Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Kiaw Wan)

The Lowdown:

I'm not sure that I've ever gone out for Thai food and not ordered a variation of this dish. It always manages to catch my attention, despite my best efforts to explore the remainder of the menu. In the end, what does it matter? Get a doggy bag and take it all home for later. However, this post isn't an meant to be an ode to my favourite Thai restaurants in town. Nor is it meant to praise one of my favourite "poor me, poor me, I'm sick and need a cure" recipes (although seriously, all that garlic, ginger, and shallots is a wonderful preventative medicine). No, this post is intended for something far more devious -- playful revenge.

I feel that over this holiday season, a bit of public payback is in order. Being the perfect son that I am, I decided that my parents would probably love a break from cooking while I was in their neck of the [urban] woods. Given that I love cooking, and they were paying for the groceries, it seemed perfect. Oh god how much I miss them paying for groceries.

Winters in Toronto can be quite brisk, making a spicy Thai green curry the perfect dish to make. After braving the cold, then fighting tooth and nail in the grocery store (December 23 in a grocery store is near suicide) I came home to the question, "why didn't you just buy the packaged green curry paste?" Oh, the humility! If this wasn't enough, it was soon followed by, "if it's not good, you still have time to go to the store and buy the packaged stuff." Oh lord, please help me restrain myself. And now everyone knows the antics I must deal with.

The Playlist:

Curry Paste:
4 Serrano peppers, chopped
1 large piece Ginger, chopped
2 Shallots, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 bunch Cilantro, stems only
1 Lime, zest and juice
1 Lemongrass stalk, outer layer removed then chopped
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tbsp Fish sauce
1 tsp Coriander, ground
1 tsp Cumin, ground
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp White pepper, ground

Ingredients:
1 lb Mussels, fresh
1/2 lb Prawns
2 cups Shitake mushrooms, coursely chopped (optional)
Vegetables, julienne (optional)
3 cups Sui choy, chopped
3 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 can Coconut milk
2 cups Chicken broth (optional)
5 Kaffir lime leaves
Thai basil leaves, to taste
Thai chili peppers, to taste
Coriander, to taste

The Skinny:

  
After trial and error, along with a helpful tip, I found that an immersion blender is the easiest way with the best results. Apparently it releases the fragrance and oils of each of the curry paste ingredients. Optimally, a stone mortar and pestle works best, but it takes much longer and I don't own one.

1. In immersion blender measuring cup (tall and thin): add lemongrass, ginger, and serrano peppers. Using immersion blender mince until a grainy paste forms. Then add shallots, garlic, and lime peels and repeat the blending process. Finally add the remaining curry paste ingredients and repeat the blending process.
2. The curry paste makes a dish for 5-7 people. Or it can be separated into two dishes for 2-3 people. The remainder of the instructions are for the smaller portion. For the larger portion you can double the ingredients or add them as you please. The paste can be refrigerated for two weeks or frozen.
3. In large wok: heat oil on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add curry paste and cook until fragrant (about 5 minutes). This requires constant stirring so that the paste doesn't burn. Add 1/4 of the coconut milk and continue mixing until it becomes the same consistency as a thin guacamole. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the remaining coconut milk and bring back to a gentle boil. Add chicken broth and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes. 
4. Remove 2 cups of liquid and set aside.
5. To wok: If bell peppers and celery are desired add them now and cook for 5 minutes. Add Thai basil, Thai chili peppers, mushrooms, and kaffir lime leaves and remove from heat.
6. Remove curry from the wok and place in a serving dish and set aside.
7. In wok: on high heat add the liquid that was set aside and bring to a boil. Add mussels and prawns and cover. Cook until mussel shells open (about 2-3 minutes). Remove all mussels that remained shut. 
8. Add mussels, broth, and prawns to the serving dish.
9. Serve with rice and the chopped sui choy. Pouring the broth over the sui choy in individual bowls cooks it just enough so that it remains firm.

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, Foodie Friday,  

 

Korma Curry Paste

The Lowdown:

Curries are just one of those things that I feel everyone should love. They are full of flavour, extremely versatile, aromatic, and healthy. I'm not claiming to be a curry guru by any means. Maybe just a huge fan that's a borderline stalker. It may be the fact that they are extremely versatile. It may be the aroma that they emit as they slowly simmer. It may be the "set it and forget it" mentality. It may be the inferno from the hot peppers. It may be childhood nostalgia (there were a lot of Indian meals growing up). Or it may even be the ease of making a large batch and freezing it. What ever it is, I adore them.

This variety of curry is a product of Moghul influence in the geographic regions now known as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The word "korma" essentially just means to braise (low and slow baby, low and slow). They are generally milder and sweeter, as opposed to fiery. The addition of nuts and coconut milk make this curry a truly interesting meal.

