Do you believe that your sense of taste changes? There was a time that spicy food for me was a recipe for an upset tummy. I'm not sure where the changes happened but I'm drawn to food that has a kick to it. Maybe it has something to do with familiarity and just having your stomach develop tolerances. No idea.
This Thai Red Curry Chicken dish started as an experiment and was a no brainer in preparation. The end result was a big hit.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp canola oil
3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in strips
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced in strips
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 tin light coconut milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Directions
1. Heat oil on medium in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook until chicken is no longer pink (approximately 5 minutes)
2. Add onion and peppers to start the cooking process. Add red curry paste stirring to coat and infuse the flavour.
3. Mix the cornstarch with the coconut milk and add to skillet stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until the sauce thickens.
NOTE: I added vegetables that I felt like having but there are really no vegetable boundries.
I received a review copy of The Complete Leafy Greens Cookbook and was blown away by how much I didn't know about the varieties of leafy greens out there. In part, I think I'm a product of using greens that are easily accessible in Canada. This book makes me want to go on some scavenger hunts to find and cook with leafy greens like Chinese Celery, La Lot Leaf and Purslane (to name a few).
I like the way this cookbook is organized. Separate sections are devoted to each green. Each section starts off with some background information, the varieties, where to buy, how to store, how to prepare and how to consume the green. Then, some recipes, often vegan-friendly, are provided.
I'm a visual person, so I really like that simple colour pictures of the greens are provided throughout. I also like how the information is laid out in separate text boxes. It reminds me of when I used to study my textbooks in university. There's something about separating out information into different boxes and colours that makes it more digestible (don't mind the pun). I used to look through my textbook chapters and make visual milestones for myself (e.g., ok -- I am going to read from here to the text box three pages from now). Pages that didn't have any visuals or text boxes were always challenging for me to get through. Kind of like the month of January (long, cold and nothing to break it up). Anyways - I am digressing.
Another thing that I like about this cookbook is that each recipe contains the usual suspects (ingredients, quantities, directions), but there is also a "Tips" section on the left sidebar of the page. It never really occurred to me, but having this tip section made me realize how often I have to Google information to understand a recipe. Whether it be an unfamiliar ingredient, technique or figuring out substitutes, there can be a fair amount of research that goes into not screwing up a recipe. With the tip section, these questions were answered.
I still have a lot of reading to do before I can fully comment on the recipes. But, in general, I like the diversity and quality of recipes. Many of these greens are mainly found in certain ethnic cuisines. So, I like that these uses are reflected in the cookbook (e.g., African Sweet Potato Leaf Stew, Taiwan Lettuce Mei Fun, West Indies Pepper Pot Soup). Here's the recipe I decided to make:
Thai Curry Noodle Bowl
6 oz snow peas (3 cups, loosely packed), trimmed and halved (the snow peas at the store looked really sad, so I opted for snap peas)
12 oz dried chow mein noodles
2 tbsp oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste (I used more like 3 tbsp)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
4 oz baby spinach leaves (about 5 cups)
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro (we tend to never use this up, so I excluded this)
2 large green onions, slivered (not a fan of green onions, plus recipes has shallots, so I excluded)
kosher or coarse sea salt
1/4 cup crispy shallots (basically deep fried shallot rings -- I pan fried minced shallots)
1 red finger chilli (couldn't find, so I got Thai chilli peppers)
lime wedge
1. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water over medium heat, blanch snow peas for about 1 minute, until tender-crisp. Using a mesh scoop, transfer to a colander (leave cooking water in a pan) and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain peas and set aside.
2. Return pan of cooking water to a boil over medium heat. Add noodles and cook for about 10 minutes or according to package directions, until tender but firm. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, heat oil until warm. Stir in garlic and curry paste for 30 seconds. Stir in stock, coconut milk and sugar until smooth. When mixture comes to a simmer, reduce heat to low and add spinach, cilantro and green onions. Cook for about 1 minutes, until heated through.
