Fresh turmeric and peppercorn curry with prawns and asparagus

Name: Fresh turmeric and peppercorn curry with prawns and asparagus
Cuisine: Thai, Asian
Ingredients: 145ml coconut cream; 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk; 25g palm sugar, roughly chopped (or light soft brown sugar); 20ml fish sauce; 500g asparagus, cut into 3cm lengths, keeping the tips separate (or green beans); 500g peeled raw prawns; steamed jasmine rice, to serve; 125ml rice (or other white) vinegar; 80g caster sugar; ½ cucumber, quartered lengthways, deseeded and thinly sliced (200g); 20g ginger, peeled and julienned; 1 red chilli (or 2 bird’s-eye chillies, if you like the heat), halved, deseeded and thinly sliced lengthways; 10g coriander, stems finely chopped, leaves roughly torn; 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve; salt; 5g dried red chillies (or more, if you like); ½ tsp whole white peppercorns, toasted and coarsely ground; 2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and coarsely ground; 1–2 shallots, roughly chopped (60g); 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 20g coriander stems, roughly chopped; 10g fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 tbsp coconut cream

Instructions

This is everything we want from a curry: bright (from the turmeric), hot and aromatic (from the peppercorns), substantial (from the prawns) and fresh (from the asparagus). The recipe uses a traditional method of cooking Thai curries called ‘cracking’. This is where the spice paste is simmered in coconut cream for so long that it splits and the oil separates out. This then creates a rich base for a deeply flavoured curry. Swap the prawns for chicken or tofu, or make a vegetarian version with your favourite vegetables, omitting the fish sauce.

Updated at: Fri, 10 Jan 2025 12:12:27 GMT