Prawn and Pineapple Curry

Prawn and Pineapple Curry

If you aren't sure what Malaysian flavours are about, you need to try this recipe. It brilliantly showcases the use of a classic rempah or Malaysian spice and aromatic paste, and through it you will gain a great appreciation of how to build a foundation for a wonderfully fragrant curry. If you've ever found the idea of using any of these exotic ingredients, intimidating, this recipe will allay your fears. Also, if you water the gravy down a little and eat it with rice or egg noodles, it makes for a delicious alternative to a laksa. - Poh Ling for Malaysia Kitchen.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 5-6


Ingredients
1kg prawns de-shelled and cleaned OR 650g of a firm fleshed fish
500g pineapple, cut into 6mm triangles
500ml water
3 pieces dried tamarind
5 kaffir lime leaves
350ml coconut milk
2-3 tsp salt
3 Tbs caster sugar
2 Tbs lime juice for balancing

Rempah (wet spice paste):
15-20 dried long red chillies*, deseeded*, soaked in boiling water until soft, drained and chopped
2 1/2 tsp belacan
3 cm fresh galangal, peeled, sliced finely
4 stalks lemongrass (white part only), sliced finely
300g red eschallots OR Spanish onion, peeled and sliced
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved
5 candlenuts or macadamia nuts

170ml vegetable oil
* Dried chillies – There are several types of dried chillies. For this recipe, please choose the type that are about finger sized. The smaller ones are very hot and the broader, larger ones mild. Also please never replace dried chillies with fresh ones as they don't impart the smokiness of flavour and depth of colour required for this dish.
* Deseeding dried chillies – To easily deseed the dried chillies, cut them into quarter segments with scissors and drop them into a colander with large holes and then shake the seeds out.


Method
Blitz all rempah ingredients in a blender until you achieve a fine paste.
Heat rempah in a large, heavy based saucepan or wok on medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously until caramelised and fragrant. At this point the rempah should have turned a darker red and the oil will begin to separate from the rest of mixture.
Add pineapple, water, tamarind, kaffir lime leaves and bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer for another 10 minutes. Add coconut milk, salt and sugar and bring to boil, then add prawns/fish at very end to cook for 5-10 minutes or until cooked through. Taste just before serving. More salt, sugar or lime juice may be required to balance flavours at the end.
Serve with steamed jasmine rice and wedges of cucumber just in case your lips need cooling!


Asian Persuasion All Sizzle and No Substance?

Australia's love affair with Asian cuisine may be more sizzle than substance, with research revealing a surprising number of Aussies haven't tried key food from the region and many are confused about the origins of iconic dishes such as Laksa, Rendang, Chicken Green Curry and Beef Vindaloo.

Commissioned by Malaysia Kitchen Australia, the Newspoll survey of more than 1,200 Australians aged 18-64, showed half have never eaten Indonesian fare, 46% have never tried Malaysian food and 40% claim they have never had Japanese.

Awareness of where Asian staples come from was also shockingly low. Only 15% of respondents successfully identified Rendang Curry as Malaysian – a third said it was Indian and a substantial number were unsure of its origins.

Malaysia Kitchen Australia's new ambassador Poh Ling Yeow, said she is astonished that so many Australians have never tasted Malaysian and is now on a mission to get locals to embrace the original fusion food.

'This survey shows that only two in 10 people know Laska is Malaysian and less than a third can identify Chicken Penang as a Malay classic which really surprises me! While we love our Asian food here, we've got a lot more eating and experimenting to do to live up to our reputation as a real foodie nation," Poh said.

'Malaysian food combines the best of native Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine. I know Aussies will fall in love with the vibrant flavours and want to replicate them at home," she said.

Poh, a fifth-generation Chinese-Malaysian, first declared her quest to get Malaysian cuisine on Australian dining tables while on MasterChef Australia in 2009. She said the result of this latest poll made her even more determined to help consumers understand the unique cuisine.

According to the poll, Malaysian food wasn't the only cuisine confusing Aussies. Only half of respondents could say that Chicken Green Curry was from Thailand while a third of the population was unable to identify Beef Vindaloo as an Indian dish.
When it comes to what Aussies do know and love, Chinese food is by far the most popular Asian cuisine with 92% claiming to have tried it and more than one in ten owning up to eating it once a week or more.

Thai also proved popular with 74% of respondents claiming they have tried it followed by 71% or Indian. Around two in ten claim to eat Thai food once a fortnight and the same number choose Indian.

'As Australians travel more, their palates are broadening an appreciation for authentic flavours is definitely growing. I'm really excited about helping people realise they don't need to be intimated by South East Asian flavours and exotic ingredients like galangal, belacan, tamarind and pandan, or dishes that might seem complex to make. So often the ingredient lists are longer to read than the method and it's not difficult at all," Poh said.

'There really is a whole new world of taste sensations to gain with Malaysian cuisine. We have such fantastic, authentic restaurants here and access to amazing Asian ingredients so I want Australians who haven't tried Malaysian to find out what they're missing out on!"

Malaysia Kitchen is a world-wide celebration of Malaysian cuisine, the original fusion food, combining the best native Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking to create new flavours and dishes.

This year represents an exciting new chapter in the story of Malaysia Kitchen Australia with the launch of an all-new campaign which will take Malaysian food mainstream. Our vision is that Australians from all walks of life will be familiar with a menu of Malaysian dishes, want to seek out their unique flavours in restaurants and know how to cook them at home.