Camping Prawn and Coconut Milk Curry, made with SN2

Spice curry eaten out in the open tastes better still.

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK (Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.2 / SN2) makes this Camping Prawn and Coconut Milk Curry.

The whole point of this recipe is right there in the name: you want to eat it at camp. A customer told us they wanted seafood spice curry while camping, so we set about writing a recipe you can cook outdoors easily and still enjoy properly.

Cooking at camp is not like cooking in your own kitchen. The tools you have are limited, and controlling the heat behaves differently. It also helps if the ingredient list is as short and simple as possible. We love camping ourselves and cook camp meals often, so we know how these small details play out, and we have put that experience into the recipe. So, here is the recipe for Camping Prawn and Coconut Milk Curry.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN2 / starter spices (the bag of whole spices): 1 bag
• SN2 / powder spices (the bag of ground spices): 1 bag
• Fresh tomato: 1
• Onion: 1
• Garlic: about 2 cloves
• Ginger: about 30g (no need to be exact)
• Peeled prawns: about 200g
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Nam pla (Thai fish sauce): 2 tbsp (or soy sauce)
• Olive oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you prefer)
• Coconut milk: 400g
• Lime (or lemon): 1

Head-on prawns give more flavour, but with camp conditions in mind we have chosen easy-to-handle peeled prawns.

Preparation

• If any vein is left in the peeled prawns, remove it, rub them with salt and rinse under water.
• Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger.
• Cut the tomato into rough chunks.
• Cut the lime into rounds so it is easy to squeeze.

Method

1. Pour the olive oil into a pan, add the starter spices (the bag of whole spices), then set it over low heat.
   
   
2. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add the finely chopped garlic, ginger and onion, stir them through, then turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about 10 minutes until amber.
   
   

   If it looks like catching, splash in a little water and keep the heat going without burning the spices.

   
   
   
3. Once the onion is amber, drop the heat to low for a moment, add the tomato, sugar: 2 tsp and nam pla: 2 tbsp, stir them through, then return to medium heat. Keep cooking, crushing the tomato as you go.
   
   
4. When the tomato has released its liquid and the mixture has thickened, add all of the powder spices and stir, thinking of it as cooking the powder itself through.
   
   
5. Add the coconut milk: 400g and bring it to a boil once.
   
   

   This assumes the 400g cans of coconut milk that are easy to find in any supermarket. Few recipes use a whole 400g can, but half a can of coconut milk left over at camp is a nuisance, so we wrote this one to use all of it. To balance that, we have kept the liquid coming from the other ingredients down. You want to cook off a little of the coconut milk and let the sauce thicken, so simmer it uncovered. Let the coconut milk come through.

   
   
   
6. Add the peeled prawns and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
   
   
7. Adjust the salt.
   
   
8. Spoon it onto a plate, squeeze over as much lime juice (or lemon) as you like, and eat it out in the open.

Coriander scattered over the top tastes superb and makes the plate look livelier.

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the chilli, cayenne or red pepper that usually carries the heat, so add as much as you like to suit your taste.