Enjoy the Delicious

This was definitely the weekend for familiar and comforting food.  On a mission to not consume a single salad, I decided to throw together a dish reminiscent of my childhood.

Cooking a curry always makes me think of my mother.  I'll never do it as well as she did, but I do find a certain affinity with my Asian heritage as I try to recreate and remember her dishes.  I think of the creaminess of coconut milk paired with the heat of red chillies and the mellowness of  steeped ginger combined with the sticky rice noodles as the ultimate in Asian-style comfort food.  Throw in a few shrimp and you have yourself a little bit of luxury too!

Shrimp Curry over Rice Noodles

Ingredients

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 2 cups of chicken or seafood stock
• 4 spring onions
• 1/2 shallot
• Curry powder
• 1 red chili
• A piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, cut in half - ends cut off
• 1/2 a lime
• 2T chili paste
• Vegetable oil
• Rice noodles
• 1/2 lb shrimp

Preparation

First and foremost, an absolute must when cooking with curry powder is to cook the curry powder first.  Never, and I mean never just add the powder straight into your dish.  Cooking it will ensure that there is no grit or chalkiness and it will also add depth of flavor.  It's very simple, just coat a pan with vegetable oil and add 4-5 teaspoons of curry powder.

Stir it together for a few minutes and then add half a chopped shallot to the pan.  Next dice the red chili and add that, along with just a few seeds, to the mix.  Stir it all together for a few minutes then add a can of coconut milk, the stock, a cube of fresh ginger, the lemongrass and the lime and it's juice to your pot.  Throw in a few pinches of salt and a teaspoon of fish sauce (optional).  Simmer on a very low heat for 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to marry together.  The curry might seem a tad "thin" but once the rice noodles are added it will thicken up.

Next prepare your rice noodles per the package instructions and then cook your shrimp.  Heat some oil in a skillet and season the shrimp with salt and pepper.  Cook until the crustacean are opaque...about 3-5 minutes, if that.  Now, add the chopped spring onions to your curry as well as the shrimp along with the chili paste.  I use the Asian chili/garlic sauce in the bottle with the green top.  In this recipe I only call for 2T of chili paste but truth be told I use a hell of a lot more.  I love the hot, I'm predispositioned for it.  Nothing makes me happier than the hot.  You using more than the 2T will make me happy too.  Now, let it all bubble for a few minutes.

The lemongrass and ginger are only for flavor so be sure not to serve them in your bowl.

Presentation

Place a pile of the rice ribbons in a bowl and spoon over the mellow curry sauce.  Drop in the shrimp and add the final touch, a wedge of lime for flavor.

On our way to the first day of school, my son looked at me and said, “I think the moms are the only one’s happy that school’s starting,” I think he’s right. Outside of school everyone was catching up, taking pictures...We couldn’t control ourselves; we were the only ones who were happy. Here we go again…like summer never even happened; campus life begins. Tonight, spice it up. Let’s try shrimp curry over rice cooked in coconut milk.

I know I have vowed to go a more traditional route when presenting recipes to you but when I make curries it’s a little different. My Asian heritage lends itself to more of a feeling, a taste, a smell rather than a hard and fast recipe. I’ll try to go traditional but do everything per your taste. The dish will only be complete upon your liking.

For the curry:
3 cans of coconut milk
1 lb of deveined shrimp (you can have the fishmonger remove the tails if you so wish)
Red Curry paste
Turmeric
Sea Salt
Red Chili Flakes
Fish Sauce
Touch of Sesame oil for taste
Olive Oil
½ an onion – finely chopped
5 Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
1 pint of grape tomatoes
Lime juice
Cilantro
Chicken Stock

In a large pot with the olive oil heating up, add the onions and a shake of salt. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. To the onions, add the curry paste, turmeric and a splash of sesame oil. Start with a few tablespoons of the spices and then go from there. Once the curry paste and turmeric have coated the golden onions add the coconut milk, lime juice, potatoes, tomatoes, salt (per your taste) and several generous pours of fish sauce. In a separate pan, sauté the shrimp with a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of lime juice. Once cooked, add the shrimp to the curry and let it simmer until all these sultry flavors are combined and the potatoes are cooked. Add more lime juice and fish sauce to your liking and if you choose to add extra liquid or thin out the curry, this is the time to add your chicken stock.

Rice:
Packaged rice and 2 cans of coconut milk
Cook your rice per package instructions. Substitute coconut milk for half the water needed.

Scoop the velvety rice into a large bowl. Pour the flavorful curry over it and top with chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice and the spicy chili flakes. I have nothing more to say.