gaeng ba - jungle curry of british game

gaeng ba

 jungle curry of british game

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Thai jungle curries are country style curries, most commonly found in the Central Plains of Thailand. They tend to be very spicy and use stock, rather than coconut milk or cream. They also very often utilise wild meats from the Thai countryside - things like wild boar, or birds.

In the UK we have fantastic game, which is perfect for this type of curry. Here we have suggested pheasant or venison, but almost any lean game meat would work well. Give this a try if you like your curries big on flavour and spice!

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Chef’s tips:

• Find the pea aubergines and Thai herbs in your local Asian supermarket. Or alternatively, if you want to use items from Farmdrop’s grocery you could try a mixture of Thai basil and mountain coriander.
• Some game, such as venison steak or wild duck, is best served pink (i.e rare / medium rare). In order to achieve this: just cut the meat slightly thicker than described, and reduce the time the curry is simmered for - by 1 or 2 minutes.

Serves 2

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Ingredients

200 - 250g of lean game meat e.g pheasant or lean venison steak, sliced into small bite sized pieces (around 1cm wide and 3 - 4cm in length).

150ml of light chicken stock, ideally fresh, but use a stock cube if unavailable.

60g som saa jungle curry paste.

2 tablespoons of plain oil, such as groundnut or sunflower oil.

2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

tiny pinch of palm sugar - ideally good quality 100% coconut sugar.

2 tablespoons of picked pea aubergines - optional.

A handful of green beans, cut into small 2-3cm lengths.

small handful of mixed, roughly torn Thai herbs - such as holy basil, Thai basil, sawtooth coriander, betel leaves (or if you can’t find these see above for an alternative mixture from the farmdrop website).

4-5 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves

3 long red chillies, sliced at an angle into bite sized pieces

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Method

Put a pan on a medium heat, add the oil followed by the curry paste and fry, stirring regularly, for a minute.

Now add the game meat, lime leaves, fish sauce, pinch of palm sugar and, if using, the pea aubergines.

Fry, stirring regularly, for another minute before adding the chicken stock and sliced green beans.

Simmer gently for 3 or 4 more minutes before folding through the sliced chillies and torn herbs. Turn off the heat and taste: it should be hot, herbal and robustly seasoned - add a touch more fish sauce if needed.

Serve with jasmine rice (and ideally with one or two other Thai dishes, to make a balanced Thai style meal).