Easy Meal: Chicken Curry

Some of my favorite meals are ones that you put in a big pot, place on simmer, walk away and eat a few hours later. Chicken curry is one of those dishes! You can pretty much use what ever you have on hand and end up with a dish that is both delicious and easy and if you manage to have leftovers, heat up well and taste even better the next day.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons curry paste
1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
4 chicken breasts, skinned and boned
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced (I use shredded carrot about 1/2 cup)
6-8 mushrooms
1 zucchini, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup cashews, toasted and chopped

Directions:

• In a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat, add the oil and chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, add the curry paste and stir well. To the chicken, add the onions and carrots and cook until translucent.

• Turn down the heat to simmer and add the coconut milk and chicken broth; stir well. Cover and allow to simmer at least 1 hour; stir occasionally.

• One half hour prior to serving, add the mushrooms and zucchini and allow to simmer.

• When ready to eat, serve over rice and top with some of the chopped cashews.
  

I cheat and use a curry base from A Taste of Thai - you can find this right in the grocery store and their products are really good! You can multiple meals out of the curry pouch too and the leftover paste can be stored in the refrigerator.

Rice Noodles with Soy Sauce, Chinese Broccoli, and Beef

Kwaytiow Paht Si-Yu

To complete the meal, I decided to make rice noodles with soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, and beef. Again, I used Nancie McDermott's Real Thai - The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking for the recipe.

Here is the recipe for Kwaytiow Paht Si-Yu:
2 tablespoons dark sweet soy sauce or 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce and 1 tablespoon molasses or sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic4 cups Chinese broccoli, cut into 2-inch by 1-inch strips, or 3 cups small broccoli florets
1/2 pound flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain in strips 2-inches by 1-inch
1 pound soft, fresh flat rice noodle sheets, cut lengthwise into strips 1-inch wide
2 eggs, lightly beaten

• Combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

• Heat wok over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat the surface. When the oil is very hot, drop a piece of the garlic into the pan. If it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready. Add the garlic and toss until it begins to turn golden, about 15 seconds. Add the Chinese broccoli and stir-fry until tender, bright green, and shiny, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan to a platter.

• Add a little more oil to the wok, swirl to coat, and heat for 15 seconds. Add the beef and stir-fry until it is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan to the platter with the broccoli.

• Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok and heat for 15 seconds. Add the noodles and toss until separated and heated through. Push the noodles to one side of the wok. Put 2 teaspoons of oil into the center of the wok and add the eggs. Cook without stirring for about 30 seconds. Scoop and toss everything gently, scrambling the eggs and mixing the ingredients together.

• Add the soy sauce mixture and the reserved beef and broccoli and stir-fry until the noodles, meat, and vegetables are lightly coated with sauce, about 1 minute. Transfer to a heated platter and serve at once with small bowls of sauce.

Serves 4.

Of all the dishes that I made, this one presented me with the most challenges. I could not find fresh noodles to save my life! I ended up using wide, rice stick noodles. So before I added them to the wok, I first put them in a very large bowl, covered them with warm water and let them sit for about 30-45 minutes. I also used tamari + sugar for my soy sauce and regular broccoli florets from the grocery store.

The dish was pretty easy to make and cooked up fairly fast (minus the prep time for the noodles). I was a bit disappointed with the dish though. I found it to be rather bland and ended up adding lots of the sweet-chili sauce to it for more flavor (it definitely needed more sauce). I think in the future, I will reduce the amount of noodles and add more sauce. This made more than 4 servings, I think due to the noodles and was also hard to mix together in the wok (maybe I need a bigger wok?).

All-in-all, I am pretty happy with my attempts at Thai cooking! I would love to make the satay sometime and would also love to make a noodle dish with peanut sauce or even a delicious Rama! I really loved the sweet-chili sauce and thought that it accompanied the meal fantastically!

Thank you Nancie McDermott for your tasty recipes!

Fried Spring Rolls

Boh Biah Tote (uncooked spring rolls)

Next up in my attempts at making a delicious Thai dinner were fried spring rolls. I actually made these over 2 days. The day before I served them, I made the filling and the day of I rolled them, fried them, and ate them!

