Pha Naeng Nua

Ingredients:

Beef, cut into thin strips	400 grams
Coconut milk	2 cups
Pha-naeng curry paste	3 tablespoons
Peanuts, roasted and ground	½ cup
Fish sauce	2 ½ tablespoons
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Palm sugar	3 tablespoons
Fresh or dry kaffir lime leaves	6 each
Red chili, thinly sliced	1 each

Directions:

• Prepare the pha-naeng curry paste
• Place 1 cup of coconut milk on a medium heat until oil patches appear on the surface, add curry paste and slowly bring to boil, stirring constantly.
• Add beef strips, cooked in coconut milk until soft, and cook for 5 minutes, add 1 cup of coconut milk.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients except kaffir lime leaves. Add this to the curried beef, stir well and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add kaffir lime leaves and remove from the heat.

Pha-naeng Curry Paste

Ingredients:

Big dried chilies (seeds removed)	6-7 each
Shallots	5 each (1/4 cup)
Garlic	2 cloves (3 tablespoons)
Galangal, chopped	1 tablespoon
Lemon grass, chopped	1 tablespoon
Coriander roots, chopped	½ tablespoon
Kaffir lime peel, chopped	½ tablespoon
Peanuts, roasted	1 tablespoon
Coriander seeds, roasted and ground	2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds, roasted and ground	½ tablespoon
Salt	1 tablespoon
Pepper, ground	¼ tablespoon
Shrimp paste (Kapi)	1 tablespoon

Directions:

Grind chilies and salt together. Add the rest of the ingredients and grind until delicate and well-blended.

Correct Characteristics of Pha-naeng Nua:

• Pha-naeng paste must be fragrant from coriander seeds, which is different from red curry which will be strongly red out of spices – roasted coriander seeds and cumin.
• This dish must be spicy and rich and have roasted and ground nuts. Beef, pork or chicken meat must be tender and absorbed with soup.

Cooking Tips:

Beef or pork meat can be used in place of chicken. In case of beef or pork, the meat must be cooked in coconut milk until very soft before being brought for cooking this dish.

Eating Culture:

Pha-naeng is usually eaten with the main meal with rice. For fusion eating, it can be used as sandwich spread or fried with rice to make ‘’Khao Phat Pha-naeng’’.

How to Serve:

Spoon Pha-naeng Nua into a serving bowl and serve with the main meal for eating with rice.

Recipe Variations:

In modern recipes, prawns, fish, salmon, lamb or turkey meat can be used in placed of beef, pork or chicken.
Pha-naeng Nua (beef)
Pha-naeng Mu (pork)
Pha-naeng Kung (prawns)
Pha-naeng Pla (fish)
Pha-naneg Kae (lamb)
Pha-naeng Kai (chicken)
Khao Phat Pha-naeng (frying with rice)

Name Derivative :

Pha-naeng was developed from red curry. Both Pha-naeng and red curry are cooked from red curry paste, but Pha-naeng paste has more coriander seeds and the soup of Pha-naeng is richer from roasted and ground nuts, but has no pea aubergine (Ma Kheu Puang) unlike red curry.
If cooked with pork, this dish is called Phanaeng Mu. If cooked with chicken or beef, it is called Phanaeng Kai or Phanaeng Nua respectively.

Nutritional and Medicinal Properties of Herbs used in Pha-naeng Nua:

Pepper (Cayenne or Red Pepper) :

Use : Used as ingredient in Kaeng Liang, red curry and Kaeng Pa paste. Used as garnish. In many dishes, soup and boiled rice.
Medicinal properties :Helps constipation, flatulence and nausea.

Shallots (Hom Lek or Hom Daeng (in Thai)) :

It gives sweet flavor and scent to the soup or stock. It aids digestion, relives cold symptoms, increases appetite, and regulates menstruation.

Lemongrass or Ta Krai (in Thai):

The lemongrass in Tom Yam Kung not only serves as a flavouring agent and helps balance the flavour, but also acts as carminative in addition to containing calcium. It improves the shrimp flavor, gives a well balanced taste to the liquid when being chewed on, and offers a medicinal value in aiding digestion. Lemon grass is a good source of fiber, iron and B-vitamins.
Lemon grass aids digestion, relieves stomach pain, increases urine production, relieves gall stone problems and high blood pressure.

Chili Peppers or Prik Kee Nu (in Thai):

These small fresh Thai chili peppers whose essential oil and flavors give the characteristic hot taste and aroma of Thai cooking. It is the star ingredient of most dishes. Almost any dish will taste better with a small addition of these tiny hot peppers. Tom Yam and Tom Kha cannot be made without them.
This kind of herb relieves diarrhea, stimulates digestion, the heat increases blood flow to taste buds and thus increases appetite, relieves infection, dissolves blood clot and prevents intestinal cancer.

Kaffir Lime Leaves or Bai Ma Krood (in Thai):

Kaffir lime leaf is a major ingredient of Tom Yam, Tam Kha, and all kinds of Thai curry which gives good aroma of Thai cooking.
It aids digestion and relieves stomachache.

Gratiem (Garlic)

Use : Almost all-Thai dishes contain garlic, in soups, curries, salads, sauces and pan-fried dishes.
Medicinal properties :Cures and prevent atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, aids digestion, relieves cold symptoms, and fights some intestinal parasites.

Luk Phakshee (Coriander Seeds)

Coriander seeds are small and white or pale brown and taste fizzy like licorice. Coriander leaves smell and taste better. Use : Stir-fried coriander powder is used as spice in clear soup, curries, stew, duck, chicken, pork and goose dishes, or added to apple pies, custard, fruit salad, cream and even in gin.
Medicinal properties :Relieves swellings, high cholesterol, diarrhea, mouth ulcers, anaemia and kidney problems.

Jeera (Caraway or Cumin)

Both Caraway and Cumin give slightly sweet tastes and similar aromas, but the seeds of Caraway are bigger in size while Cumin has better and stronger adors and is spicier. Use : Add to curry paste and meat dishes such as Satay, roasted chicken, roasted beef, soup, sausages and ham as well as pickles, preserved fruit, cake, cookies and biscuits. Jeera is also used in salad cream and soup in certain countries. American mixed spices called “ Chilli Seasoning ” also contain Jeera.
Medicinal properties :Stimulant, antispasmodic, carminative, Relieves diabetes, constipation, indigestion, nausea, fatigue and insomnia.

Kha (Mature Galangal)

Use : Beef and chicken Tom Yams need mature galangal roots to improve the flavor of the beef and chicken. The dishes will have a better aroma and taste.
Medicinal properties :Relieves skin rash, diarrhea, indigestion and body pain due to crash and fall.