Nihiwatu Seafood curry

If you have read my other books you’ll know that I have a bit of a thing for the Northern Territory. The fishing, the weather, the markets, the magnificent landscapes, the whole laid-back nature of the place—it’s like there’s Valium in the water up there. Each year I visit to go fishing for a few days. While there recently, my mate Steve Travia cooked me this laksa—well really he only added the seafood to it as the laksa base had already been made by his good friend, Aimee, who has a small Asian restaurant in Darwin. She makes the paste and sauce and gives him a bucket of it to put his catch into. You can do the same thing whenever you make the paste—just make extra, freeze it, then take it away on your next fishing adventure.

Curry paste

4 red Asian shallots, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped


1 bird’s eye chilli, roughly chopped


3 candlenuts, roughly chopped

2 cm (3/4 inch) knob of fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped or

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1.5 cm (5/8 inch) knob of fresh galangal, peeled and chopped

2 lemongrass stems, white part only, chopped

1 cm (1/2 inch) knob of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons vegetable oil


600 g (1 lb 5 oz) raw king prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined, tails left intact

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) squid tubes, cleaned and cut into cubes


500 g (1 lb 2 oz) fish fillet, cut into cubes

4 lemongrass stems, smashed


3 long red chillies, seeds removed and sliced


4 kaffir lime leaves


6 tablespoons curry paste (see method)

500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) coconut milk

pinch of sugar


coriander (cilantro) leaves, for garnish

lime wedges, to serve (optional)

To make the curry paste, blend all the ingredients, except the oil, together in a food processor. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the curry paste until fragrant.

Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium heat, add the mixed seafood, lemongrass, chilli, lime leaves and curry paste. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Simmer until the seafood is just cooked. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a little sugar. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with lime wedges and rice. Serves 6.