S ure, you can make a Southeast Asianstyle curry with little more than canned curry paste and coconut milk, but what makes the Malaysian version demonstrated in these videos truly special is the homemade curry paste called rempah. The rempah gets a rich and complex flavor from toasted coriander, cumin, and other spices, plus dried chiles, macadamia nuts, shallots, ginger, and garlic. The CIA's Chef Hinnerk von Bargen demonstrates how to make the rempah and then cook it with chicken and coconut milk for a rich, spicy curryit's easier than it sounds, and the results are amazing.
"Malaysia is often called the Crossroads of Asia, a commercial and cultural center in which every Asian ethnic tradition and religious belief has a presence and impact on the culinary scene," explains Elisabeth Rozin in Crossroads Cooking. This complex and delicious curry reflects the equally complex blending of cultures in Malaysia and shares elements with Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian cuisine.Text by Megan O. Steintrager, illustrations by Matthew Brennan, photo by CIA/Keith Ferris