Gaeng Kua — Paste-Fried Curry with Pineapple & Prawn / แกงคั่ว

Ingredients

• 400 ml coconut milk, full-fat; do not shake the tin — reserve the thick cream from the top for frying
• 80 g gaeng kua paste, red-curry-style paste, less complex than gaeng phet
• 300 g fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 3 cm chunks
• 400 g raw prawns, shell-on weight; peeled and deveined
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp palm sugar, or light brown sugar

Method

1. 1
   Spoon the thick coconut cream from the top of the tin into a wide wok set over high heat and bring it to a vigorous simmer until it visibly splits — the fat separates and the surface shimmers with clear oil — because it is this rendered coconut fat, not the cream itself, that will fry the paste in the next step. The cream will look curdled and oily; this is correct, and expected.
2. 2
   Add the paste to the cracked coconut fat and spread it thin across the wok surface, pressing and moving it continuously so every part of the paste makes direct contact with the hot fat rather than steaming in its own moisture. Fry until the paste is visibly darker, smells deeply fragrant and caramelised, and the oil has begun to pool at the edges again — longer than for a standard curry; this is the kua step, where the dish lives or dies, and under-frying here produces nothing more than an ordinary red curry.
3. 3
   Pour in the remaining coconut milk in two additions, stirring to lift the fried paste fully into the liquid so no scorched deposits are left on the wok floor. Bring to a steady simmer and reduce until the curry is concentrated and coats the back of a spoon — it should not be watery.
4. 4
   Add the pineapple chunks and simmer for 3–4 minutes, stopping while the pieces still hold their shape and offer slight resistance at the bite, because pineapple that collapses will turn the curry both texturally slack and overly sweet. The edges should just begin to yield; no further.
5. 5
   Season with fish sauce and palm sugar, balancing the sweet-savoury-hot character so the pineapple's sweetness meets the paste's heat and the fish sauce provides brininess. Taste and adjust.
6. 6
   Add the prawns and stir them through the curry, cooking for 2–3 minutes maximum so they finish gently in the surrounding heat rather than seizing and tightening in a hard boil. They are done when just turned opaque at the surface but remain very slightly translucent at the centre; pull the wok from the heat at that point and residual warmth will carry them through.