Mussaman Curry Lamb with Orange and Jasmine Rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb lamb shoulder chops, bones removed, and sliced thin against the grain
• 1 medium sized eggplant (or 3 Thai eggplants… they’re small…), cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 baby bok choy, quartered
• 2 arge carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons Mussaman Curry Paste
• 20 whole basil leaves (Thai basil is preferred, but not required)
• 1/4 pound cashews
• 1 1/2 cup clear beef broth
• 1 cup Satsuma orange juice (about six oranges worth of juice)
• 3 tablespoon fish sauce

First things first. The curry paste. (This is very much like the Red Curry paste we posted about earlier, but if you look, you’ll note the changes)

Home made Thai Mussaman curry paste

• 1 pound dried red chiles
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 12 husked cardamom pods
• 12 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 stalks lemongrass
• 3 tablespoons minced galangal
• 1 cup minced garlic
• 2 cups minced shallots
• 1 tablespoons shrimp paste
• Beef stock or broth, as needed

Have a large mortar and pestle ready.

First, stem and seed the chiles. Then soak them for 20-30 minutes, or until they are hydrated enough to peel. Then remove the skins.

Put a small sauté pan on medium high heat, no oil. When the pan is hot, add the cinnamon stick and shake it around in the pan until you begin to detect its aroma. Then add the peppercorns and wait again for the aroma. Then add the coriander, repeat, and also with the cloves, cumin, and cardamom.

When all the spices are toasted, place them in the mortar and pestle, and allow them to cool.

While the spices are cooling, take the lemongrass and bash it with the flat side of your knife until it’s bruised and frayed. Then slice only the white parts and mince.

Pound spices into a powder, then add lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, and shrimp paste. Pound down to a thick paste, then add chiles.

Keep pounding, adding beef stock or broth until the paste has the desired consistency.

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Now, toast the cashews in a 350 degree oven, until golden brown and fragrant.

While the nuts are toasting, add two tablespoons of peanut oil to a wok over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add carrots.

As carrots begin to caramelize, add lamb and brown.

When both lamb and carrots are sufficiently browned, remove from the wok and set aside.

Put wok back on the heat, and add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil, and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.

When the oil begins to smoke again, add curry paste. Mash the paste into the oil, and allow it to fry for 2 minutes, then add the fish sauce.

Mix paste and fish sauce thoroughly, then add the bok choy, lamb, and carrots to the wok, and toss to cover with the mixture.

Add broth and orange juice and bring to a simmer.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes, checking the tenderness of the lamb periodically. When lamb is cooked to just under the desired tenderness, add the eggplant and nuts and continue to simmer until eggplant is tender, but not mushy.

Serve with Orange Jasmine Rice…

Orange Jasmine Rice

Ingredients

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• Zest from six Satsuma oranges

Place the ingredients in your handy-dandy rice cooker, and add enough water to cover the rice by 1/2 an inch.

Cook until rice cooker “pops”