Thai Red Curry Paste & More Keith Floyd Worship

The bad news – Sky 3 have just stopped running repeats of the excellent Far Flung Floyd TV series from 1993 in which Keith Floyd popped up on beaches, boats and other odd locations right across south east asia armed only with a wok and a sackful of chillies, lemongrass and other ‘exotic’ ingredients - before proceeding to throw together some of the finest hot, sweet and sour dishes you could ever hope to taste.

It’s a genuinely inspirational series that makes you want to rush out to your nearest asian grocer and load up with gallons of fish sauce and coconut milk, a kilo of root ginger and a carrier bag full of kaffir lime leaves and then make some scorching, salty curry pastes which transform a humble bit of meat and fish into a delicious bowl of supercharged, spicy slop. As I mentioned in an earlier post I recently picked up the accompanying book of the series, and I’ve been dipping into it on regular occasions. However, if you fancy a crack at an authentic Thai red curry, here’s Keith’s red curry paste mixture to get you going:

Take 10 hot red chillis (I don’t de-seed, but you can if you prefer it milder), 6 cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons of chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of chopped lemongrass, 1 tablespoon root ginger and 1 tablespoon coriander leaves, a teaspoon of shrimp paste (or fish sauce), a teaspoon of ground cumin and half a teaspoon of salt. Whiz the lot together in blender or food processor until you have a smooth reddy/brown paste. Then gently fry the paste mix in some oil (ideally ground nut) for a few minutes and then stick the sauce in a jar or airtight tub and pop in the fridge for later use.

It’s great with fish, chicken and meat – and much tastier and more authentic than some Sharwood’s sugar and additive packed crap you find in Tescos.

Anyway, no doubt Sky 3 will run Far Flung again – but in the meantime if you want an introduction to the greatest chef that has ever blagged their own TV series in the history of broadcast, then re-runs of Floyd Around The Med are beginning on Monday October 9th also on Sky 3 at 11.30 am & 4.00 pm. Set the video/hard drive for it and be inspired.

And you can read an interview with Keith about this series here.