My husband I went to Thailand for our honeymoon five years ago, and ever since, I have been obsessed with Thai curries. Red curry, green curry, yellow curry – they all offer something unique to the pallet.
When we were in Thailand, I made the mistake of ordering Rock Lobster at a restaurant without noticing that the price was in Thai Baht based per 100 grams. When the bill came, and my rock lobster in curry was almost $300 dollars Canadian, my husband bit his tongue and took out his wallet. I was lucky, because any other occasion would have warranted a huge lecture!
Since Thailand, I’ve played around with different versions of shellfish and Thai curry. My favourite so far, is fresh maritime lobster with red thai curry!
Thai Lobster Curry Recipe:
2 Fresh Nova Scotia or Maine Lobster (1.5 – 2 Pounds Each)
2 Cans of Coconut Milk
Red Thai Curry Paste
1/2 Medium Onion
4 Red Birds Eye Chilli (or to taste)
1.5 Tablespoons Diced Fresh Ginger
2 Cloves Minced Fresh Garlic
1/8 Cup High Quality Olive Oil
4-5 Leaves of Fresh Thai Basil
1 Lime
Sea Salt
1.5 Cups White Rice
Fresh Cracked Peppercorn (to taste)
Fresh Cilantro (to taste)
Fresh Dill (for garnish)
Directions for Thai Lobster Curry:
1: In a medium to large pot, boil water and sea salt. Place fresh Nova Scotia lobster face down into the water and cook for 15-20 minutes.
2: With tongs, remove lobster from boiling water and place into cold ice water. Set aside.
3: Dice and sautee fresh onion, garlic, and ginger with olive oil. Once translucent, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4: Spoon in 3 heaping tablespoons of red curry paste. With a spatula, mash the paste in with the onions, garlic, and ginger until smoking.
5: Slowly pour in coconut milk, stirring to mix with the paste. (NOTE: When shopping for red Thai curry paste, shake your cans. Cans that sound solid instead of liquid are better for curry!)
6: Include the juice from one lime, and the whole Thai basil leaves into the mixture. Let simmer over medium heat, then decrease to medium-low for approximately 0.5 hour.
NOTE: The coconut curry mixture may appear to separate and form red beads of oil. This is a good sign!
7: Crack and peel your freshly boiled lobster. Dice the lobster into bite-sized pieces, reserving two claws for garnish. Toss the lobster into the curry paste, and leave simmer.
8: Pour 1.5 cups of rice into a new pot, mixed with 3 cups of salt water. Turn the heat to high. Once the rice starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the rice. In 15 to 20 minutes, the rice will be ready.
9: Serve the red Thai lobster curry over the fresh rice. Garnish with cilantro, fresh limes, dill, birds eye chillis, and/or additional coconut milk.
Enjoy!