Here’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to re-create, ever since tasting this dish at the Lemon Grass restaurant in Syracuse. It’s Wild Ginger Curry…which if nothing else, has a really awesome name.

What’s wild ginger, you ask? Good question. I’ve been trying to find “wild ginger” for some time. It’s apparently neither run-of-the-mill ginger, nor is it galangal, the eucalyptus-like root vegetable that’s often added to Thai dishes. I have a bag of frozen “rhizome,” which the clerk at Bangkok Center Grocery tells me is the closest I’ll find (at least in this country) to wild ginger.

My recipe (below) for Wild Ginger Curry is admittedly still a work in progress…but here’s a yummy version that I made recently. I’ve been trying to use fresher coconut milk than the canned version. Perhaps one day I’ll figure out how to make my own coconut milk, but for now I’m at least using the frozen (as opposed to canned) version.

As for the wild ginger…the “rhizome” that I’m using adds a delicious earthy spiciness to this curry. If you can find it, I recommend!

Wild Ginger Curry

1 1/2 cup coconut milk
3 tsbp fresh young coconut meat, chopped roughly (from frozen)
3 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup tamarind water (1/4 tsp tamarind, mixed w/water)
1 tbsp palm sugar
3 tbsp red curry paste
1 tbsp wild ginger, ground to paste
1/4 tsp whole coriander seeds
2-3 red chilis, chopped
shrimp (12 pieces)
red bell pepper, julienned
thinly slice kaffir lime leaves (about 6)
coriander garnish

Heat coconut milk in wok; add coconut meat. Bring to boil. Add 3 tbsp fish sauce; 1/4 cup tamarind water; and 1 tbsp palm sugar. Add curry paste and wild ginger paste. Simmer for several minutes. Add coriander seeds and chilis. Add shrimp and red bell pepper. Stir. Add kaffir lime leaves. Serve over rice; garnish with coriander.