Serves: 4
What you need
- 200 g dry rice vermicelli
- 200 g skinless & boneless fish fillets (I use any cheap white-colour fish, e.g. frozen basa)
- 200 g fish balls
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
- 6 slices galangal
- 6 fingerroots, split lengthwise (กระชาย)
- 15-20 dried red chillies, cut and soaked in hot water to soften
- 1 tsp shrimp paste (กะปิ)
- 1/3 c shallots, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp fresh turmeric
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp palm sugar
- 3 Tbsp fish sauce
- Fresh vegetables e.g. thinly-sliced cabbage, julienned carrots, beansprouts, green beans, pickled mustard green
How to put this together
- Bring 2 cups of water to boil, add lemongrass + galangal + fingerroots + fish fillets
- When the fish is cooked, take off heat.
- Take out fish fillets with slotted spoon and leave to cool a bit. Using pestle & mortar, pound the cooked fish fillets – it should be fluffy-ish
- Take out the poached herbs. Keep the poaching water in the pot.
- Grind together (I use magic bullet) lemon grass + galangal + fingerroots + red chillies + shrimp paste + shallots + garlic + turmeric. Add some water to help it along.
- Add curry paste + coconut milk into poaching water. Bring to boil.
- Add fluffy fish + fish balls + palm sugar + fish sauce
- Simmer for 15 mins
- Taste & season further if required
- Cook the dry rice vermicelli as per instructions on packet
- Serve vermicelli with vegetables and curry sauce
- Mix them all together and enjoy!
