Wheres the Green Curry?

[Junefish]

"What hell man?" I typed "green curry" into the search bar and got a whopping nothing! How can this be! You call yourselves foodies. Aggg. I can see that I'm going to have to step in and fix this. Now all I have to do is learn how to make green curry. As soon as I figure it out, I'll be back and then we'll get this matter resolved.

(thanks to The Family Guy for the opening cave man quote).

Damn green curry addiction. I knew this would sneak up and hit me.

[Junefish]

Alrighty...been there now. Attempt numero uno for the green curry. Here's what I know:

1 medium size onion
1 stalk lemon grass
3 tbsp Thai green curry paste (I bought this...did not make from scratch)
3 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 lime, juiced
fresh Thai sweet basil leaves
fresh cilantro leaves
mushrooms
1 tbsp curry powder
Firm tofu

Spent about 20 - 25 minutes cooking it up.

Report:

Taste was quite good...but not great (I'll take the leftovers to the office tomorrow). Here's what I think needs to change.

Sea Salt - I forgot to add this. A dash of table salt did wonders for activating the "sweetness" of the mix.

Chili Powder - I was out and did not have any. But I think this will happen next time.

Overall the dish was a tad on the bland side (I like heat and generally order my Thai food in a restaurant at "5 stars" or higher as able.

I might try a different coconut milk too. I went "cheap" and might spring for something a little less processed. The creamy texture of this milk was a bit much. Anyone has some input on how to thin this, without making it more bland - I'm all ears.

Will also look at adding eggplant next time...but have not cooked eggplant before and understand there are some tricks to softening the skin.

Till next time....

-D

[Holly]

Sounds delightful :-) Thanks for posting.

[Junefish]

Green Curry Update:

I've made this dish a hundred different ways a thousand differnt times over the last few weeks and am I proud to say that, yes, in fact, I do now make the best green curry ever. Call it arrogance. Thats fine. I am okay with myself. Its that damn good.
Let me share it with you....


Use MAE PLOY green curry paste.
It's cheap. Less than $4 at my local Asian market and comes in a 2lb 3oz mini-tub (should last me a very long time).
Its all natural too. No MSG. No colors. No preservatives. Nothing weird in it at all.
I learned from many of the local Thai restaurants that this exact curry paste was their "secret ingrediant."

The directions on the container are way out of whack though. Follow them and you'll end up with a bowl of lava that even those of us who love (thats me) hot food can barely tolerate.

2 cans Coconut Milk.
1 can water.
1 LEVEL (not heaping) table spoon of the paste.
And one HEAPING table spoon of brown sugar.

Then add vegetables to your liking.

My preference on veggies is:
3 or 4 Mushrooms
1-Onion
2/3 can of Bamboo shoots with dried strips of tofu mixed
A little cilantro.
1 red potato.
A splash of lime juice (or one juiced fresh lime)

Bring it all to a boil and then let it simmer for 15 or 20 minutes. Do not cover though becasue sometimes the coconut milk gets a little funky.

Do this all in a wok if you have one.

Served over Jasmine sticky rice.

And if that does not do it for you....well, heck.

-d