4. Divide prepared noodles among 6 wide, shallow serving bowls. Top with equal quantities of snow peas. Ladle hot broth with spinach over noodles. Pile crispy shallots in center of each bowl. Scatter chilli slices over each serving. Place a lime wedge at the edge of each bowl, to squeeze over the noodles. Serve immediately.
Verdict: We both liked this dish. Even E liked it. I figured the sauce might be too spicy for her, but she was having a meltdown (didn't nap at daycare, don't want to sit in a highchair moment), so I had her sitting on my lap through dinner. She pushed away her plain noodles and ate mine that had the broth on it.
My main beef with the dish is that I still cannot get my dishes to have the flavours I would get from a Thai restaurant. I've tried to make my own curry paste before and that didn't work either. I don't think this is the fault of the recipe because all it really says is to use a tablespoon of Thai red curry paste. I think I need to take a trip to Thailand and take a cooking course. OK - problem solved.
This post has been in the making for over a week now. But nothing but the best for Rosie and Pixie'sPutting Up Event.
When I first read about this event, I thought, "ok, I'll just sit this one out". I have never made any sort of preserve in my life. I don't have any tools and I don't have storage. But, Pixie takes no prisoners. My small kitchen was no excuse. So the pressure was on. When I told Giz that I was going to be trying Kittie's from Kittens in the Kitchen Malaysian Rempah paste, she said, "Perfect - submit it for Putting It Up. So, if this paste is bending the boundaries of Putting It Up, blame Giz. In fact, I'll just go ahead and say that any mistakes I make are Giz's fault. Nothing like making sure someone else takes responsibility for my actions.
Back to the Malaysian paste...You'll recall that I recently tried, unfulfillingly, to simulate the delicious flavours of Thai food that I've eaten while out for dinner. In fact, here are some pictures from my last visit to Giz's, about a month ago (yes, I gave in and visited), when we went out for Thai food:
Since the store-bought curry is not even close to food I've eaten while out for dinner, I figured, I would need to make something from scratch. When I saw Kittie's recipe, I thought it was a perfect first attempt recipe. Sure, it's Malaysian, but I think the flavours/ingredients are quite similar to what you would find in Thai food (please clarify this for me if I'm wrong).
Purchasing the ingredients for this post was a bit of an adventure in itself. R and I headed out for Chinatown and visited a Thai grocery store. I asked a guy to help me find all of the ingredients. He could have shown me fish heads and I would have believed him. I was suprised at how available most of the ingredients were and that they were reasonably priced. Between $1 - $2/item.
What follows is a video of me making the paste. NOTES: no, I do not sound like a 12 year old dink in person....just on video.
Malaysian Rempah Paste
2 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tbsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1” cinnamon stick 2 tbsp peanuts, ground to a paste 1” piece galangal – peeled, roughly chopped 2” piece fresh ginger – peeled, roughly chopped 2 small pieces fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp ground) – peeled (careful, will turn your hands yellow for several days...trust me on this) 4 garlic cloves – peeled 9 Thai shallots – peeled, roughly chopped 6 Thai red chillies – stalks removed, seeds in 2 4” lemongrass sticks – inc bulb The zest of 1 lime 1 tsp shrimp paste 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp groundnut oil (used canola instead) 2 tbsp finely grated coconut
In a dry pan, toast coriander, fennel, cumin seeds and cinnamon until they start to release their aromas. Grind in a mortar and pestle.
Take all the fresh ingredients and grind to a smooth paste.
Mix all of the fresh ingredients with the ground spices and sauces. The paste will keep in the fridge for up to two months – store in a glass jar, with a layer of oil to prevent oxidization.
Also, thanks to Kittie's advice and great use of the paste, I also found inspiration from her Thai Green Curry with Chicken.
