Spicy Chicken Curry – Gaeng Pa Gai – แกงป่าไก่

This Gaeng Pa is one of the spiciest curries there is. It’s not only chili hot from the curry paste, but also the spiciness from the wild ginger, green pepper and also the holy Basil. Sometimes I am keen on the spices and I will make this one. But you don’t have to worry; you can blend the flavor down with omelet or Stir-Fry Vegetable with oyster sauce.

How to make:

1. Fry the paste with a bit of vegetable oil with low heat, when they paste is frying and giving a nice smell, add chicken meat and shredded lime leave and fry for a short while.
   
2. When it fry become too dry add 1 cup of water or until the fluid cover the mixture in the pan. Bring to boil.
   
3. When boiling add the slices of wild ginger, cut pieces of pepper corn, yellow eggplant and pea eggplant.
   
4. Season with sugar and fish sauce.
   
5. Add the cut pieces of Thai eggplant and baby corn, add some water to cover the ingredient and leave for simmering for another 20 minutes.
   
6. Check the chicken meat, if they are coked and soft enough and check the flavor. When you are satisfied, add the holy basil.
   
7. Serve Hot with other none spicy dishes and hot steam rice.

Tips:

1. The spiciness of this Gaeng Pa Paste varied among the chili paste product brands and also upon provinces. Petchaburi and Chantaburi is well known for their Spicy Gaeng Pa. Their cooking is wonderful, but very special on the paste as well. They also add a kind of small ginger root, similar to galangal, but smaller, spicier. I am trying to get this plant for growing in my garden.
2. I add 2 teaspoons of sugar, just to tone down the saltiness and spiciness a little. You should not detect the sugar flavor here at all, unlike the Green Curry.