Fish balls in Thai Green Curry….before sushi

I’m over the moon.

Truly over the moon. At lunchtime today, I’ll be on a sushi-making course !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m excited. And it’s all thanks to P – the protagonist in a recent Scottish tale of mine: on Haggis!  Believe me, he has redeemed his image in my eyes. Forever.

See his wife, C and her friend were going to take the course together but the friend couldn’t make it – out of town…..and guess who gets to go??????????? Of course I’ll take many photos, of course I’ll attempt to make a video and of course we will definitely have to try this on KB.

But till then, will this suffice till I return? Fish balls in green curry: delicious, tender balls of white fish, rolled and simmered in velvety coconut sauce, elevated to the greatest heights of sensory delights by some Thai green curry paste? Did I mention the sweetness the green beans take on (I love green beans the most in Thai green curries) or the crunch and slight bitterness of the pea eggplants?

Well, if you must know all the details…then read on and I hope it delights you as much as it did us!

Ingredients

For Fish curry

750g skinless, firm white fish (I used Tilapia fillets)

2 tablespoons Nam pla (Fish sauce)

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

1/4 cup green curry paste

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 egg

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (recipe below)

1 cup coconut milk

100g Pea egg plants , washed (optional)

A handful of washed green beans, top, tailed and cut into 3 cm pieces (optional)

1/3 cup coriander leaves/cilantro, chopped

  

PS: I’ve seen people garnish their green curries with red chillies…more for the colour contrast and not for additional heat! A bit like my Saag chicken photo.

  

 

For the vegetable stock

1 1/2 cups of cold water

1 roughly chopped spring onion

2 cloves of bashed up garlic

1 piece of ginger, bashed up 

 2-3 dashes of nam pla 

For the accompaniment: Scented rice

Rice

1 stalk lemon grass, cut in 3 pieces

salt to taste

How to

Make the vegetable stock

In a pot, add 1 1/2 cups of cold water, 1/2 roughly chopped onion (or 1spring onion), 2 cloves of bashed up garlic, 1 piece of ginger, bits of lemon grass…all bashed up and 2-3 dashes of nam pla and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, turn off and strain out additions if you like or leave them in. Use stock as required

Make the rice

In a pan or in your rice cooker. Bash up a stalk of lemon grass with a rolling pin and cut it into 2/3 pieces, add salt and water to your rice and let it cook! This is my alternative to Thai fragrant rice!

Make the fish balls

Cut the fish into 3cm pieces and in a blender or food processor, blend with the fish sauce, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of green curry paste, 1 tablespoon lime juice and the egg. If blending is not very smooth, scrape insides of blender and stir around a bit. I used the pulse setting on my blender and it took a couple of minutes to get a smooth mix

  

Put blended fish mixture in a bowl and using a tablespoon to measure, roll into balls and set on a tray/plate. Cover and chill for half an hour. This is to firm up the balls and ensure they hold well together so they don’ disintegrate the minute they go into the simmering stock. And just in case you’re wondering about the shower cap over the food. Don’t. ‘Cause it’s a food cap not a shower cap!

After the half hour’s gone past, heat up a large pan/wok and pour in the stock. Bring it to the boil and then add the fish balls. Simmer for 5 minutes until cooked through, stirring very gently occasionally.

Remove the fish balls from the stock and discard the stock.

In a large pan/wok, out in the remaining curry paste and cook till fragrant. Add the coconut milk and cook till it boils then add fish balls and heat through.

 

Add the eggplants and chopped green beans  and let cook for 5 minutes then add the rest of the lime juice and coriander.

Enjoy. If you think the sauce is too thin (which is typically how Thai curries are), make a paste of 1-2 teaspoons of corn flour (cornstarch) and water, add to the mix and let cook through.

 

I hope you’re looking forward to my sushi-making antics as much as I am…coming soon!