It would be very helpful if there was more of an explanation of what to do with it after it is made -- Side condiment? Mix into soup? Stir fry with it? "Jerk" sauce?

If you keep watching the video through to the end or click on the steps to the left of the video, you'll see. Traditionally beef is more popular with this dish but you can use chicken, pork, prawns, etc.

We also use this paste in a soup which will be out shortly.

Panang has a nice mellow flavour with potatoes, carrots and or kabocha squash (also known as Japanese squash in SE Asia and Oz) for veggie meals.

Made this last night for a dinner party and I was so proud. It was a bit of work to make the paste but in the end it was the best. I will totally make this again.

Making your own paste made all the difference. A beautiful, mellow, but flavourful curry. My pork wasn't the most tender ever, but still tasted great - I'll need to make sure I don't overcook it.

Two things to keep in mind. The first one you noted - just cook until the pork is done then remove from heat. Second, give it at least five minutes to rest before serving (off the heat). This will relax the muscle fibers and make it more tender.

Glad you liked. Sometimes spending the extra time really pays off.

I want to make this recipe but have been unable to find a source for coriander root locally or online. Do you know of a source? What can I substitute?

The stem of cilantro (coriander) is a good substitute. I also have trouble finding the actual root of coriander...but I have good results using the stem of cilantro in place of. Are you able to find the other ingredients....where are you located? Here in Vancouver I know of a few places to find the other ingredients.

Dawn T
Thanks for the reply. I am located in Jacksonville, FL. I have ordered kaffir lime leaves from foodimport.com. I can buy fresh Thai basil and lemongrass locally as well as dried galangal. I cannot find kaffir limes. Do I assume correctly that I can substitute a regular lime?

Yes.... regular lime would be a good substitute. Kaffir limes do have a very unique flavor though but you will still end up with a great panaeng paste.

J_Robert, hi!
I'm from Jax too. Could you tell me, please, where you buy thai basil? The oriental stores(Mandarin area) I shop at don't have it.

Hi, I am in Ormond Beach FL and believe it or not, sometimes Lowes carries the Thai Basil in their garden herb section. They usually just have the Genovese italian basil but worth a shot. I used to have trouble finding most of these ingredients so I ended up buying a Kaffir tree and the lemongrass which grows fast here in zone 9. If you can find the thai basil it is worth it as it has a more anise flavor to it. Good luck.

Try calling your local Thai restaurants.
They get the ingredients from somewhere, so just ask and maybe they can tell you where you can buy them in your area.
If not maybe they can sell you some.
Good Luck!

I am Thai and love to cook. I believed that Panang only need very thin slice of kiffir lime leaves instead of basil!

So, No basil needed for authentic Panang curry.
:-)

Hi Umaporn. Thai basil is certainly optional for the dish; however, it is generally not added to the paste itself. When we went to cooking school in Chiang Mai, Thailand, this is how the local chefs made this dish and how they taught us. However, when we went to other cooking programs in southern Thailand, they omitted it. So I guess my point is that there are many interpretations of "authentic" recipes. Depends really on where you come from and what you like I guess. For example, we were researching Paella the other day and found 100's of authentic recipes for this fantastic dish. So try it both ways. And if you like Thai basil, use it. If you don't, the omit it.

Thanks again. Joe

Hey Joe,

I made a comment as it didn't say that basil leaves is only optional in the video and i think people should know that. So, if they go to Thailand and order Panang curry, they won't be surprise that only few restaurant serve Panang curry with Basil in it. I would say maybe 5 or less out of 100! ^___^

Basil give strong smell and flavor and very few Thai would put Basil in this recipe with will not be authentic Panang curry anymore. Again, I am sad to hear that the famous Chaing Mai cooking school teach you guys that.

Next time Try Wandee Cooking school in Bangkok. She is very famous among the Thai or Blue elephant cooking school also in Bangkok and more city in Europe. Try also to buy book from Sangdad publishing as they are very famous Thai Cooing cook publisher that produce cook book from famous Thai chefs.

Also do you know that Panang is an Malasian influeced recipe. The name were from Penang, a town name in Malaysia.

Cheers,

Umaporn

Hi Joe, Just wondering what cup size is the mortar that Dawn uses in the video to make the panang paste? Is it the 1 1/2, 2 or 3 cup size? Thank you - love those videos. Jo Ann

The one in the video is a 3 cup (at least I think so). I find the bigger they are the better - more sturdy and of course you can do more in them. Cheers!

I am going to prepare this in two days, and I am having trouble with some of the ingredients. I can't seem to find cumin seeds, only ground cumin - how much would I use? Is fish sauce and shrimp paste something I can find in most grocery stores? If subbing brown sugar for the palm sugar - same amount? When the paste is done, how long will it keep in the fridge and the freezer? Sorry for the newbie questions - but I'm a newbie!!!

Cumin seeds are generally easy to find; however if you can't find them you could use ground (generally you will need a bit less of the ground, about 1 tbsp ground for every 1 1/4 tbsp whole). I do encourage you to try and find whole cumin seeds though.

As for the fish sauce and shrimp paste, these are becoming more and more available. You can try phoning your local grocer or even your local Thai or Asian restaurants to see where they buy them.

For the brown sugar (if you cannot find palm sugar) you can just substitute 1 for 1.

This paste will last for several months if frozen. In the fridge it will last for quite a few days.

Curious whereabouts do you live? Hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply. It’s not the location, it’s me! I am REALLY new to cooking (I thought one of the 5 mother sauces was Arby’s sauce :) I am from Burlington, south of Toronto.

I found everything except dried long chilies. I found short dried, and long fresh. I want to somewhat limit the heat, so I am drying the long ones in the oven at about 200 degrees. After about 6 hours they are looking close to the ones in the video. Do you think this is ok?

Good idea with drying the chilies...let us know how it turns out for you. Keep up the good work Trevor and welcome to the world of cooking! :-)

hi. is palm sugar available on groceries? is it easy to find? and how much doea it usually cost? and oh is there any coconut fruit sold in groceries? like the real fruit. and oh with the coco milk. where u got that fresh from the coconut fruit or in cans and packs?
and oh w/c is better coco milk fresh from fruit or cocomilk sold in cans already pls help me.

Drill-downs are short, relevant videos that are attached to the recipes to provide more information on a particular topic. If you haven't seen them, there are two attached to this recipe:

Palm sugar and coconut milk/coconut milk products are found in Asian markets and are becoming increasingly popular in the international isle of supermarkets. You can also easily buy these products online. Both are inexpensive and usually cost under $1-2 each (but this depends where you live).

Also depending on where you live, fresh coconuts can also be found in the supermarket from time to time. Hope this helps!

thanks a lot