Shooshee Salmon -Thai Fish Curry- part two

Shooshee paste ingredients are everything that we put in our red curry, with the exception of coriander and jeera seeds, and, for that extra special aroma, we add cilantro roots.

Some ingredients

9 dried roasted large red peppers - Cut length-wise and take out the seeds. Soak in water until the water turns yellowish-redish, then rinse.


2 teaspoons of kapi - shrimp paste. - Please buy a Thai made brand


6 small red onions


Garlic - 9 cloves if very small, (Thai-like kind, as shown in the photo), or 4 cloves if slighty larger (from stores in the United States)


4 slices of galanga - Cut across the width, then julienne.


2 tablespoons of finely-julienned lemongrass (from about 2 stalks after you have cut off the heads-the largest hard section toward the root, and the tails-the thin, almost dry stem on the opposite side, from which you should cut off about 3 inches)


1 teaspoon of kaffir lime skins, thinly sliced then julienned


1 teaspoon of black peppercorns


3 cilantro roots


Adjust the porportion according to the weight of the fish.


Put all ingredients in an electric blender. Add two tablespoons of olive oil (I like extra virgin olive oil) and 1/4 cup of water. Blend well together.

Extra virgin olive oil


One pound of salmon steak - about 3 pieces. If you get one long piece you can cut it to around 2 1/2 - 3" wide pieces


One can of "Chef's Choice" Coconut milk - which I prefer over other brands. Rinse the top and dry. Shake well before opening.


10-20 Kaffir lime leaves, julienned


Some basil and/or sweet or hot thinly julienned red peppers for garnish


Sugar or sugar substitute - I've used Splenda, Sweet 'n' Low and, lately, Stevia


Nampla - I use Squid brand


And, don't forget to cook yourself Thai jasmine rice!

Heat up a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in a deep skillet on medium high heat. Gently and carefully pour in shooshee paste- since we added water in the blending process, it will splash a little.





Put in 5 tablespoons of nampla and if you use sugar, 1 teaspoon or, one packet of sweetener. Gently stir. At this point, if the heat seems too high you may lower it a notch - we don't want to burn the shooshee.


Add about 1/5 of the coconut milk, stir, and lay the salmon in the skillet one-by-one and side-by-side - please be gentle. You may substitute salmon with any kind of fish whose meat is thicker in texture; otherwise, if you use soft fish, I'd recommend using the whole fish.





Pour about another 2/5 of coconut milk in, turn the heat down just a little tiny bit more, and please do not wander off too far. (Of course, you can always tweet and update your facebook status from your cell phone that you are making Pradichaya's, aka Gafaae's, shooshee salmon, and don't forget to copy and paste this URL from its location on top of the browser :-)


About 10 minutes later, or when you finish tweeting, drop in your Kaffir lime leaves. If you are not absent-minded like me, and didn't forget to pick up basil leaves, you may put in all the Kaffir lime leaves at once. But, if you don't have basil leaves, you may save the fresh kaffir lime leaves for garnish. I love the smell of the leaves, and once put in so much that my fish seemed to be swimming in them! If you have red peppers, drop them in at this time, as well.





Add the rest of the coconut milk. I usually pour in a little water in the can and stir just to get that last drop of coconut milk. Let the shooshee bubble.


By now, the smell should be just divine. It's time to taste. You want the flavor to be salty with just a touch of sweetness. Please keep in mind that you will have shooshee salmon with rice, so you need to feel the presence of both salty and sweet tastes because the rice will absorb some of the flavors. The curry sauce should be thick, although not as thick as panaeng curry, but not liquidy, either.


When you achieve the flavors you desire, put the basil leaves in. Do not stir, turn off the heat right away and serve on top of the rice with a variety of fresh vegetables, such as sliced cucumbers, sweet peas, string beans and Romaine lettuce - prepare and refrigerate these so their coolness will balance with the spicy herbs in shooshee curry.





Thai cooking has a different perspective than western cooking. I feel very foreign when it comes to French cuisine; therefore, if you feel the same way about cooking real Thai food and would like more explanation of any specific area, please leave your question here.





Enjoy your real Thai shooshee salmon, and, as always, have the best Chef-Me-NOT!!! day (even if you are a chef!)

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What happens...

..when you finish all the fish and leave only shooshee curry sauce??

Do you: