last week's 09sept2011fridaynightdinnerbox dish was gaeng keow waan, aka thai green curry; green&green&green, coconut&lime&chilli, spicy & sososo good. usually served as a chicken dish, this particular version went the kai moana way, prawns&shrimps, & there's absolutely no reason squid&scallops&mussels shouldn't've been in there too
….hmmm sauced-up baby squid cooked & caramelised over hot coals, coconut&lime&chilli basil&mint…maybe pineapple somehow…(sidetracking: note to self: cook that later!)
where was i...oh yea, i think its fair to say that really, you could think of thai green curry paste as an asian style salsa verde, grinding together predominantly green ingredients in a concentration of flavour; in this case, the flavours of thailand. making it yrself is not only a simple matter, the difference between yr own, freshly made & vastly superior paste to what is available in a jar is one you must simply experience yrself. it's a point of no return.
thai food is freshly made, it uses cheap & locally available ingredients & produce, it is generally simply to make & is best eaten straight away. It is cooked more often than not by a little old lady with a gas bottle wok & a pot of bubbling water who can cook pretty much anything, & does so, everyday for the countless masses. her food is delicious & she is pretty much always amazing to watch/while eating.
I have a sister in thailand, her name is mim, & I love her! she cooks fluently with love & she’s the best chef of thai food I’ve known. living under her roof for months at a time, her groovy guest house inside the walls of old chiang mai, everyone sits down to dinner together, & plates of amazing food appear from her little kitchen while a bottomless rice cooker does the rest. The extended spicy house family of locals, travellers, relatives are constantly passing thru, often round dinner time, bringing in the odd bottle of bier leo or chang…or maybe that colourless rice wine stuff that kicks you sideways
this week's recipe is from mim’s spicy house cooking class cookbook, tho I’ve taken a liberty or two mim, hope you don’t mind!
for the paste then:
>10-15 fresh green chillies/1T chopped up lemon grass/1T kaffir lime peel/1T coriander root/some garlic/toasted cumin/chopped shallot or 2 + some salt, all together in a mortar & pound til the texture is smooth.
(too hard you say?? blender you say?? If you must, tho mortar & pestle for a better result-take turns! -have a race! –get into it!)
>this paste can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks, in an airtight jar, & is perfect for a quick throw together meal by following a few simple steps…read on
to make the dish:
>can of coconut milk in a wok, stir 2 mins til the oil separates, add a few big spoonfuls of paste in there & cook it out over a low heat for a few minutes (really important) it will be lovely & fragrant
>uncooked chicken which you’ve sliced up/or in this case prawn tails & shrimps, add to wok & cook for a few mins til ready
>a splash of fish sauce/2 or 3 kaffir leaves/a spoon of palm sugar if you can find it/a few whole chillies & the remaining vegetables, thinly sliced pumpkin/carrot/small round egg plant if you can find it/I like to use courgettes (this is easily a vegetarian dish too btw) add it all to the wok & bring to the boil. Any combo of veg is fine, but try to get a contrast of colour happening, & don’t cut the veg too thick or it wont cook thru.
>herbs coriander/basil chopped roughly & added last
>as an extra, i like to add lots of watercress too, peppery & green, it works nicely
>serve it with jasmine rice
once the paste is made, the rest of the dish basically takes the time required to cook yr rice. so easy & so delicious. alter the chilli factor to meet yr spice resilience, & change yr ingredients to suit whats available.
& if yr ever in chang mai, check out mim & sign up for a cooking class at spicy house
42/1 ratchamanka rd, mueang chiang mai, 50200, tel 08-4613 4776, http://spicymim.com
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