I made a batch of Thai curry tonight - one of my absolute favorite dishes! I have never made a Thai curry I didn't like - anything can go in it, as long as you have the essentials: a good curry paste, lime leaves and lime juice, and Thai basil.
This was a red chicken curry, with some boc choy stems (not traditional, but anything goes in it, as I said) and chunks of onions, for the veggies in it. I always like onions cut into chunks in Thai curries.
Amazing how fast this is to make, once all the ingredients are lined up.
Here is the basic Thai recipe I use.
Basic Thai Curry
1/2-3/4 cup(s) curry paste
2 14 oz. can(s) coconut milk
3 tb palm sugar
3 tb fish sauce
1-1 1/2 lbs meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish; sliced or left whole
3-5 cup(s) vegetables; sliced or cubed
4-5 pairs kaffir lime leaves
1 tb lime juice (fresh)
4-6 medium chile peppers; halved (option)
1 cup(s) basil (fresh); loosely packed
A. Skim the coconut cream (about 1/2 c each can) off the tops of the cans and place in a heavy saucepan or wok (I use a cast iron wok for curries). Cook over medium heat until oil separates, scraping occasionally with a heatproof spatula. When oily add the curry paste (if using concentrated green, use only 6 tb) and cook 2 or 3 min., stirring and scraping constantly. Add remaining coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaves, and vegetables/meat which need longest cooking. Bring to a boil and cook at a slow boil, adding remaining ingredients at appropriate times, depending on cooking times.
B. When all ingredients are tender, test for seasoning and add more fish sauce or sugar as needed. If too thin stir in a starch/water mixture, being careful not to overdo. Stir in herbs, and serve, with jasmine rice.
Notes: This is a very flexible recipe. All meats may be used - boneless chicken thighs being one of my favorites - and many vegetables. I usually cut a large onion into large pieces, then add winter or summer squash, eggplant, sweet potato, bell or poblano peppers, frozen and thawed tofu in cubes, okra, and many other vegetables. Or it may be all vegetable, with 6-8 cups of vegetables. The basil may be Thai basil (my favorite), Italian, or half basil and half mint, or some cilantro mixed in. Again, anything goes, if you like it.
Here is was dish, start to finish. None of the optional chiles in it tonight, as somebody else was eating it with me!
Ingredients,
mise en place:
IMG_20190109_190138332 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Coconut cream, cooked down to release oil:
IMG_20190109_191025521 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Curry paste, frying in the coconut oil - sort of like frying Mexican salsas, to intensify the flavor:
IMG_20190109_191310976 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Coconut milk, palm sugar, lime leaves, and fish sauce added:
IMG_20190109_191623771 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Chicken added, ready to simmer 12 min, before adding boc choy to simmer 4 more min:
IMG_20190109_191732133 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished curry, with basil added:
IMG_20190109_193631211 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Curry served with a millet/jasmine rice mix:
IMG_20190109_194211523 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
I have tried several things to reduce the white rice I eat - I simply love jasmine rice, as well as all that Thai food I eat it with! The millet is the best thing I've found to mix it with 2:1 millet to rice, or 1:1. The water millet absorbs is almost exactly the same as jasmine rice, and they cook up well in a rice cooker, and here it is made in my IP:
IMG_20190109_193506141 by
pepperhead212, on Flickr