I sometimes get a little fanatical when it comes to new cuisines. I'll go all out in an attempt to conquer it and force feed it to my family, despite their lame attempts to escape. My latest obsession has been Thai food. With its luxurious fragrances and medley of spices all blended in fragrant coconut milk, it seemed an unattainable goal for me since all its ingredients seemed way too foreign for my grasp. Galangal? Kaffir Lime leaves? Lemongrass? Shrimp paste? Uh uh, honey, ain't none of this stuff deep in the heart of Texas...
Speaking of which, Thailand has now racheted itself up on my bucket list of places to visit. If anything, I'd like to go there to buy those ingredients and bring 'em back home!
(pics courtesy of National Geographic)
Enter the local Asian store where I trotted off in search of the above. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the ingredients fresh, but I did find some bottled, dried and jarred varieties. (P.S. If anyone out there lurking by this post knows where to get these ingredients FRESH in Houston, do drop me a line!). And then I bumped into the vegetable stocking guy.
"Uhm, excuse me, do you have any kaffir lime leaves?"
"What?"
"Kaffir lime leaves"
"Lemon?
"No K-A-F-F-I-R LIME. Leaf"
"Why you want the leaf? I got beautiful key lime, green lime, ..."
*silence*
I tried this recipe from a little cookbook called "Thai Cooking" (quel surprise!) by Carol Bowen. I had to play around with the spices and add a little of my own because it did not really result in the fiery red color I was expecting.
Secondly, I also tried making this dish with just the jarred red curry paste that you get in all the grocery stores. And it PALED in comparison to when you make the recipe below with the authentic ingredients. Well, the authentic jarred ingredients. So head off to your local Asian store (Whole Foods had the same jarred ingredients), and try out this curry. It's lip-smacking good and pretty close to what you get served at a Thai joint.
I served this along with some cashew beef, chicken satay and pad thai noodles for a "Thai-Themed" dinner I hosted for my niece who is off to Thailand to volunteer there. And if you assumed a little girl can go off to Thailand on her own, well, an interesting fact is that my husband is the youngest of 8 children, so his older siblings have children that are older than him. And subsequently me. Yes, I have nieces and nephews who tower over me, are older, and still have to respectfully call me AUNTY.
Bend your head around that one...
(pics courtesy of National Geographic)
Enter the local Asian store where I trotted off in search of the above. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the ingredients fresh, but I did find some bottled, dried and jarred varieties. (P.S. If anyone out there lurking by this post knows where to get these ingredients FRESH in Houston, do drop me a line!). And then I bumped into the vegetable stocking guy."Uhm, excuse me, do you have any kaffir lime leaves?"
"What?"
"Kaffir lime leaves"
"Lemon?
"No K-A-F-F-I-R LIME. Leaf"
"Why you want the leaf? I got beautiful key lime, green lime, ..."
*silence*
I tried this recipe from a little cookbook called "Thai Cooking" (quel surprise!) by Carol Bowen. I had to play around with the spices and add a little of my own because it did not really result in the fiery red color I was expecting.
Secondly, I also tried making this dish with just the jarred red curry paste that you get in all the grocery stores. And it PALED in comparison to when you make the recipe below with the authentic ingredients. Well, the authentic jarred ingredients. So head off to your local Asian store (Whole Foods had the same jarred ingredients), and try out this curry. It's lip-smacking good and pretty close to what you get served at a Thai joint.
I served this along with some cashew beef, chicken satay and pad thai noodles for a "Thai-Themed" dinner I hosted for my niece who is off to Thailand to volunteer there. And if you assumed a little girl can go off to Thailand on her own, well, an interesting fact is that my husband is the youngest of 8 children, so his older siblings have children that are older than him. And subsequently me. Yes, I have nieces and nephews who tower over me, are older, and still have to respectfully call me AUNTY.
Bend your head around that one...
*Reposted to include fresh basil leaves, and cook's note on not heating coconut milk on high heat*Thai Red Chicken Curry (adapted from Carol Bowen's "Thai Cooking")
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2-3 garlic gloves, crushed
14 fl oz or 1 3/4 cups coconut milk
6 chicken breast fillets, skinned and cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp fish sauce
sliced red chillies, fresh Thai basil leaves and chopped coriander to garnish
Red Curry Paste:
8 dried red chillies (deseed for less heat)
1 heaped Tbsp galangal or ginger, chopped
3 stalks lemongrass chopped (I used 2 heaped Tbsp jarred lemongrass)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp shrimp paste (this stuff smells like death, so I used less then the orig recipe)
1 kaffir lime leaf, chopped (I subst. zest and juice of a key lime)
1 heaped tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp ground cumin powder
1 tsp paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
5-6 fresh Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped (optional)1 tsp each salt and black pepper powder (adjust as you see fit, both fish sauce and chicken stock can be salty!)
1. Assemble ingredients for red curry paste, place in blender and process till smooth (may need to add a little water or lime juice)
2. Heat the oil in a large wok or non-stick pan. Add garlic and cook till it turns golden.
3. Stir in curry paste and cook for 10-15 seconds or till raw smell disappears. Gradually add in coconut milk, stirring constantly (mixture may look curdled).
4. Add in chicken pieces and turn in sauce to coat. Cook gently for about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in stock and fish sauce, mixing well. Cook for a further 2 minutes or till chicken cooks through. Cook's Note - cooking this dish on high heat can cause the coconut milk to separate out into oil and cream, beware! It may took longer to cook on a medium flame, but will be more worth the effort!6. Add chopped coriander and red chillies, let sauce reduce a bit or to your preference. I found reducing the sauce down gave the meat more flavor. Serve with plain white rice.
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2-3 garlic gloves, crushed
14 fl oz or 1 3/4 cups coconut milk
6 chicken breast fillets, skinned and cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp fish sauce
sliced red chillies, fresh Thai basil leaves and chopped coriander to garnish
Red Curry Paste:
8 dried red chillies (deseed for less heat)
1 heaped Tbsp galangal or ginger, chopped
3 stalks lemongrass chopped (I used 2 heaped Tbsp jarred lemongrass)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp shrimp paste (this stuff smells like death, so I used less then the orig recipe)
1 kaffir lime leaf, chopped (I subst. zest and juice of a key lime)
1 heaped tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp ground cumin powder
1 tsp paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
5-6 fresh Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped (optional)1 tsp each salt and black pepper powder (adjust as you see fit, both fish sauce and chicken stock can be salty!)
1. Assemble ingredients for red curry paste, place in blender and process till smooth (may need to add a little water or lime juice)
2. Heat the oil in a large wok or non-stick pan. Add garlic and cook till it turns golden.
3. Stir in curry paste and cook for 10-15 seconds or till raw smell disappears. Gradually add in coconut milk, stirring constantly (mixture may look curdled).
4. Add in chicken pieces and turn in sauce to coat. Cook gently for about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in stock and fish sauce, mixing well. Cook for a further 2 minutes or till chicken cooks through. Cook's Note - cooking this dish on high heat can cause the coconut milk to separate out into oil and cream, beware! It may took longer to cook on a medium flame, but will be more worth the effort!6. Add chopped coriander and red chillies, let sauce reduce a bit or to your preference. I found reducing the sauce down gave the meat more flavor. Serve with plain white rice.
