memory lane via green curry

Yesterday afternoon, I discovered that the local supermarket had stocked a small quantity of belacan (pron. blah-chan) in its gourmet section. wtf?! I was thrilled.

So I made a Thai green curry - traitor to my roots, yes, but it's what I felt like. Oh hell, share recipe why do you not?

Heat some vegetable and sesame oil in pan till its angry, chuck in a teaspoon of belacan and break it up in the oil (this is where the housemate says "Wow, that smells great!" or, "Whoah, what the fuck is that stench?!").
Chuck in a couple of chopped shallots and two cloves of chopped garlic. Sautée lightly, then dump in half a kilo of dead, chopped bird - chicken breast is ideal - and cook till lightly browned.
At this point, add two or three tablespoons of green curry paste, which you've painstakingly prepared in advance (below), or purchased, and stir in. Then pour over 400 ml coconut milk, making sure that some of it ends up in the pan.
Stir more, and allow to simmer for fifteen or twenty, lest you end up with curry soup instead of just curry. When the consistency is a little on the wetter side of perfect - subjective, of course - add vegetables; I opted for butternut squash, which I boiled and cubed beforehand, sugarsnap peas, baby corn, coarsely sliced red peppers (capsicum) and an extra fresno chili (because I'm a bit stupid).
Cook, cook, cook, serve on a bed of brown rice, or egg noodles if you prefer.

It made enough to last through to Tuesday. Crumbs, but more than edible on consecutive days, I'm finding. Apologies for not listing the ingredients; who steals recipes from online journals anyway?

Curry paste as follows:

3 tbsp chopped shallots
15 green medium to hot chilies
1 tsp chopped galangal (or ginger if your Asian markets are pants)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp chopped kaffir lime rind (or lime, ditto)
1 tbsp chopped lemon grass (citronella to some)
1 tsp chopped coriander root
5 peppercorns
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp belacan (if you like, but better added en route)

Lightly toast the coriander and cumin seeds in hot oil or beneath a grill before blending to a powder; combine with all the rest and blend to a paste. Survives adequately for 3 months in a jar in the fridge.