Sebby Holmes' recipe for a bedbug-beating Thai prawn curry

Worried about bedbugs? Farang chef Sebby Holmes has cooked up a natural repellent
Thai tiger Prawn Yellow Curry
Full of the good stuff: Holmes' curry is full of Vitamin B1
Press handout
Sebby Holmes21 October 2023

I remember writing recipes for Eat Grub: The Ultimate Insect Cookbook, and learning that it’s been scientifically proven that Vitamin B1 is a natural bug repellent because once it gets excreted by the skin, it masks the natural human odours that insects are attracted to.

Foods that are high in the vitamin include seafood, chillies, lemongrass, garlic, onions and green beans, all of which are included in the recipe below, my new Thai tiger prawn yellow curry recipe.

Try this at home and, besides a great, warming meal, you might just be able to keep any pesky critters away. Bed bugs? Forget 'em.

Thai tiger prawn yellow curry

Serves: 2

Ingredients

  • 100g Gaeng Gari (or my yellow curry Payst)
  • 10 tiger prawns, outer shells removed and de-veined, heads and tails kept on
  • 100g washed green beans, chopped in half
  • 100g baby corn, chopped into bite-sized bits
  • 6 new potatoes, chopped into quarters
  • 25ml coconut oil or vegetable oil
  • 200ml fish or chicken stock
  • 250ml coconut milk
  • 2 makrut lime leaves, torn to release flavour
  • A handful of fresh Thai basil
  • Steamed jasmine rice for serving

Method

  1. Firstly, prepare all your ingredients and get your jasmine rice cooking. Remember to wash your rice thoroughly before cooking, and use a rice cooker if you can.
  2. Next, heat the oil in a large wok or pan to medium heat. When hot, add the gaeng gari or the Payst, as well as the torn makrut lime leaves. Continue to fry the paste for one or two minutes in the oil, making sure to scrape from the pan regularly, so it does not stick.
  3. When the paste has begun to darken, de-glaze the pan with a tablespoon of fish sauce, all the stock and half the cream, then bring to a simmer.
  4. Once simmering, add all the green beans, baby corn and potatoes and simmer for a further 7-8 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked.
  5. When the vegetables are cooked, add the prawns, making sure they are submerged in the curry and continue to simmer for a further 3-5 minutes until the prawns are cooked. Then remove from the heat and finish with the picked Thai basil and the rest of the coconut milk.
  6. Serve in a large sharing bowl with fresh steamed jasmine rice. If you like, garnish with red chilli, Thai basil sprigs, pickled ginger and cucumber, crispy shallots and julienne makrut lime leaves. Tuck in for a good night — safe in knowledge that the bed bugs won't bite.

Sebby Holmes is the founder of Payst and Farang

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