Salmon in Panang Curry Sauce (Red Curry Paste)

I had this dish when Edwin and I (good friend of mine) met another good friend of ours, Mark for lunch, who works in Palo Alto. Being that it was on a Friday, and it was during lent, (as Catholics) Mark, Edwin and I gave up eating meat during this season.

Mark’s office is close by Stanford University, and there are a lot of restaurants that you can choose from. We walked around and checked some of restaurants’ menus; still we cannot decide what and where to eat. And then we saw this Thai restaurant, the three of us have not had Thai food in awhile. So we decided to go in. They had a very nice ambience, love the décor and furniture. Since we cannot eat any meat, as soon as the waitress handed us the menu, we checked the seafood section right away. (I cannot even remember the name of the restaurant), but I did not forget what we ordered for lunch there, Salmon in Panang Curry Sauce with green beans served with steamed Jasmine rice. I will not say I don’t like curry, or I will also not say curry is my favorite. I just don’t usually order them when I’m in a Thai restaurant. But this salmon dish was delicious. Two weeks after I had it, I decided I will try and make it, and I am glad I made it the same way I tasted it from that restaurant. I added steamed long beans (usually found in Asian supermarket), steamed spinach; and sometimes I added steamed cauliflower or eggplant. I served them with brown rice this time.

   Serves 4

1 pound salmon fillet, cut into serving pieces

*3 tablespoons of Panang curry paste

*1/2 cup coconut milk

1 cup low sodium chicken broth (you might need more)

Salt and Pepper to taste or

*1 tablespoon of fish sauce

Chopped cilantro when serving (optional)

Chopped scallions when serving (optional)

Garnish:

2 cups of steamed spinach OR

2 cups of steamed long beans OR

2 cups of green beans, OR steamed cauliflower OR steamed eggplant

Serve this with steamed Jasmine Rice

*Can be bought in Asian store.

Panang Curry is a little bit spicy.

In a pot, on a medium heat, put the curry paste, stir the paste for 3 minutes, then slowly add the coconut milk, stir for 3 minutes, then slowly add the chicken broth, until curry is thick, if it is too thick, add more broth slowly, until you reached the right consistency. It should not be too thick. Add salt and pepper, or fish sauce, stir for a minute, then add the salmon. The salmon should not be over cooked.

When serving, topped the curried salmon with your steamed vegetable of your choice with the chopped cilantro or chopped scallions.  Serve with steamed Jasmine rice.

Steamed Jasmine rice:

For every cup of Jasmine rice add 2 cups of water. On medium heat, let it boil, and then put it on low heat, until water is completely absorbed.