Coconut Red Curry with Prawns & Sugar Snaps

• 600 g Shrimp, Raw, peeled and deveined
• 400 ml Unsweetened Coconut Milk, full-fat, do not shake the tin
• 6 tsp Thai Curry Paste, Red
• 250 g Sugar Snap Peas, trimmed
• 1 medium Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips
• 2 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 Lime, juiced, plus wedges to serve
• 300 g Jasmine Rice
• 3 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Ginger, finely grated
• 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 10 g Granulated Sugar
• 10 g Thai Basil, leaves picked; regular basil works too

Steps

1. Get the rice on first — rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear, then cook it and leave it covered to steam while you make the curry.
2. Prep everything else now: mince the garlic, grate the ginger, trim the sugar snaps, slice the pepper and pat the prawns dry. Once the pan is hot this dish takes eight minutes.
3. Spoon the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk tin into a wide pan over medium heat with the oil. Let it bubble for 2–3 minutes until it separates and slicks the pan with orange fat.
4. Stir in the curry paste, garlic and ginger and fry for 1–2 minutes until deeply fragrant and the paste darkens — frying the paste in fat rather than boiling it in liquid is what makes the difference between flat and fragrant.
5. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk with the fish sauce and sugar and simmer for 4–5 minutes to thicken slightly.
6. Add the pepper strips and sugar snaps and cook for 2 minutes, then slide in the prawns and cook for 2–3 minutes more, just until they turn pink and curl into loose Cs. Tight little Os mean they're overcooked.
7. Take off the heat and stir through the lime juice and Thai basil. Taste and adjust — it should be hot, salty, sour and faintly sweet all at once. Serve over the rice with lime wedges.