The Hirshon Thai Jungle Curry – แกงป่าปลาขูด

Citizens, it would seem to be a simple truth that all Thai curries require coconut milk, since virtually every curry you see in Thai restaurants seems to include it.

Not so, brave Citizens – not so!

Jungle curry (Thai: แกงป่า, pronounced [kɛ̄ːŋ pàː], lit. forest curry’ or ‘jungle curry’) is specific to the Northern Thailand highlands, where coconuts do not grow and the curry paste is nearly face-melting levels of hot without coconut milk to temper its revolutionary flames!

Why the name “Jungle Curry? Simple – the Thai highlands are ALL jungle, and this particular curry used many ingredients found therein!

Kaeng pa is a highly spicy and watery curry that has a distinctive full taste. Ingredients usually include: kaffir lime peel and leaves, lemongrass, green pepper corns, galangal, garlic, pea eggplant and chili. It was originally prepared with wild boar but is now more commonly prepared with pork or chicken.

Kaeng pa is a variety of Thai curry from the forested areas of Thailand. Unlike many other Thai curries, traditional kaeng pa usually contains no coconut milk, as coconuts are not naturally found in the rainforests in the northern part of the country. This quality makes it more suitable for people on low saturated fat diets. There are, however, variants that do include coconut.

Kaeng pa is a highly spicy and watery curry that has a distinctive full taste. Ingredients usually include kaffir lime peel and leaves, lemongrass, green pepper corns, galangal, garlic, pea eggplant and chili. It was originally prepared with wild boar, but is now more commonly prepared with pork or chicken.

For the Siamese aristocracy of the 19th century, leaving behind the safety of the city’s picturesque gardens, lively canals, and bustling streets to venture into the vast plains – beyond the mountains and into uncleared forests and dense jungles – was a risky affair that few were willing to undertake. They did not enjoy the untamed wilderness nor did they wish to cook outdoors, like hunters, near a stream or a river, and these nobles preferred to use gold-patterned porcelain rather than bamboo or banana leaf utensils.

As noted on foodandwine.com:

With a long history in royal households, religious strongholds, and foreign trade, contemporary Thai curry highlights the cultural diversity of Thailand (formerly known as Siam). It’s believed that during the fourth century, Indian traders and Buddhist missionaries shared aromatics, spices, and herbs like tamarind, cumin, shallots, and lemongrass throughout the Kingdom of Siam.

The 13th century gave rise to nam prik, a type of thick pastes of varying ingredients that included lemongrass, fish sauce, peppercorns, and tamarind. Nam priks are used as a universal sauce for many Thai dishes, including a set of dishes called gaeng, kaeng, gang, or geng — what today are known as Thai curries. From the 14th to the 18th centuries, kapi, or shrimp paste, was added to these dishes, contributing a deep, umami flavor.

Then, with the arrival of Portuguese merchants in the 16th century came the hot chilies that gave Thai cuisine the kick for which it has become renowned. Today, Thai curries still carry these ingredients, flavors, and cooking methods.

That distinct blend of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy ingredients combined with the variety of preparations makes Thai curry push the boundaries of Western notions of curry.

The exact date the term “Thai curry” was coined is unknown, but in the pages of the first known Thai dictionary published in 1873, kaeng was defined as a watery dish with shrimp paste, onions, shallots, garlic, and chillies. Though this early text only loosely categorized the dish, after the Vietnam War, when more Western consumers began to encounter Thai cuisine, the many varieties of kaeng started to be referred to as a single “Thai curry.”

In 2002, a Thai government-led gastrodiplomacy campaign created the Global Thai Program, which aimed to promote Thai restaurants and flavors worldwide. As part of this promotion, many restaurants adopted cookie-cutter menus curated by the Thai government. This included a set of standardized Thai curries: red, yellow, and green.

While the initiative made Thailand’s curries a worldwide sensation, it also had the effect of limiting what Thai curries were cooked around the world. The diverse and highly regional category of dishes was reduced to a handful of broad categories.

Citizens, let me emphasize again for good measure – this curry is extremely hot even by Thai standards! If you are a chili head, or merely aspiring to try the ultimate in heat – trust me, this is it!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Thai Jungle Curry – แกงป่าปลาขูด

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• Author: The Generalissimo

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Ingredients

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• For curry paste:
• 20 fresh Thai birds' eye chilies (red or green), chopped
• 5 dried Anaheim chilies, boiled first then chopped
• 5 dried Chiles de Arbol chilies, boiled first then chopped
• 4 shallots, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp chopped galangal
• 1 lemongrass, pale bottom part only, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp fermented shrimp paste (interchangeable with the Malaysian belachan)
• 1 tsp chopped kaffir lime peel - if unavailable, use microplaned regular lime zest
• 1 coriander root (or substitute with twice the amount of coriander stems)
• 1 tsp fresh turmeric (or substitute with dried)
• 1 tsp White pepper - toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander seed - toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant
• 1 tsp. ground cumin - toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant
• 1 ginseng root from a ginseng herbal drink (if unavailable, just leave it out)
• ***
• For making curry:
• 1 stalk of kaffir lime leaves (it comes in doubles), sliced very thinly
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce - TFD strongly recommends Red Boat 50 brand
• 2 1/2 tsp palm sugar (or use unrefined cane sugar)
• 1 stalk fresh green peppercorns, available canned in Asian markets
• 300g or 11 ounces of meat, sliced (chicken is common now, but wild Jungle boar was in the original recipe. Use whatever meat you like, or you can even make it vegetarian)
• 2 handfuls of vegetables (Asian eggplants, carrots and string beans work well, but use whatever you like)
• 1 handful of Thai holy basil leaves
• 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 2 Tbsp oil (unrefined palm or coconut oil)
• Chicken stock or water - water is traditional, TFD prefers stock

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Instructions

1. Pound (or blend) all the ingredients for the curry paste. Jungle curry paste texture is supposed to be rougher than most, not totally smooth.
2. This is the order for grinding or pounding:
   1. toasted white pepper, toasted coriander, toasted cumin
   2. cilantro root, galangal, ginseng, kaffir lime peel, lemongrass
   3. dried chilis, salt
   4. garlic, shallots, turmeric
   5.  shrimp paste
3. Add the oil to a wok or pot, and add the curry paste. Fry over low heat till you can smell all that chili hitting your nostrils.
4. Add some chicken stock (preferred) or water to stop burning, then the chicken, keep stirring till cooked.
5. Increase the heat, and add the vegetables, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar bring to a boil and then let it simmer until everything is cooked. You may want to add water/reduce the curry till you reach your desired consistency.
6. Finish off with the basil leaves and red bell pepper.