Fishing camp curry paste.

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moikel

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jul 26, 2011
3,198
218
Sydney &Greenwell Point Australia
I head out to camp in a week. I take my seafood curry paste with me & do Malaysian fish curry with the few fish we keep each day.

I am going to set out step by step how I make this version .Its got a few short cuts & might be easier for people to find ingredients.

I catch an international flight that stops in Darwin I get off it continues on to an Asian destination. Its 4 hours then about 80 minutes by puddle jumper to Endyalgout Island in Arnhem Land, tribal Aboriginal country.

35c there today 100% humidity build up to the wet season.

I have to grab some fresh turmeric & a few other things to get it all together.

We throw hard bodied minnow lures on bait caster outfits at these guys in the Mini Mini River system.


Thats a barramundi one of Leah's favourite fish.I think these are better eating.Golden Snapper.


Or these.Threadfin salmon.


Plenty of crabs as well but its serious crocodile country so you have to be a bit careful.


My curry paste will work with any white flesh fish or seafood.It can also be used as a rub or a baste if you want to be versatile.

Give me a day or so.Its a bit of a production
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Sounds great Mick! I just saw a recipe for a lingcod curry pie that sounded interesting.
Curry is one of those things that has heaps of variants .I have been making pastes for years in different styles. 

My go to now is Malaysian ,one for seafood another for meat. I still make a Thai,West Indian & Sri Lankan to order but not that often.

If you get the paste right you dont need any other spices or aromatics.

This SOB used to hang out at the boat launch.Christened Albert by a former camp cook,who couldnt cook,could drink was probably a fugitive from justice & definitely crazy.

When I said to current cook "I am just going to make something for the boys I wont make a mess in your kitchen."She replied thats what the last SOB  said before I shot him & fed him to Albert!"
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I think she was joking.


 
This is going to take me 2 days!
Proportions it's pretty loose I can say currently it's 500 gm garlic, 25 habaneros , 3 x ginger the size of my hand,10x finger size bits of turmeric , 2x big bunches cilantro including roots, 20 x red shallots. 25 x kaffir lime leaf, 12 x limes juice & rind, 2 jars shrimp paste, grated palm sugar about size of deck of cards.
Spices I am tinkering with I have 2 x 250 gm packets Baba's fish curry powder but I may have to grind some extra based on the list on the packet,I am going to be short otherwise.
I have deliberately left out lemon grass & galangal to hard on blades,really fibrous .
The trick here is a good consistency so I will add peanut oil & not stupid hot .Its got to be balanced. If it's to hot I add more shallots ,ginger etc. it's about balance.
I will end up with about 3 kg of paste .2 tabs should make a fish curry for 6 people.
 
Fresh turmeric more orange than yellow so it's leaning that way colour wise.500gm curry powder might be right .I will let it sit overnight,re blitz it in food processor to get consistency right then make a quick prawn curry to see where I am at on heat level.
Food processor making unhelpful noises ,fingers crossed it don't throw a shoe before this is done.
I have 4 kg! Curry powder,cumin,coriander,fenugreek,fennel,chilli,Dahl,turmeric pepper other spices?
 
Oh my God!!! First off, that Barramundi could just be held up and win applauds and bows and, well, (I'll keep this thread clean), but WOW, what a fish!!!!!??? Wow!

Secondly, the turmeric and all that's going on, I am glued! I am excited to see where this leads! Bring it!!!

Just seeing the alligator/crocodile (I love putting them both in risotto) but what fun stuff you've got going on here! Keep on!!! And share your drinks in our wine group too if able!!!

Happy travels!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers! Leah (So impressed and hungry)!!!!!!
 
When I first saw the photo on my phone I thought the red things were sugar coated strawberries, I guess those are the habs, and not nice and sweet like sugar coated strawberries!!!!
 
 
When I first saw the photo on my phone I thought the red things were sugar coated strawberries, I guess those are the habs, and not nice and sweet like sugar coated strawberries!!!!
Out of the freezer,not in season yet. I have gone way over quantity wise ,situation normal
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.

I need to test run it then see where its at. Certainly smells right.
 
 
Oh my God!!! First off, that Barramundi could just be held up and win applauds and bows and, well, (I'll keep this thread clean), but WOW, what a fish!!!!!??? Wow!

Secondly, the turmeric and all that's going on, I am glued! I am excited to see where this leads! Bring it!!!

Just seeing the alligator/crocodile (I love putting them both in risotto) but what fun stuff you've got going on here! Keep on!!! And share your drinks in our wine group too if able!!!

Happy travels!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers! Leah (So impressed and hungry)!!!!!!
That girl was about 105 cm.We put anything over 80cm back,breeding females. Aussie record somewhere around 140cm. Hell of a fish on bait casting tackle.

Turmeric one of those super foods ,now in season.

I will rub some tuna or such & grill it for you soon.
 
That's the fresh turmeric . Hands still stained.
You could short cut this right down to garlic,ginger,shallot,chilli,lime curry powder & shrimp paste, bit of palm or brown sugar,some veg or nut oil.
For meats just use a different curry powder,back of the lime,leave out the shrimp paste.
 
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Now THAT'S a fish! (To be said with "That's a knife" accent).

And that fresh turmeric is incredible! You need to open a restaurant HERE! Please!

Happy Thursday! This all sounds divine!

Cheers! - Leah
 
The actual process is garlic & shallots some salt in the FP first then ginger,turmeric & chilli. Then cilantro ,lime leaf,oil lime juice & zest. Into a big bowl. Curry powder next ,shrimp paste with the oil off the top,more oil to get consistency right then sugar. Manual mix.

Let it sit over night. TEST 
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.Then adjust as needed remix .

I will get fish fillet for tonight ,prawns for lunch .Just rub with  prawns in paste then toss on grill plate hard & fast.That will give me a pretty good read on where it sits.

No 2 batches ever the exact same anyway.
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Thai curry here is either  ,red, green ,yellow or jungle( no coconut milk sort of a stir fry) .I have moved to Malaysian style over the years fish or meat colour irrelevant. I used name them yellow peril ,a red menace & jungle rumble but now its just fish camp ,meat lovers as I attempt to be more PC in my middle years.  
 
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