Penang curry with shrimp and pineapple

- Serves 4
Sweet and creamy Penang curry is a personal favorite of mine and I much prefer it to Thai red or green curries because of its mild flavor and rich sauce. Although the traditional Penang curry is made using beef strips, my easy version here combines shrimp (or chicken) with pineapple. Sweet, crunchy shrimp goes particularly well with this delicious creamy sauce while tropical pineapple lends a special added sweetness to the dish. Enjoy the recipe!
Picture
Photo by Shameel mukkath: Pexels

Ingredients for ​Penang curry with shrimp and pineapple 

2 cups sliced chicken thighs or 12 medium prawns
1.5 cups or 360ml coconut milk
1 tablespoon shredded lime leaves
1 teaspoon fish sauce, or to taste
1/2 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar, or to taste
1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks
2 tablespoons of store-bought Penang curry paste mixed with 1/2 cup coconut cream (or 2 tablespoons coconut oil) or one portion of freshly made curry paste as below 
To make fresh curry paste 
10g dried red chilies, deseeded and soaked in 1 cup hot water for an hour – use a mix of Indian and Thai chilies for medium hot curry 
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea-salt
2 teaspoons galangal, chopped
2 tablespoons lemongrass, cut into thin circles
1 tablespoon coriander root
2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon shrimp paste (belacan)
1/2 cup coconut cream or water, use only if using a blender

Recipe
  1. Heat a wok on medium-high heat, add curry paste mixed with 1/2 cup of coconut cream (or 2 tablespoons coconut oil). It should sizzle right away and boil. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn.
  2. Add meat. Keep adding coconut milk about 1/4 (60ml) cup at a time, every minute or so. You should start to see coconut oil surfacing. If not, add remaining coconut milk anyway.
  3. Cook chicken on low-medium flame for about 10 minutes until cooked (the prawns should be cooked at this point, so don’t cook them for any longer). 
  4. Add lime leaves, fish sauce, palm sugar and pineapple, then simmer on low flame for 2-3 minutes. The consistency of this curry should be thick. Add some more coconut milk if it's too dry. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Note: Penang Curry should be thick, and not soupy like red or green curries.
Making Curry Paste
  1. Place toasted seeds in a large stone mortar and pound until ground, set aside. Place garlic and chilies in the same mortar, sprinkle salt and pound until pasty. Keep adding all other ingredients (except coconut cream) and continue pounding until pasty. Finally add the ground spices and bring it all together. 
  2. Alternatively, use a heavy blender with metal blades – start by grinding the toasted seeds, then add chilies, garlic, salt, galangal, lemongrass, coriander root, shallots, peanuts, and shrimp paste. Now, adding 1/4 cup coconut cream at a time grind to a very fine paste. Use this quantity for recipe above.​
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