Fine Dining Redefined: Thai Royal Court Cuisine

Thai Royal Court Cuisine

Created by Chef Angus An

As a child immigrant to Canada, food was a way for Angus to find himself in a new country. A graduate from New York’s prestigious International Culinary Center, Angus honed his craft at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world. In 2009, Angus’ restaurant “Gastropod” was rebranded to “Maenam” with a focus on Thai cooking. Maenam has been featured in the New York Times and has won Vancouver Magazine’s “Best Thai Restaurant” eight straight years.

MASSAMAN CURRY OF GRILLED RIBEYE

Serves 4
Prep time: 1.5 hours | Cook time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

PASTE
10 dried large chilies deseeded and soaked
400 g chopped shallots
500 g garlic cloves
250 g chopped galangal
250 g chopped lemongrass
100 g coriander root
150 g toasted peanuts
4 tbsp cumin
20 cloves
2 whole nutmeg
8 whole mace
4 medium pieces cassia
15 Thai cardamom

CURRY
1 cup “cracked” coconut cream
2 cups paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup coconut cream
2 cup chicken stock
2 pandanus leaves
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce
3 tbsp tamarind
1 20-oz bone-in rib steak
1/4 cup potato diced into ½ ” cubes
1/4 cup diced pineapple chunks
1/4 cup pearl onions blanched
1 handful toasted peanuts
Sprinkle fried shallots

DIRECTIONS

PASTE

Toast all spices over medium heat until fragrant. If you own a Jenn-Air® gas range or cooktop, it is recommended to use the 20,000-BTU burner for best results. After you toast the spices, grind in spice grinder or mortar and pestle until fine. Pound with the rest of the ingredients to create a paste.

CURRY

Temper the steak by removing it from the refrigerator 4 hours prior to cooking. This ensures an even heat transfer and a juicier steak. Marinate steak with pepper and fish sauce for 5 minutes. Bring the Jenn-Air® Chrome Griddle to a high heat, and sear steak to medium rare. If you do not have a griddle on your Jenn-Air® range, it is recommended to use a cast iron grill pan on the highest power burner to sear the steak. Rest the steak before slicing.

Fry curry paste with cracked cream until aromatic. Add about ¼ cup of palm sugar and let it out with chicken stock, coconut milk, and coconut cream (1 cup each). Do not add all of the stock: it should not be too thick or too runny. Cook and season with fish sauce and a little tamarind. The curry should taste salty, sweet and rich. Add potato chunks and pearl onions. Cook until potatoes are soft.

Finish with the pineapples and slice the well-rested steak on top of the curry.

Serve the final dish with steamed jasmine rice.