Cut into small pieces and soak in cold water for 15 minutes:
6 dried red peppers
Discard water and seeds.
Put into a dry skillet over low heat:
1 ml fennel seeds
5 ml coriander seeds
1 ml mace
Toast for about five minutes, until very aromatic. Put into blender, spice grinder or mortar and pestle spices, peppers and:
1 stalk lemon grass, cut into 1 cm pieces
5 ml lemon zest (the outermost peel of the lemon, without any white pith)
5 ml fresh galangal or ginger
3 medium shallots, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
Blend until smooth. You may need to add a few drops of water to make a nice paste. Refrigerate until use.
Put 50 ml panang paste into a saucepan with:
800 ml coconut milk
Whisk until it’s well-blended and then add:
400 g chicken, pork or beef, sliced into bite-sized chunks
Simmer until the meat is mostly cooked. If it’s too spicy, you can add up to another 800 ml coconut milk. Next, add:
300 g green beans
3-5 kaffir lime leaves -or- 15 ml lime juice
Serve when the beans are just cooked, with lots of jasmine rice and Thai iced tea.