Authentic Thai Jungle Curry with Sea Bass by Marni Xuto
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Marni Xuto grew up in the heart of Bangkok and her recipes are like love letters to Thai cuisine. She is a content creator and recipe developer, often found giving cooking demonstrations at top food festivals, or cooking classes at School of Wok. We are thrilled to be sharing this Jungle Curry with Sea Bass from Marni and hope you love it as much as we do!
Head to Marni’s website for more information here and follow her on social media for delicious recipes and top tips for cooking Thai food.
This recipe is inspired by Songkran or เทศกาลสงกราน (Thai New Year) which is celebrated on 13th April each year. It is also known as the Water Splashing Festival and marks the beginning of the Buddhist New Year.
Marni’s Authentic Thai Jungle Curry recipe is bursting with flavour. In fact, Jungle Curry is said to take its name from having so many vegetables and plant-based ingredients packed in that it’s like having a dish with an entire jungle in it! Originating from the Northern, forested areas of Thailand, this curry usually omits coconut milk because coconuts aren’t normally found in the rainforests.
Did you know: Jungle Curry was originally cooked mostly with wild boar! Nowadays it’s most commonly made with chicken or pork but Marni’s version is made with sea bass which is a great pescatarian alternative!
Serve : 2-3
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking times : 10-25 minutes
Ingredients for the Jungle Curry paste
- 50g of shallot, sliced
- 20g of finger roots, trimmed and chunkily cut*
- 10g of green British chilli, chunkily cut
- 10g of Galangal, chunkily cut
- 10g of coriander stalks
- 4g of dried medium-heat red chilli
- 3g of lime zest
- 1g of red bird’s eye chilli, chunkily cut (optional)
- 1 stalk of lemon grass, trimmed and chunkily cut
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1-2 tbsp of water
- 1 tsp of shrimp paste
- 2/3 tsp of sea salt
*Fun fact about Finger Roots: Marni says “Finger roots is an essential ingredients for a Jungle Curry because it helps eliminate the strong seafood smell. It is also packed full of remedial properties and some have said it is a Ginseng of Thailand. It helps to ease indigestion, as the original jungle curry is rather spicy which could cause dyspepsia.”
Are you struggling to source finger roots? Don’t worry because you can use a small amount of young ginger (7g) and then amend the galangal to 15g as a replacement.
Ingredients for the Jungle Curry
- 180g of sea bass fillet, pat dried
- 100g of bamboo shoots, sliced
- 80g of red pepper, chunkily cut
- 80g of green beans, trimmed and cut
- 80g of Thai eggplant, trimmed and quartered (can be substituted for aubergine)
- 60g of baby corn, sliced
- 60g of brocolli, trimmed and cut
- 15g of holy basil leaves
- 10g of fresh, young green peppercorn
- 10g of butter
- 4 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 2 tsp of sugar
- 450ml of water
- 1 pinch each of salt and ground black pepper
Equipment
- Copper Base 26cm Sauté Pan
- Copper Base 24cm Non-Stick Frying Pan
- Pestle and mortar or electric blender
Marni uses our Copper Base Range in this recipe. Check out 7 things we love about our Copper Base Range!
Cooking Method
- Blend the curry paste ingredients in an electric blender or pound them in a pestle and mortar until smooth.
- Next, gently fry the paste with two tablespoons of the vegetable oil in Copper Base 26cm Sauté Pan over a medium heat until infused and stir it regularly.
- Onto the vegetables! Add the bamboo shoots, red pepper, green beans, broccoli, baby corn and then gently stir them in for approximately 1 minute.
- Pour in the water and then bring it to a boil.
- Add Thai eggplant and fresh peppercorn and then simmer it for approximately 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, gently fry the sea bass fillets (with the skin side down first) with the rest of the oil in a Copper Base 24cm Non-Stick Frying Pan over a medium to high heat.
- Season the fish with salt and pepper and then add the butter. Once it has stopped spitting, you can then baste the fish as it fries.
- After the skin has turned golden and crispy, carefully flip the sea bass and then cook it for approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Continue to baste for a better colour on the skin (if required).
- Next, remove the sea bass and then rest it on kitchen paper.
- Scatter holy basil on top of the curry and fold it into the mixture.
- Transfer the curry into a serving bowl and then place the fish fillet on the top.
- Enjoy and let us know what you think!
Marni says: “For me… I just place the fish fillets on top of the curry in the sauté pan and serve. Enjoy this aromatic Thai Curry with Thai Jasmine Rice.“
