5 each dried chilies
3 tbsp chopped shallots
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped galangal
1 tbsp chopped lemon grass
1 tsp chopped kaffir lime rind
1 tsp chopped coriander root
2 tsp salt
1 tsp shrimp paste
Directions
Soak dried chilies in hot water for 15 minutes and deseed. Into a
blender, put all ingredients except the shrimp paste and blend until
well mixed. Then add the shrimp paste and blend once more to obtain
about 3/4 cup of a fine-textured paste. This can be stored in a glass
jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months. Recipe from: The
Elegant Taste of Thailand, by Sisamon Kongpan & Pinyo Srisawat.
Servings: 1 servings
Nam Phrik Kaeng Khua (Kaeng Khua Curry Paste) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Thai
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as a concept can be tracked far back into ancient history, in truth as far back into recorded history as early Egypt, and maybe even further. Interesting though that is, these, early cookbooks were just simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to food historians are a few clay tablets in Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel blissful. Later on, in The time of the romans 25BC a roman called Apicius created a collection of documents which described recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. In his scrolls, he recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into hors d`oeuvre, main course and dessert, something we still use today. He also tells us how the Roman chefs used many different herbs, including some familiar names for example basil, fennel and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, there were a couple of interesting cookery books which appeared in the 1300s : a book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these are not about the indian food that is familiar to us all today, but instead recipes for the types of food prepared by the chefs of the upper classes of the time. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from Arab cooking, including spices such as basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new culinary ideas prompted an increase in recipe publications, most of which are now in private libraries. Over the succeeding few centuries, the rich and powerful families of the West tried to serve the most extravagent meals, and as a consequence, chefs and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. However, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that haute cuisine and recipe books rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collating, verifying, and writing down the recipes of their peers. When we get to the 20th century, cookery books are increasing in popularity mostly as a result of more people being able to read, leisure time and having more money to spend. The TV revolution gave us celebrity chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that neatly brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing us all to access thousands of recipes like those on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Nam Phrik Kaeng Khua (Kaeng Khua Curry Paste) recipe.
