given below)

½ cup Coconut Cream

1 stem lemongrass, bruised

½ cup water

1 cup carrots, sliced

500g green prawns (when raw, they are blue-grey in colour (and are sometimes called green prawns)

1 bunch broccolini, stems removed

To taste salt

½ cup mint, torn

Lemongrass Paste Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup

Basic Recipe

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 large shallots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

4 -5 garlic cloves, minced

1 stalk lemongrass, pounded, cut in 1/2-inch pieces (1 tablespoon dried)

Optional Additions

Fresh galangal root (half galangal half ginger)

Turmeric (pinch)

Chili pepper

Kaffir lime leaf (about 4 finely sliced with hard ribs removed)

or you can use lime zest

Palm sugar, white sugar, brown sugar (pinch to taste and enhances entire mix well)

DIRECTIONS

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor until very smooth and finely textured, 2 to 3 minutes. Can, also, be pounded with mortar and pestle. Keep refrigerated.

The addition of a couple teaspoons water may encourage easier mixing and will not affect the final product.

Malaysian Lemongrass Prawn Curry Recipe

Method

1. Place vegetable oil in a heated saucepan, add garlic and onions. Cook until soft and add Lemongrass Curry Paste.

2. Fry for several minutes until fragrant then add coconut cream, lemongrass stem and water.

3. Bring to the boil and add carrots. Cook for 5 minutes, then add prawns.

4. Simmer for 3 minutes, add broccolini and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the lemongrass, stir through salt and mint.

Serve with rice with hot plain rice

Instead of prawns you can use the following to make Malaysian Lemongrass vegetable Curry:

2 large handfuls of sliced vegetables per person, eg peppers, carrots, onion, pak choi or shredded green cabbage, baby sweetcorn, asparagus chunks, mangetout, soya chunks, Tofu (fried),  mushrooms…

PS:  You must be wondering why the Malays and Thais use coconut in practically all their curries. Malaysian traditional dishes represent culinary diversity from multi-ethnic such as Malay, Chinese, Indian and Nyonya. Most traditional foods such as curries and deserts contain coconut milk as the main ingredient.  For generations, coconut milk has been used in Malaysian cuisines, not only for the source of thickener but also for the perfect harmonies blend of flavor and aroma. However, other milk such as dairy milk have gained acceptance as a viable way to replace coconut milk in Malaysian dishes. There is a trend among Malaysian to substitute coconut milk with dairy milk or yogurt in everyday meals Dairy milk and coconut milk can serve as substitute for one another, depending on the purpose of substitution.

Parsan Narang

27th June 2016