The following is taken from from Nancie McDermott's Real Thai - The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking. Here is the recipe for Boh Biah Tote:

2 packets (2 ounces each) bean thread noodles
1 tablespoon tiny dried cloud ears
Vegetable oil for sauteing and deep-frying
2 eggs, lightly beaten2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sugar1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot or onion
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1 package spring roll wrappers
A handful of fresh cilantro leaves

• Place the bean thread noodles in a large bowl. cover with warm water, and soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Place cloud ears in a medium bowl, cover with warm water, and soak until softened, about 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile, coat a small skillet with a little oil and warm for 1 minute over medium heat. Pour in one fourth of the eggs, tip the pan so that the egg covers the bottom in a thin sheet, and cook until set and opaque, less than 1 minute. Turn the egg sheet out onto a plate and repeat with the remaining eggs in 3 batches. When the sheets are cool, stack and slice into long, thin shreds. Set the shreds aside in a large bowl.

• Drain the noodles well and dump the tangle onto a cutting board. Shape the noodles into a log and cut into 2-inch lengths. Precision doesn't count here - you're just trying to make them a little more manageable for stir-frying. Add the noodles to the bowl containing the egg shreds.

• Drain the cloud ears and place on a cutting board. Check them over, cutting off and discarding any hard navels. Slice the cloud ears into long, thin shreds. Add them to the bowl containing the noodles and egg shreds.

• Combine the fish sauce, pepper, ans sugar om a small bowl.

• Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat the surface. When the oil is very hot, add the garlic and stir-fry until golden, about 15 seconds. Add the shallot and stir-fry until wilted. Add the pork and stir-fry until no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until pink and opaque, about 1 minute. Add the fish sauce mixture and toss well.

• Add the noodles, cloud ears, and egg strips and stir-fry (mixing well) for 1 to 2 minutes. The noodles will change from stiff, white, and wiry to clear, soft, and curly. As soon as they've transformed and all ingredients are well combined, turn the filling out into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.

• Gently separate the spring roll wrappers. Place 1 wrapper, smooth side down, on a work surface; cover the remaining wrappers with a dampened paper towel while you work. Position the wrapper with a point toward you. Place a heaping spoonful of the filling in the center half pf the diamond that is closest to you. Shape the filling into a log about 3-inches long. Fold the wrapper point closest to you up, over, and around the filling. Begin to roll the wrapper and, when you've rolled halfway to the top point, fold the right and left sides in toward the middle. Keep rolling. When you reach the top point, moisten it with water and seal the roll like an envelope. Set the roll aside on a tray with the seam side down.

• Continue rolling until all the filling is used up. Space the rolls so that they are not touching and separate the layers with plastic wrap.

• Pour the oil into a wok or deep, wide saucepan to a depth of 3-inches. Heat over medium heat to 350-375 degrees. Meanwhile, prepare a drain basket for the fried spring rolls by lining a colander with paper towels. Drop a tiny piece of wrapper into the wok. If it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready.

• Carefully add a spring roll to the oil, it should sizzle and bubble at once. Add 2 more spring rolls and cook 3 at a time, turning occasionally and frying until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

• Remove the spring rolls with a slotted spoon, hold them over the oil to drain for a few moments, and transfer to the prepared colander to drain. Place on a serving platter, garnish with cilantro, and serve with small saucers of dipping sauce.

Makes about 32 spring rolls.

These turned out great! My Dad told me that they were the best spring rolls that he has ever had and I don't think that he was being polite!

I used frozen spring roll wrappers that I got at H Mart - I was a bit leery about using these, but they were super easy and I would buy them again. The pack I got had 40 wrappers, so I had some left overs and I put a little cream cheese with curry powder, garlic and pepper in them and they were a big hit too. I could not find dried cloud ears, so I just used plain old mushrooms - I cut them in to long slices. I also cheated and used already peeled, deveined and cooked shrimp (so this cut down the cooking time buy a minute or so).

We didn't eat all 32 spring rolls, so I wrapped them in wax paper and frozen them. I took out a few the other night and heated them up in he oven (425 degrees for 20 minutes) and they were still yummy! In the future, I am going to make dessert out of the left over wrappers by adding fruit and cream cheese and chocolate sauce (kind of like a crepe).

Don't forget to make the sweet-hot garlic sauce to go with these!