4 bnls skls chicken breasts, diced 1 red pepper 1/2 courgette (zucchini) 1/2 aubergine (eggplant) 3 lime leaves, shredded (didn't have) 1 clove garlic, crushed 1" piece ginger, grated 3 tbsp curry paste 1 400ml tin coconut milk, or two small ones Oil to fry Thai basil leaves
Heat oil in a hot wok, add 2 tablespoons of curry paste and fry for about 30 seconds. Add a few tablespoons of coconut milk. Add the chicken and fry until opaque. At this point add the ginger, garlic, lime leaves, and the remaining paste. Fry for another couple of minutes.
Stir in the remaining coconut milk and the red peppers, then turn to a simmer. Allow to simmer uncovered for about 6 minutes - until the peppers are slightly softened, but still have a good 'bite'.
Add the aubergine and courgette, simmer for another couple of minutes and serve over steamed rice. I didn't use aubergine (eggplant). Instead, I added a variety of peppers. I also added extra Thai red chillis - but didn't eat them because they were too spicy. In fact, I had residual stinging from holding the chillis.
Overall, both the paste and chicken are very good. It doesn't taste like the Thai food I eat in restaurants, so that seach continues. But, this paste is a good addition. I have about 3/4 of a jar remaining, so I'm looking forward to trying other variations. One note, is that I would probably add more vegetables next time and cut the chicken pieces smaller. It also needed a touch of salt/sweetness. I added soy sauce and that did the trick.
PLEASE - for the sake of my sanity (and many others out there). No more snow! Another (up to) 50 cm expected this weekend. Bloody hell. I keep seeing summer-like recipes and my snow-covered bbq is feeling sorely neglected (well, I am extrapolating based on my my most recent conversation with my bbq).
But, these flowers from R do help. If I stare at them on my table without blinking (to the point of getting tunnel vision), I can pretend that it's summer and the flowers are in full bloom.
Tonight I'm going out for dinner with my curling team (click here for my explanation of the wonderful game of curling). We'll be going to an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy area of town. Hopefully, I'll get some good shots of the food. It's always a bit tricky to start taking pictures of your food in a restaurant. Do you have any smooth ways of getting your companions to be patient while you take pictures of their food? I don't tell people about my food blog - so how do I even justify taking a picture of their food?
***************************************************************************** As you know, I'm at the beginning stages of discovering food. I still remain fussy about some food. But, I'm trying to break free of the habit of assuming that I won't like food I haven't eaten. For example, I recently discovered that I really like Thai food. Below is my attempt to make Red Curry Thai Beef. It looks good. But the red curry sauce wasn't very flavourful. So - my dear bloggy friends. Do you know how to make a good red curry sauce? I hear that homemade is way better than the store bought kind (isn't that's always the way). Links to good recipes are welcome!
Here's the recipe I followed (I doubled some of it):
500g lean beef strips (I probably included more) 1 tbsp thai red curry paste (doubled) 1 tbsp fish sauce (doubled) 300ml canned coconut milk (used a 400ml can) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp Brown sugar 1 tsp crushed garlic (doubled) cremini mushrooms red and green pepper
Directions: Mix the beef strips with oil and garlic. Heat wok on high. Stir-fry the beef strips in batches 1 minute, removing each batch when cooked.
Before returning beef strips to wok, add sliced mushrooms and peppers with a sprinkling of water. Stir for 2 minutes.
Return beef strips. Add curry paste, fish sauce, coconut milk and brown sugar. Toss to heat through.
Then serve with boiled rice and fresh basil leaves (still couldn't find any in the grocery store).
There seem to be 2 camps on mussels - the one side - those who just love them and then the second camp that shrugs their shoulders and says they're gross. I happen to fall into the former category. To me mussels is the ultimate finger food that's quick to make and fun to eat. The only caution is that the sauce that's created with this recipe can be totally addicting and if you're cutting up a baguette to use with the sauce - having no bread left becomes a prerequisite for this experience.
This recipe will serve 6 people as an appetizer or 3 as a meal.
