Gulai: The Coconut Curry Spectrum — Cook

Ingredients

1 (whole) fresh coconut, cracked and pressed for milk the same morning
For the bumbu (spice paste)
6 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 cm fresh galangal, peeled and sliced
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, bruised and sliced
4–6 red chillies, deseeded for less heat, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
700 ml fresh coconut milk, first and second pressings combined
600 g protein (chicken, beef, fish, or tofu), cut into portions suited to the ingredient
Whole aromatics (left in the pot)
3 kaffir lime leaves, left whole
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised, tied in a knot
2 cm fresh galangal, bruised
1 tsp salt, to season

Method

1
Combine all bumbu ingredients — shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, chillies, turmeric, coriander, and cumin — in a stone mortar or blender. Grind or blitz to a smooth, cohesive paste. The paste is ready when no fibrous strands remain and the colour is a deep, even gold-orange.
2
Set a heavy pot over a medium flame. Add the bumbu paste without oil — the paste contains sufficient moisture — and fry, stirring constantly, until it darkens two shades, pulls away from the sides of the pot, and the raw shallot smell gives way to a sweet, toasted fragrance. This is where the dish lives or dies: an under-fried paste will produce a raw, flat sauce; an over-fried paste will turn bitter and break the coconut milk.
3
Add the whole aromatics — kaffir lime leaves, bruised lemongrass stalk, and bruised galangal — directly to the fried paste and stir for thirty seconds, until the leaves release their citrus scent.
4
Add the protein and turn to coat thoroughly in the paste. Cook, stirring, until the exterior of the protein has lost its raw colour on all sides.
5
Pour in the fresh coconut milk in a steady stream, stirring as you go. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer — the surface should tremble, not boil. Maintain this tempo throughout: a hard boil will cause the coconut milk to split and the fat to separate irreversibly. The sauce is ready when it is golden, glossy, and lightly thickened, and the protein is cooked through. Season with salt.