See tomorrows post for Rice Noodles with Soy Sauce, Chinese Broccoli, and Beef!

Thai Corn Cakes & Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce

Spring Rolls & Corn Cakes (see tomorrow's post for the spring roll recipe)

So first up was to make Thai corn cakes. We originally had these at Pen Thai in Bothell, WA as an appetizer - these are not on the menu, but be sure to ask for them if you go! I couldn't find a recipe in my cookbook, so I searched the web and found a really good website: www.realthairecipes.com.

Khao Pod Tod

Here is the recipe for Khao Pod Tod:
1 cup sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2" vegetable oil for frying

• In a medium sized bowl, add the corn, flour, egg, salt and pepper; mix well.
• In a non-stick skillet, heat the oil. Add a drop a water to the oil and when it pops the oils is ready.
• Drop the batter by rounded spoonfuls into the hot oil; press down slightly with the spoon to make a rounded, flat shape.
• Cook on medium-high until golden brown, flip once.
• Remove from the oil to a plate with a paper towel (to absorb some of the excess grease).
• Serve while they are hot and crisp.

This recipe made approximately 5 cakes. I used frozen yellow corn, but you could also use fresh corn right off the cob (and that would be delicious). These turned out really well and were super easy to make! The next time I make these, I will double the amount of corn, flour, salt and pepper, but keep the single egg - the idea would be to make them less "eggy". If I made the original recipe, I would remove the yolk and just use the egg white.

To go with the corn cakes and the spring rolls, I made a Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce. This was taken from the cookbook by Nancie McDermott, Real Thai - The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking.

Nahm Jeem Gratiem

Here is the recipe for Nahm Jeem Gratiem:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce (tuong or toi sauce) or coarsely ground dried red chili

• In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, vinegar, garlic, and salt.
• Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat.
• Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt and reduce the heat to low.
• Simmer until the liquid reduces slightly and thickens to a light syrup, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in the chili-garlic sauce; cool to room temperature.
• Transfer the cooled sauce to a tightly sealed jar and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Makes about 1 1 /2 cups.

I love this sauce and used it on everything! I used dried red chili peppers, as I have quite a few on hand from all of my Indian cooking. Right after I made this sauce, I had my Mom taste it. She liked the flavor but found it a bit too hot for her liking. In an effort to please everyone, I made a second sauce with everything, minus the chili peppers. Instead, I added about a 1/2 cup of orange marmalade and 1 tablespoon of fresh, minced ginger. She loved it!

Tomorrow I am going to blog my attempt at fried spring rolls!

My Attempt At Thai Food

Since I recently have a little time on my hands, I decided to attempt to cook up some Thai food. I have tried in the past to make Pad Thai and had very limited success - you could eat it, but it was not restaurant quality (or even that good). So the first thing I did was find a good Thai cookbook; I got Real Thai, The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking by Nancie McDermott. There are no pictures, but when I started looking at the recipes, they sounded good and the ingredients made me want to give it a try.

Next up was to figure out what to make and the best way to do this, thumb through the cookbook and read some recipes! The first one I came across was for fried spring rolls, then rice noodles with soy sauce, Chinese broccoli and beef, then Mussamun curry with beef, potatoes, and peanuts, next was grilled pork on skewers with cucumber salad and spicy peanut sauce, and lastly sweet-hot garlic sauce. Ok, so all of these sound really good, but might be a bit ambitious for my first attempt! I was also on the lookout for Thai corn cakes - I found them on-line at realthairecipes.com.

My final menu was:
Thai Corn Cakes (Khao Pod Tod)
Fried Spring Rolls (Boh Biah Tote) with Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce (Nahm Jeem Gratiem)
Rice Noodles with Soy Sauce, Chinese Broccoli, and Beef (Kwaytiow Paht Si-Yu)

Before I could start to cook, I needed to get the right ingredients - so I headed off the H Mart (see Lydia's post from February 2, 2010). Bean thread noodles, rice stick noodles, fish sauce, tamari sauce (or dark soy sauce), spring roll wrappers, plus fresh ingredients like shrimp, ground pork, flank steak, shallots, garlic and ginger - yum!

Now that I got the menu down and the shopping done, it is time to cook! Check out the rest of the weeks blogs for how I did and how it was all received!