Attack of the Green Curry!

I have an immense affinity towards Asian cuisine. Out of all the ethnic foods available globally, my eternal preference lies with the edible treats that surface around our planet's largest continent. By "Asian food", I certainly include Indian food, because after all you cannot deny tandoori and naan from entering the party. If I was given the ridiculous hypothetical choice of eating only one country's cuisine, without hesitation I would choose Thailand. The incorporation of nuts and fried eggs, the light and salty sauces, the chili peppers, the frequent appearance of ginger and lemongrass- Thai food is simply the one for me.
My ideal feast (besides a grand sirloin steak and mashed potatoes) would feature chicken Pad Thai, mango salad, green curry, sushi rolls, fried beef with cashews and you get the picture. I really dig Asian food.

When Karen and I were traveling in northern Thailand, we stumbled upon a great little town called Pai where we participated in a cooking class with the very hip instructor Tee. We learned how to cook a slew of great dishes and received a very helpful recipe book to use at home.

ALMIGHTY GREEN CURRY (THAI STYLE- NOT INDIAN)
The best thing about making green curry, aside from enjoying its tremendously good taste, is that it requires a lot of time and effort. Making the curry paste is an arduous task, but similar to a slow cooking hamburger tasting excellent, the more care and work put into the curry results in finer dining.

Here is the recipe/instructions to make a mean green curry for two people. ENJOY!

GREEN CURRY PASTE
1. Soak 1-3 big and small, green, dried chillies in hot water for ten minutes
2. Chop 1 tbsp. lemongrass
3. Chop 1 tbsp. galangal
4. Chop or crush 1 tsp. of garlic
5. Chop 1 tsp. of shallot
6. Chop 1/2 tsp. kaffir lime skin (or key lime if kaffir is not available)
7. Chop 1/2 tsp. coriander root
8. Take the chillies, remove the seeds, chop them
(Put all these ingredients on a plate)

Put in a Bowl
1. 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
2. 1/2 tsp. white or black peppercorns
3. 1/4 tsp. of cumin seeds

Take a wok and dry fry these seeds till their smell is stronger, you hear a popping sound and you can see a little smoke- put them back in the bowl. Take a mortar or blender and grind the seeds from the bowl till they look like powder, put 1/4 tsp. salt in and add all the other ingredients and BLEND/GRIND them till they make a paste (a hand mixer is really useful)

SO NOW YOU HAVE THE PASTE- PUT IT ASIDE!

Remaining Ingredients:
HARD VEGETABLES- Eggplant and green peppers are ideal for this. Chop up a decent amount
SOFT VEGETABLES- Choose what you want. I like to add a can of baby corn. I feel it is a good addition to the dish
MEAT- Cut up a bunch of chicken into bite-sized pieces. Or tofu for the vegeterians.
SAUCE- 1 tbsp. of palm sugar or brown sugar + 3 tbsp. of fish sauce
COCONUT MILK- 3/4 cup

COOKING TIME!
1, In your wok, heat up three tbsp. of oil
2. Add curry paste and wait till the taste smells stronger
3. Add chicken. Once cooked, add some coconut milk
4. Add hard vegetables. Wait a little and add some coconut milk
5. Put remaining coconut milk in
6. Add sauce
7. Add soft vegetables
8. Check taste!


And that's that. Phew. It's certainly not easy and it takes a few times until you get it the way you want it. You think making cookies from scratch is impressive? Try this one.


Cheers

-Noah

p.s. I would recommend checking out a grocery mart in Chinatown for acquiring many of the ingredients. They will likely be more fresh and most definitely be cheaper than any standard grocery store