A tale of boxing and chu chi curry in Thailand
Thai curries, there is an endless list of all kinds of delicious curries with a intense array of colours and flavours. During my visits to Thailand, I thought I tried them all. But when living in Northern Thailand I discovered my favorite curry, that goes by the name of chu chi curry.
My inspiration for this post comes from a few firm and beautiful lemongrass stalks that I am forced to harvest from my green house, after it blew away from my garden during an erratic winter storm. I was quite surprised that the lemongrass, that I grew from seed, survived during the winter, as the Dutch climate is far from tropical. Like me, lemongrass loves warmth and sun. Lemongrass reminds me of curry. And I remember the day that I had my first chu chi curry.
On that day, I take my scooter and drive from my home in Mae Rim, further north to Mae Taeng. I have an appointment to do interviews and photography at a school where they teach Muay Boran, an ancient form of Thai boxing once used to defend the 13th century Kingdom of Lanna. The aim of the Muay Thai Sangha school is for their students to find the balance between body and mind.
Kru Villalobos has taught Muay Boran for 27 years. “I look beyond the physical part into the soul of the students. My goal is to open them up, so they will recognize anger, fear and frustration. When following the principles of energy released by physical training, mental objects can be dissolved”. The students claim that through practicing the skills of Muay Boran they not only learn to fight, but to find their inner peace.
For 3 weeks, Daniel will study Muay Boran. “My body and mind benefit from being without distractions while being away from my busy life in the U.K. Here I feel aware of myself, both physically and psychologically”, states Daniel. “The teacher guides me to acknowledge my bright side as well as my dark side”. He continues on with his morning practice, kicking away any remnants of his once bottled-up anger.
On my way back home, I sit down at a restaurant, while working on my interview notes and decide to order something that I never eat before, a squid chu chi curry.
Chuchi Pla Muek Yud Sai – stuffed squid in thick red curry with coconut milkThe base for a chu chi curry is a red curry paste. The palette of flavors of a red curry paste is rapturous. It might be the most versatile curry among all Thai curries. To make a red curry paste from scratch, use a mortar and pestle and work hard to make a paste of the following ingredients:
8 dried red chilies, fragrance is more important than spicyness (soak the chlies in cold water first)
1 tablespoon galangal thinly sliced and chopped
1 tablespoon lemongrass thinly sliced and chopped
10 cloves of garlic chopped
5 tablespoons shallot chopped
half the peel of a kaffir lime zest grated
1 tablespoon coriander root chopped
1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Recipe Chu Chi curry
Chu Chi curry is always paired with seafood or fish. The main difference from other curries is that the seafood or fish is prepared separately, any way you like such as poached, grilled, steamed or fried. The curry is poured on top afterwards.
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon coriander seed
2 tablespoons roasted coconut flakes
Grind the pepper corns and coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle. Then add the coconut flakes, pound them not as finely as the pepper and coriander seeds. Then mix in the red curry paste. Note: if you use ready made red curry paste, it usually has sugar and spices, so check the label before you add extra spices or sugar.
2 tablespoons Chu Chi curry paste
1 cup coconut cream
vegetable or coconut oil
shrimps
some palm sugar
some fish sauce
1 tablespoon kaffir lime leaves
a few Thai basil leaves for decoration
Heat up your wok and pour in the coconut cream and wait until it starts to bubble and it breaks and you see coconut oil coming out. Add the curry paste and lower the heat to medium and stir for a few minutes. Add sugar and fish sauce to taste and pour the sauce over your prepared seafood. I stir fried the shrimps, add the sliced kaffir lime leaves, a sliced red chilli pepper and some basil leaves. Serve with rice.