Curries are often one of those things that annoy me the most in blogging. I absolutely hate it when you click on a blog recipe and one of the ingredients is a packaged curry paste. Using a store bought curry paste in a recipe is like calling a photo of a painting the real deal. Chances are, if you're simply just writing down the instructions from the back of the package it's not worth your time to write (or our time to read). It's rubbish. It makes me so upset that I'm being forced to use British slang. So, if you're stuck in a rut and want a make-ahead meal plan, a homemade curry paste is an excellent way to go.

On a final note, this batch of paste (noted in the photos) is green because I had spinach that was on its last legs. Not wanting to waste it, I ground it into the curry paste. I'm not sure about the legalities of this, but the flavour was excellent.

The Playlist:

3 tbsp Cumin seed, toasted then ground
2 tbsp Turmeric
1 tbsp Coriander seed, ground
1/2 cup Cilantro, loosely chopped
1/4 cup Ginger, pealed & loosely chopped
6 Chili peppers
5 cloves Garlic
1/4 cup Desiccated coconut (dried and flaked)
3 tbsp Garam masala
1/2 cup Cashews, ground
1 cup Vegetable oil (canola)
Pepper, generous amount

The Skinny:

1. Put the oil, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cilantro, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, garam masala, and pepper into a blender and blend until an oily paste is formed. 
2. Once a paste consistency is formed slowly add the coconut and cashews. If the blender is labouring too much, you can manually mix these in.
3. Put 1 cup servings into individual containers and refrigerate for 2-3 days before using. The individual servings that are not used can be frozen (just make sure you don't microwave them to thaw). 
4. The paste highly concentrated, so I mix 1 cup of the paste with 2-4 cups of broth depending on the desired consistency and what is going into the curry. No oil in the pan is needed, as there is enough in the paste itself.

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 

Andhra Pappu (Dal) w/ Curried Sweet Potato Chips

The Lowdown:

I'm not sure where my fondness for Indian food came from. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I discovered it (or more likely it was forced upon me). The flavours are unmatched. The aromas are unmatched. Well, scratch that. A revised statement would go something like this, the aromas are sometimes unmatched. Right now it looks and smells like a napalm bomb just exploded in my kitchen. I was trying to be what some refer to as a multi-tasker. But let this be a lesson to you, oven @ 485* + shower = disaster. You know you've fudged it when you have to arm everyone in the house (condo in my case) with a fanning-towel. You may have won the battle, curried sweet potato chips, but the war is far from over. For now, a glass of wine. Tomorrow, I will overcome your evil antics.

If you've made it this far, or have read anything else I've written, you'll know that I'm a horrible planner when it comes to cooking. I am sporadic at best. I invite people over for dinner without a plan or menu. I have to improvise because I'm too lazy to go hunting and gathering. To sum it up, I am a horrible cook. But then again, I've never claimed to be anything other than that. I would like to think I make up for my downfalls with wine. Yes, the old "get them bubbly and they'll enjoy anything" tactic. Love it.

If you're still reading, despite my best attempts to warn you, the plan was to make a dal with curried sweet potato chips for dipping. Instead, I have dal with watering eyes and inflamed lungs. Curry is not so pleasant when you burn the hell out of it. In fact, not pleasant is a gross understatement. For your enjoyment, I will refrain from saying what I am really feeling right now. Lucky you.

It is a known fact that curries are better the day after anyway. So let it be called fate that I burned the chips and could not eat the dal tonight. Yes that's it. It was all part of some grand scheme - a master plan if you will. (In a National Geographic narator's voice): the young cook's hunt ended poorly; tonight he will go hungry. Likely, he will survive as he has stored fat reserves over the past winter.

So without further ado, this is Food Mazaa's Andhra Pappu. And that concludes this weeks Recipe Remix. If you're new or confused, once a month we post a remake of a recipe from another blog. So enjoy. Do it, that is an order!

The Playlist:

1/2 cup Toor Dal (medium-sized Split yellow lentils)

1 cup Masoor Dal (split red lentils)
4 Tomatoes, chopped
1 Onion, diced
1 tsp Turmeric

2 cups Spinach, chopped
4 Green chillies, halved

1/2 cup Coriander leaves, chopped

2 tsp Garham marsala 

Salt, to taste

2 tbsp Oil

2 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

4 Red chillies, dried
4 cloves Garlic, minced

The Skinny:

1. Soak the dals in water for an hour then strain and add to a large skillet with 3 cups of heated water. Bring to a boil then skim off the froth. Cover and allow to boil for 25 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, green chilis, turmeric, spinach, onion, coriander leaves, salt, and garham marsala into the lentils. Cover and simmer on medium heat.
3. In a seperate pan, put oil, mustard seeds, garlic, red chilis, cumin, and garlic on medium heat and cook until garlic browns. Once browned, add to the pappu. Mix thoroughly and allow to simmer for a while longer.
4. Remove the lid and simmer for 5 more minutes. If you have the time, allow the dal to rest over night. If not, serve warm.
5. If you'd like to make the curried sweet potato chips all you have to do is heat vegetable oil in a frying pan (enought to submerge the chips in), then cut the sweet potatoes thinly and dust them with chickpea flour and garham marsala. Cook in the oil until crispy.
6. Enjoy. 

