Sometimes I have a yearning for a delicately flavoured but fiery Thai curry (inspired by Masterchef this week – or rather not inspired because I know mine is better than the contestants’!). This is totally yummy, hot and sour, and is extremely simple to make. Thanks to Mick’s fish at the farmers’ market I have a wonderful variety of sustainable fish; I tend to use white fish fillets: I used haddock, but could be cod, coley, pollock or even monkfish though this takes careful preparation to remove the membrane and central bone, and much more cooking.

serves 2

• 400 ml tin coconut milk
• 250 ml stock or water (I usually rinse out coconut milk tin)
• 1 lemongrass stalk, bashed
• pinch of palm sugar
• 2 tbsp tamarind
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• white fish fillet for two, skinned
• handful of pak choi, or other Chinese greens
• thick piece of creamed coconut
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, rolled and sliced thinly

curry paste

• 3 long dried chillis, soaked and chopped
• 2 small fresh Birdseye chilis, chopped, seeds in or out, your preference
• 1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
• 2 red shallots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chipped
• 1 inch chopped fresh turmeric or 1 tbsp powder
• 1/2 tbs shrimp paste

Method

Put all the curry paste ingredients into a blender and pulse into thick-ish paste..

Put the coconut milk, water/stock  lemongrass into a wok and bring to the boil.

Add the palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce and 4 tbsp of curry pate (should be about the right amount) Simmer and add fish and pak choi/tatsoi/choi sum. Simmer until fish flakes and is only just cooked.

Add the coconut cream and sprinkle with lime leaves; serve on rice.

A meal in a pot!