Ingredients: 2 - 2 lb. bags mussels (keep refrigerated until use and cover with damp tea towel) (Note: if uncooked mussels are open and don't tap closed discard them) 1 Tbsp red curry paste 1/4 lb butter 5-6 roma tomatoes - seeded 1 small diced pepper (red, yellow or orange) 1 Tbsp minced ginger 4 cloves minced garlic 1 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice 2 cans coconut milk 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1. On medium heat, cook one good Tbsp Red Curry Paste in 1/4 cup butter just until softened and blended 2. Seed and dice 5-6 Roma tomatoes and one small red, yellow or orange pepper 3. Add 1 Tbsp fresh minced ginger and minced garlic to the curry paste and cook over medium heat until translucent. 4. Add 1 Tbsp sugar 5. Add 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice 6. Add 2 can coconut milk - Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, on low heat until reduced by 1/3 to 1/2 depending on how much sauce you want 7. Adjust sugar, lime and red curry paste to taste. 1 Tbsp of red curry paste will give you a mild bite. 8. Add mussels and steam, covered, for approximately 5 minutes, stirring once or twice til shells are open 9. Add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 10. Serve in soup bowls with sauce and a sprinkle of cilantro for garnish.
This is recipe I got from my labmate and is a regular part of our "repetoire". It's not actually written out as a coherent recipe, so I'll try my best to put one together.
Ingredients
1/2 cup - Chicken stock 3 tbsp - Cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar 3 tbsp - sodium reduced soy sauce 3 tbsp - peanut butter (see note below) 1 tbsp - granulated sugar 1 tbsp - sesame oil chili paste (as desired) 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts minced ginger (about the side of 1/4 of your thumb) garlic (I like lots - 3-4 cloves) broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, whatever other vegetables you want 1/4 fresh coriander (I never add this) noodles (about 3/4 of a small box)
Directions Cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Mix together first 7 ingredients. Separate the mixture into two (1/2 to marinade the chicken with, 1/2 to save for the pasta). Marinade the chicken (I usually only do this for 1-2 hours)
You may notice that I've actually made a double recipe. In doing this, I end up with enough for about 6 portions. "Planned overs" (as opposed to left overs) are great for lunches. I'm also fairly liberal with the peanut butter and usually end up using about half a cup for a double recipe.
After mincing the ginger and garlic, I add it to a wok with hot oil.
Sautee for about a minute and then add the chicken mixture.
While the chicken is cooking, finish preping the vegetables. You'll see in the picture below that I used cauliflower...and I forgot the mushrooms. It was still good - so really, experiment with the vegetables you like.
Around the same time as you start the chicken (or 5 minutes beforehand), start boiling a pot of water for pasta. I usually use linguini or spaghetinni(adjust boiling start time accordingly).
A tip I learned from watching Jamie Oliver is...when you're going to put the pasta in the pot, hold it vertically in a bunch, put your hands in the middle and twist (softly) as though you are ringing water out of a towel. After you've twisted, drop the pasta into the water and it'll spread out evenly throughout the pot of water.
I decided to add peas to the recipe this time around and added them to the pasta a couple of minutes before the pasta was finished.
A couple of minutes after the pasta starts boiling, I add the vegetables to the chicken mixture. I wait until the chicken is cooked. But the timing of the pasta, chicken, and veggies will depend on how cooked you want your pasta and vegetables to be. I tend to like my pasta soft (about 3-4 minutes after al dente) and my veggies warm, but crunchy.
When the chicken and vegetables are ready, add the unused mixture (e.g., bowl on the right in the top picture) to the pasta.
Yeah, it looks kind of gross, but that's just because I used chunky peanut butter. Mix the pasta and mixture together and then add the chicken/vegetable mixture. Mix well. I like to keep an element on low while doing the mixing to keep everything warm (I like my food to be really hot).
I'm a bowl person, myself...but, the debate continues as to whether this recipe should be served in a bowl or plate.
The instructions may seem a bit complicated, but that's just my poor succinctness - the recipe is actually very easy. A fair bit of prep time...but easy to make.
Just note, if you don't like spicy stuff, use very little chilli sauce. R (my partner) and I have probably killed most of our taste buds with spicy food, so I tend to add more chilli sauce