Featured on: 33 Shades of Green, Premeditated Leftovers, Food Renegade, Chef in Training, 

Stay Rad -h 

Thai Mango Red Curry w/ Grill Pineapple

 The Lowdown:

Current scenario: thanks to Rock, Paper, Ingredient (RPI) there are about four thousand mangoes in my fridge at the moment and I have no idea what to do with them. The worst part is, I won RPI and chose mango as the ingredient. I don't even really like mango, nor have I ever used one for anything other than anger management while trying to peal and de-seed them. I'm used to winning; but unlike normal, I had to quickly think after winning RPI, rather than the usual celebration dance I normally do. I drew a blank, then blurted out mango in a desperate frenzy to fill the silence. Needless to say, the next time we play RPI, in which I'll likely win again, I'm going to have a game plan to avoid this less-than-desirable outcome.

I digressed. So as I was saying, mangoes in fridge equals a lot. I was craving the spicy zing of a curry. I had Thai red curry paste already made. Hold up! Why not combined them? Yup, and that's why I'm a genius.

The Playlist:

The Usual Suspects

1 Pineapple, quartered and sliced.

1 Mango, cubed.

1 Chicken breast (Optional).

1 Album Aerosmith, greatest hits.

3 +/- Chili Peppers, diced.

1/2 Stalk Lemongrass, fresh.

3 +/- Kaffir Lime Leaves.

1 1/2 +/- Cups Chicken Stock.

3 +/- Tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste

Deep Terracotta Colour

1/2 +/- Coconut Milk (Optional).

The Skinny:

1.  Turn on Aerosmith and rock out by yourself in the Kitchen to "Love in an Elevator."
2. On medium heat, put oil into a wok or large skillet and bring it to that special temperature.
3. Put, toss, throw, or drip using a titration set (I don't really care, just be careful) the curry paste into the warm oil and broth.
4. Allow the curry paste to release its fragrance, then add the chicken broth.
5. Add the lemongrass stock, chili peppers, and kaffir lime leaves.
6. Cover the wok and turn down the heat to medium-low.
7. Allow the curry paste to gently simmer for 30 - 40 minutes until it turns to a deep terracotta colour (I just made that up, but it does change colour).
   
   If cooking rice, now would be the time to start that whole fiasco.
    
8. Remove lid, turn heat up to medium, and add mango.
9. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for five minutes (retain mango's shape, colour and texture).
10. Cook protein in a seperate pan if desired.
11. In a separate pan heat oil on medium-high and sear the pineapple on either side (one to two minutes per side).
12. Remove pineapple and curry from the heat.
13. Serve. Eat. Enjoy.
14. Thank me later.

If the curry is too thick for your liking add more chicken broth. If it is too spicy add more mango or coconut milk. If it is too thin add the coagulated portion of the coconut milk or remove lid and boil it off. If it isn't spicy enough add some white pepper and cayenne pepper. If you want to turn it into a noodle soup double the amount of curry paste and chicken broth. If you want other vegetables, add the other vegetables. If you want a stronger citrus flavour then add more lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, and/or lemon juice.

Removing the lid during the final stages is an important part of this meal. Yes, it helps thicken the sauce. That of course, is secondary to the aroma that it releases. If everyone isn't already in the kitchen (we know how dinner parties go) then they sure will be after you unleash this scent explosion. I got carried away, but scent is an extremely important factor in Thai cooking. If you don't believe me, leave your house for 2-3 minutes and work off that bottle of beer you had while cooking. After you pretend to do that, return to your kitchen and see how much of an impact the aroma truly has.

I excluded coconut milk from the instructions because I didn't feel like putting it in this time. If you are going to use it, bring it to a gentle boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, then add it to your curry paste. Also, a curry paste recipe will be up shortly. I just happen to have some in my fridge that I had made previously.

The Final Product -- A Mango Chicken Thai Red Curry w/ Grilled Pineapple

Stay Rad - H

Featured on Mandy's Recipe Box, Blessed with Grace,  Shine Your Light