Minced Meat Red Curry, made with SN1

Mellow with coconut milk. A Thai red curry with no heat, whose sharp, Southeast Asian broth settles right into you.

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK (Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.1 / SN1) — a minced meat red curry.

Red curry is a favourite in Thailand. Here, mince and coconut milk give a mellow flavour that still carries a proper Southeast Asian character. The key is the generous, fresh sharpness 🍋

Red curry in Thailand uses a great deal of chilli, but the red in SN1 is the red of paprika, so there is virtually no heat. Children can eat it with you. If you love heat, of course, add it to taste.

Ingredients (serves 4)　　

• SN1 / starter spices (the whole-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• SN1 / powder spices (the ground-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• Chicken mince: about 300g
• Garlic (grated): about 1–2 cloves
• Ginger (grated): about 1 tbsp
• Onion: 1
• Sweet pepper (red): 1
• Shimeji mushrooms: 1 pack (100g)
• Coriander: as much as you like
• Lime (or lemon): 1/2
• Cooked bamboo shoots: about 100g
• Nam pla (Thai fish sauce): 2 tbsp
• Coconut milk: 200ml
• Water: 150ml
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you like)

Preparation

• Grate the garlic and the ginger.
• Chop the onion finely
• Trim the base off the shimeji and separate them.
• Remove the stalk and seeds from the red sweet pepper and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
• Cut the cooked bamboo shoots into bite-sized pieces.
• Squeeze the juice from the 1/2 lime (or lemon).

Method

1. Put the “oil: 3 tbsp” into a pan over a low heat, and once the oil is warm, add the “starter spices (the whole-spice sachet)”.
   
   
2. When you hear the “mustard seeds (the small black ones)” start to crackle, add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring it through the spices.
   
   
3. Once the garlic smells good, add the “onion”, stir it in, then cook over a high heat for about 12 minutes, until deep golden brown.
   
   
4. Turn the heat to medium, add the “chicken mince: 300g” and “salt: 1 tsp” and fry.
   
   
5. When the meat is nearly cooked, add 2/3 of the powder spices and fry them in.
   
   
6. Add the shimeji, sweet pepper and bamboo shoots and fry for about 2 minutes.
   
   
7. Add the coconut milk: 200ml and water: 150ml and bring it to the boil.
   
   
8. Once it comes to the boil, turn the heat to low, add the remaining powder spices, the “nam pla: 2 tbsp”, the “sugar: 2 tsp” and the “lime (or lemon) juice”, stir it together, then simmer for about 5 minutes.
   
   
9. Taste it, adjust the salt, plate it up and top with coriander. Done.

If you want more heat, sprinkle over some chilli powder or black pepper once it is plated 🌶

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the usual sources of heat — chilli, cayenne pepper or chilli powder — so please add heat to your own taste.