Red curry salmon with smoky aubergine salad
- Prepare
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 2
This dish is a real flavour explosion – homemade red curry paste flavoured with galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime, flaky salmon cooked in banana leaves with Thai basil and wild garlic, and a smoky aubergine and shrimp floss salad.
Ingredients
For the red curry paste
- 3 dried long red chillies, deseeded and soaked in water until soft
- 1 dried red birds’-eye chilli, soaked in water until soft
- 1 tbsp lemongrass, root and outer husks removed, thinly sliced
- ½ tbsp galangal, peeled and chopped
- ½ tsp makrut lime zest
- ½ tbsp coriander root or stems, chopped
- 1 tbsp shallot, chopped
- ½ tbsp garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
For the salmon in banana leaf
- 4 tbsp red curry paste (see above)
- 2 tbsp coconut milk
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 250g/9oz skinless wild salmon fillet, cut into 2½cm/1in pieces
- 2 asparagus spears, trimmed and sliced into 1cm/½in pieces
- 2 tbsp wild garlic leaves, chopped
- 2 pieces banana leaf, 30cm/12in x 35cm/14in each
- 2 tbsp Thai basil leaves
- 2 makrut lime leaves (fresh or frozen), 2 whole, 1 thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp thick coconut cream, for garnish
For the smoky aubergine salad
- 1 aubergine
- 1 free-range egg, room temperature
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp toasted chilli powder
- 4 tbsp dried shrimp
- 2 tbsp red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 makrut lime leaves (fresh or frozen), thinly sliced
- 2 lemongrass stalks, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp coriander, picked leaves
- 2 tbsp mint, picked leaves
Method
To make the red curry paste, add all of the ingredients to a pestle and mortar and pound until smooth. Alternatively, add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
To make the salmon in banana leaf, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Add the red curry paste, coconut milk, palm sugar and fish sauce to a wide bowl and mix to combine.
Add the salmon, asparagus and wild garlic to the bowl and mix until everything is well coated.
To prepare the banana leaf, trim the thick stem or rib from the leaves then pass them over an open flame on your cooker. The leaf will change colour slightly indicating that they are more pliable and less likely to tear when you fold the parcels.
Lay a square of banana leaf on your work surface (shiny side down) then lay another on top with the seam lines running in the opposite direction (shiny side down again).
Put half of the Thai basil leaves in the centre of the banana leaf. Top with the curry salmon mixture, then add the remaining Thai basil and the two whole makrut lime leaves, so that the curry salmon mixture is partially covered.
Seal the mixture in the banana leaf by folding in the sides to create a tightly folded rectangle. It should hold together by itself just by turning the seam side over onto a work surface. If you’re struggling to seal the parcels you may have too much mixture inside, but if you prefer, you can fix the banana leaf together using a toothpick.
Cook the banana leaf parcel in the oven for 15 minutes. Check the contents are piping hot before garnishing with the thick coconut cream and thinly sliced makrut lime leaf.
To make the smoky aubergine salad, grill the aubergine over the highest flame on your hob, or under a very hot grill. The skins need to be completely blackened so the flesh inside becomes soft and tender with a smoky flavour. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, bring a small pan of water to the boil. Add the egg and boil for 6 minutes before plunging in ice water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the egg.
Make the dressing in a mixing bowl by combining the palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, toasted chilli powder and 1 tablespoon of water together, ensuring that the palm sugar is completely dissolved.
Blitz the dried shrimp in a spice grinder or blender to achieve a light flossed texture.
Once the aubergine is cool enough to handle, peel off the blackened skin and discard. Roughly chop the aubergine flesh and arrange on a serving plate.
Combine the red onion, makrut lime leaves, lemongrass, coriander and mint in the bowl with the dressing. Gently toss together and arrange over the aubergine, pouring over any remaining dressing.
Halve the soft-boiled egg and arrange on top of the salad and finish by generously sprinkling with the shrimp floss. Serve alongside the red curry salmon.
