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This is a very fine curry: rich, aromatic and quite thick with only a slight dappling of coconut oil. It comes from the mid-central plains, where catfish abound. They are a resilient fish, both in life and in death. Kept in large tubs at the market, they are usually dispatched to order – this can often be a messy business. This muscular fish can sustain prolonged cooking too. Some recipes I have come across propose to cook the fish for as long as 30-40 minutes, yet it still retains a toothsome texture. While the 10 or so minutes of cooking will present no problem to a catfish, it might result in overcooking of an alternative fish, such as cobbler, pike, zander, perch, or even a very large brook trout like a char. Take this into account when you cook the fish you have chosen.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 x 350g catfish or about 200g fish fillet
500ml coconut cream
Good pinch of shaved palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
250ml coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves, torn
125-250ml fish stock or water
50g grachai (wild ginger) – shredded, washed in salted water, rinsed and squeezed dry
4 long red or green chillies, cut in half
2-3 bird’s eye chillies (scuds), bruised
2 handfuls of holy basil or Thai basil leaves

Red curry paste:

7 dried long red chillies
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
10 white peppercorns
a little mace or, at a pinch, nutmeg
1 heaped tsp dried bird’s eyes chillies, about 5-8
good pinch of salt
3 bird’s eye chillies (scuds)
2 tsp chopped galangal
2 tbsp chopped lemongrass
1 tsp finely grated kaffir lime zest
2 tbsp chopped grachai (wild ginger)
2 ½ tbsp chopped red shallots
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp Thai shrimp paste (gapi)

1. First make the curry paste. Nip off the stalks of the dried long red chillies, then cut along their length and scrape out the seeds. Soak the chillies in water for about 15 minutes until soft.

2. While the chillies are soaking, roast the coriander and cumin seeds separately in a dry, heavy-based frying pan until they are aromatic, shaking the pan often to prevent the spices from scorching. Grind to a powder with the peppercorns and mace or nutmeg, using an electric grinder or a pestle and mortar.

3. Drain the soaked chillies, squeezing to extract as much water as possible, then roughly chop them. Rinse the dried bird’s eye chillies to remove any dust. Using a pestle and mortar, pound the chillies with the salt, then add the remaining ingredients in the order they are listed, reducing each one to a fine paste before adding the next.

4. Alternatively, puree the ingredients in an electric blender. It will probably be necessary to add a little water to aid the blending, but try not to add more than necessary, as this will dilute the paste and alter the taste of the curry. Halfway through, turn the machine off and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then turn it back on and whiz the paste until it is completely pureed. Finally, stir in the ground spices.

5. If using a whole fish, clean and fillet it, but leave the skin on – this should yield approximately 200g of flesh. Cut the fish fillet into 3cm x 2cm pieces. If desired, make a stock from the fish bones and some of the offcuts from the curry paste by simmering them together in water for about 30 minutes.

6. Simmer the coconut cream with the curry paste over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until fragrant and slightly oily, stirring regularly to prevent it catching. Season it with the palm sugar and then the fish sauce. Add the prepared fish and simmer for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and some stock or water and simmer for another few minutes, then add the grachai, chillies and basil.

7. Check the seasoning: the curry should taste hot, salty and rich. It should be creamy from the coconut, redolent of the cumin and mace, and aromatic from the basil and grachai. Leave for 10 minutes to allow the flavour to develop, then serve with steamed rice.