History's first-ever recorded recipe for jungle curry by Lady Plean Passakornrawong, circa 1908 (ปลาดุกแกงป่า อย่าง ท่านผู้หญิงเปลี่ยน ภาสกรวงศ์ ตำราแม่ครัวหัวป่าก์)
Scrape the slime off the catfish skin with a knife. Rub the catfish with coarse salt, then wash it thoroughly.
Using a sharp knife, slice the fish into 1" (2.5 cm) thick steak cuts. Set aside.
Prepare the curry paste:
An overview of the curry paste ingredients.
Slice the fresh chilies into small pieces and discard the seeds.
In a pestle and mortar, pound the curry paste; start with the chilies and gradually add the other ingredients, from the driest to the wet. Pound the paste to a semi- fine consistency. Set aside.
Cook the curry:
In a brass wok, heat the coconut cream until it thickens and oil appears. Scoop out a small portion to drizzle on top of the finished curry.
Add the curry paste.
Fry the paste until it loses its rawness.
Stop the frying with liquids collected from cleaning the pestle and mortar, and plain water. Important: this is to separate the oil particles created during the paste-frying process from the rest of the broth. At this stage, mix gently to avoid re-emulsification of the oil.
Diluting the curry
Dilute the curry with water or chicken stock to your liking.
Add the catfish and mix gently.
Add the sawtooth coriander and allow it to wilt into the curry broth.
Seasoning:
Season to a salty flavor profile using fish sauce.
Serve:
Place the curry into a serving bowl. Garnish with crispy fried garlic and crispy fried shallots.